- published: 14 Apr 2014
- views: 127882
A gas holder (commonly known as a gasometer, sometimes also gas bell, though that term applies to the gas holding envelope alone) is a large container where natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressure coming from the weight of a movable cap. Typical volumes for large gasholders are about 50,000 cubic metres, with 60 metre diameter structures. Gasholders tend to be used nowadays for balancing purposes (making sure gas pipes can be operated within a safe range of pressures) rather than for actually storing gas for later use.
Gas more recently was stored in large underground reservoirs such as salt caverns. In modern times however line-packing is the preferred method.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s it was thought that gasholders could be replaced with high pressure bullets. However, regulations brought in meant that all new bullets must be built several miles out of towns and cities and the security of storing large amounts of high pressure natural gas above ground made them unpopular with local people and councils. Bullets are gradually being decommissioned. It is also possible to store natural gas in liquid form and this is widely practiced throughout the world.