Storage tanks come in all shapes and sizes and are usually used to store gas or liquids. Most tanks are built to withstand hydraulic pressure by making their shape cylindrical or with rounded corners. Storage tanks are also built tough with the consideration that they are used to store things that need extra care like gasses or liquids like gasoline or oil.

Storage tanks are built securely so that they will not spill or jeopardize their contents in any way. Many of the substances that need to be stored in storage tanks are susceptible to the elements or to outside air and so they need extra amenities on the tanks like floating roofs and foolproof sealing systems.

Storage tanks can be underground, above ground or mobile. Storage tanks are typically made of metal and sometimes made of durable plastics. High-pressure tanks are designed for liquefied gasses like natural gas or hydrogen and they can even handle compressed gasses. These gasses can emit high-pressure environments and must be handled in accordance. The tanks are usually cylinder in shape and designed specifically to meet the conditions of the high pressure.

Storage tanks are also used as temporary mobile storage units. For instance, milk tanks are used to store and transport milk supplies from the dairies to the bottling plants. When the milk is gathered at the dairy, the dairy managers will store the milk in large storage containers, which are often cooled until trucks arrive to take the milk to a bottling plant. Once the truck comes the milk is funneled into the refrigerated storage tank(s) on the back of the truck and then taken for bottling.

Septic tanks are the less glamorous side of storage tanks. They are home to human refuse and waste and are stored either above or below ground. Many traveling RVs have small septic tanks that store the waste until the owner has a chance to empty it at the next stop. There are also city septic tanks and sewer systems that take the refuse from homes into septic drain fields.

The mobile storage tanks that most of us see on the backs of 18-wheelers are often the most durable and are built to withstand the most intense of situations. These tanks are not only road ready, but are also built with sloshing, moving situations in mind. Another great example of a mobile storage tank is the septic tank on a boat or plane.