Underground storage tank vapor pressure equalizer

A volatile liquid storage tank pressure reduction system for reducing the volume of vapor present in the ullage of a storage tank that contains volatile liquid, comprising:

• a conduit having an inlet port and an outlet port, wherein said conduit is in thermal contract with the air outside of the storage tank;
• a valve connected inline to said conduit, said valve having a valve inlet and a valve outlet;
• a pump connected inline to said conduit downstream said valve outlet;
• and
• a electronic controller electrically coupled to said valve to control the opening of said valve and electronically coupled to said pump to activate said pump, wherein said electronic controller is adapted to open said valve and activate said pump to draw vapor from the ullage of the storage tank through said inlet port and pass the vapor through said conduit to cool the vapor and return the cooled vapor through said outlet port to the ullage of the storage tank.

A system for reducing the pressure of a storage tank, comprising:

• a storage tank that contains volatile liquid and has an ullage containing vapor;
• a conduit having an inlet port and an outlet port, wherein both said inlet port and said outlet port are fluidly coupled to said ullage;
• a valve connected inline to said conduit, said valve having a valve inlet and a valve outlet;
• a pump and heat exchanger connected inline to said conduit downstream said valve outlet;
• and
• an electronic controller electrically coupled to said valve control the opening of said valve and electronically coupled to said pump to activate said pump, wherein said electronic controller is adapted to open said valve and activate said pump to draw vapor from said ullage of said storage tank through said inlet port to pass said vapor through said heat exchanger to cool said vapor and return said cooled gas through said outlet port to said ullage of said storage tank.

A system for reducing the volume of vapor present in the ullage of a storage tank, comprising:

• a conduit containing a cooling media;
• a radiator located inside the ullage of the storage tank, wherein said radiator is connected inline to said conduit;
• a pump and heat exchanger connected inline to said conduit;
• and
• an electronic controller that is electrically coupled to said pump to activate said pump, wherein said electronic controller is adapted to activate said pump and circulate said cooling media through said heat exchanger to cool said cooling media and circulate said cooling media through said radiator to cool the vapor in the ullage of the storage tank.

A system for reducing the pressure of a storage tank, comprising:

• a storage tank that contains volatile liquid and has an ullage containing vapor;
• a conduit containing a cooling media;
• a radiator located inside said ullage of said storage tank, wherein said radiator is connected inline to said conduit;
• a pump and heat exchanger connected inline to said conduit;
• and
• an electronic controller that is electrically coupled to said pump to activate said pump, wherein said electronic controller is adapted to activate said pump and circulate said cooling media through said heat exchanger to cool said cooling media and circulate said cooling media through said radiator to cool said vapor in said ullage of said storage tank.

A volatile liquid underground storage tank pressure reduction system for reducing the volume of vapor recovered during the refueling of a vehicle tank and returned to an underground storage tank in a service station environment, comprising:

• an underground storage tank;
• a conduit having an inlet port and an outlet port, wherein said outlet port is connected to said underground storage tank;
• a fuel dispenser, comprising:
• a nozzle,
• a hose connected to said nozzle;
• a fuel delivery line that couples to said hose and to said underground storage tank to deliver said liquid fuel through said hose and nozzle to the vehicle fuel tank;
• a vapor pump;
• a vapor return line contained within said hose that connects to said inlet port of said conduit;
• a valve connected inline to said conduit, said valve having a valve inlet and a valve outlet;
• a pump and heat exchanger connected inline to said conduit downstream said valve outlet;
• and
• an electronic controller electrically coupled to said valve to control the opening of said valve and electronically coupled to said vapor pump to activate said vapor pump, wherein said electronic controller is adapted to open said valve and activate said vapor pump to recover vapor expelled from the vehicle tank during refueling to pass the vapor through said inlet port and through said heat exchanger to cool the vapor and return the cooled vapor through said outlet port to said underground storage tank.

A method of reducing the pressure of a storage tank, comprising the steps of:

• drawing vapors from the ullage of the storage tank into an inlet of a conduit is in thermal contact with the outside air and wherein said conduit has an inlet and an, outlet coupled to the ullage of the storage tank;
• circulating said vapors through said conduit to create heat exchange between said vapors and the outside air;
• and
• returning said vapors to the ullage of the storage tank by discharging said vapors through said outlet of said conduit.

A method of reducing the volume of recovered vapors captured during the refueling of a vehicle, which are returned to an underground storage tank, comprising the steps of:

• recovering vapors expelled from the vehicle during refueling;
• passing said vapors through a vapor return passage and through a heat exchanger to cool said vapors;
• and
• returning said vapors to the underground storage tank.