Methanol storage

[nigelb]

How much methanol can you legally store at a domestic dwelling here in the UK?

[Tony]

That's a good question.

I suspect it's broken down into at least two parts; insurance limitations and environmental regulation.  Though it's always hard to determine how the rules are different for commercial vs domestic use.

I often ponder how best to store it, should it be plastic barrels that don't rust but would melt in a fire, or steel drums that do rust but wouldn't melt in a fire?

I keep my methanol well away from the house and decant into smaller drums before use.

[Dickjotec]

I am fortunate in having a cheap supplier local so I can pick up 100L in their 25L plastic  containers. Keep it in a locked section of the shed a long way from the house. Regarding storage I seem to remember something about domestic transport being in containers smaller than 60L this could also be a storage requirement might have imagined it though. I would imagine it depends on what you insurers require. Isn't petrol, flammable liquid, limited to 2 gallons?

[nigelb]

mmm! Petrol is an easy one. 30lts in suitable containers. But I cant find anything on Methanol.

 I never have more than 25lts of methanol knocking about now. I havent really got the room for a drum.

 I was asked by Vijay if I knew as he's having issues with a particularly troublesome neighbour.

[Tony]

This is probably the relevant legislation... all the things you need to do when storing a hazardous substance, which is part of planning regulation.

"The Planning (Hazardous Substances) Regulations 2015" https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/627/contents

But there's a big "however" - looking at the schedule "PART 2 Named hazardous substances"

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/627/schedule/1

...we see that the controlled quantity for Methanol is 500 tonnes.

Controlled quantity means that below that limit, hazardous substances consent is NOT required.  Unless he's planning on storing 500 tonnes+.

Environmental restrictions are probably another story but there's nothing there that says it's illegal to store Methanol.  So unless his neighbour can come back with some legal reason why not, then he can go stuff himself!

[Tony]

It's quite interesting reading through the regulations.  It's all about managing loss of control of an industrial chemical process.  Different chemicals have different controlled quantities, but there is also a requirement to add up the totals to see if that also falls under the thresholds or not, and to consider both the intended final product, and any products that might be generated by an out-of-control process.

[Tony]

mmm! Petrol is an easy one. 30lts in suitable containers. But I cant find anything on Methanol.

 I never have more than 25lts of methanol knocking about now. I havent really got the room for a drum.

 I was asked by Vijay if I knew as he's having issues with a particularly troublesome neighbour.

Where does the 30l come from for petrol?  Is that an insurance limitation?

The regulation suggests that gasoline and other petrolchemical storage is only controlled beyond 2500 tonnes.

[nigelb]

I found the petrol limits here:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/fireandexplosion/petrol-storage-club-association.htm

[Julian]

PEA ... I think sometimes they invent all these bloody Governmental departments just because some over paid idiot has come up with a new acronym!

[Tony]

Looks like Petrol has its own specific legislation that the PEA are responsible for enforcing, and it is this that sets the limits. But that's for petrol only.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2014/1637/schedule/2/made

[countrypaul]

Isn't petrol storage limitations a left over from the second world war where the goverment introduced regulations to limit hoarding?

[Vijay]

Hello guys,

Thanks Nigel for this post. The neighbour who are absolute Aholes are playing tit for tat. They've called the council telling them I have an illegal fuel processing plant in my back garden. There are now councillors crapping themselves as they think of a bomb straight away. I've explained everything about legal bio processing to the council guy (who to be fair has been decent), so hopefully they'll leave it alone one they see I'm perfectly entitled to make bio at home

[Vijay]

Just a bit of an update. Just spoke to the council who contacted the fire brigade. The FB haven't got an issue with biodiesel but have made a not in case there's any near by fires, so they are aware of my address.

Now the council want my oil collection addresses, so they can visit them to see what they are doing with the rest of their waste. I've told them I'm not happy to do this as it's turned from an illegal fuel facility investigation to now investigating innocent people for reasons nothing to do with me making bio. Just seems the council want to create more work for themselves when they are already under pressure..................

[dgs]

If your collections are producing oil waste that you have given them a wtn for, surely the council are aware of them. Don't they visit them every few years anyway to check on these things. As you say I would have thought that the council have enough on their plate at the moment without bothering with such petty things.

[Tony]

Beats me why they would audit waste collection from a restaurant when you've already stated that you're collecting probably the easiest-to-illicitly-dispose-of waste they produce.  Isn't that the job of health inspectors/environment agency?  The latter may be the local council body they are referring to.

Personally I find interference like this hateful.  What happened to the British way of supporting cottage industry?  These days every bureaucrat wants to stick an oar in or tie you up in tape.  It's like they have to find something to justify their existence (that and what you're doing is probably the most interesting thing they've seen for years).