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This paid piece is courtesy of SiouxFalls.Business
It’s now a lot simpler — and far more accurate — for industrial businesses to know exactly how much product is in their storage tanks.
For ethanol plants, petrochemical operations and other industrial users, tank gauging has long been a challenge, often relying on outdated or manual methods that can introduce inefficiencies and risk.
“A lot of our industrial customers have tank storage on-site, and most businesses of this kind historically have found it can be hard to continually or accurately measure how much of a chemical or other liquid is in those tanks,” said Paul Zweifel, founder and CEO of Sioux Falls-based Direct.
Traditional approaches have ranged from manual tank strapping — physically measuring tanks and calculating volume — to “tape and float” systems, where a device is lowered into the tank to estimate levels. Some facilities also rely on pressure-based measurements, which require adjustments based on the product’s density and temperature.
Each method comes with limitations.
“No matter what approach, it’s not been the most efficient,” Zweifel said.
Now, Direct is offering a more advanced solution through a new partnership with Emerson, maker of the Rosemount Tank Gauging System — a high-precision, radar-based technology designed specifically for industrial storage tanks.
The system uses radar to continuously measure liquid levels with extreme accuracy — within fractions of a millimeter — while also monitoring temperature and pressure to calculate true net volume.
“This is a very tailored solution to a specific problem that many of our customers face,” Zweifel said. “Many customers try to use other traditional level-monitoring products, but none of them have been designed in such a purpose-built way for tank gauging.”
Built for Accuracy, Safety and Efficiency
Unlike mechanical systems, radar-based gauging eliminates many of the reliability issues tied to moving parts.
Older tape-and-float systems, for example, can wear down over time, while pressure-based readings can become inaccurate as temperatures fluctuate and affect product density.
With the Rosemount system, multiple sensors can be deployed within a single tank to provide a more complete picture.
One key feature is multipoint temperature sensing, which measures temperature at various levels throughout the tank. This is critical because liquids often experience temperature stratification — meaning the temperature can vary significantly from top to bottom — which can affect volume calculations.
By accounting for those variations, the system delivers a more accurate measurement of usable product.
In addition, the technology can support floating-roof tanks, commonly used in ethanol and fuel storage, by measuring tilt and ensuring proper alignment — helping prevent product loss and maintain safety.
Safety is a major factor driving interest in improved tank gauging.
“If you overfill a tank, even if it’s contained, vapors can escape,” Zweifel said. “If there’s an ignition source, that can quickly become a serious issue.”
Modern systems include built-in overfill protection, helping operators avoid those risks while maintaining compliance with industry standards.
Beyond accuracy, the system gives operators real-time insight into their operations.
Tank levels, temperatures and volumes can be monitored continuously through facility control systems or accessed via a digital dashboard or mobile app.
For businesses managing multiple tanks — such as ethanol plants, pipeline terminals or agricultural processing facilities — the system can consolidate data into a single hub, making it easier to track inventory across an entire tank farm.
“If you have all these tanks in one facility, we can pull them into one hub and track everything together,” Zweifel said. “That makes implementation both efficient and cost-effective.”
The technology also can integrate with existing systems, allowing businesses to upgrade without replacing all their current infrastructure.
Expanding access to advanced technology
Through its partnership with Emerson, Direct now offers the Rosemount Tank Gauging System to customers across South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska and parts of Minnesota, as well as to ethanol plants nationwide.
The reach reflects both Direct’s existing footprint and the demand for improved solutions in industries that rely heavily on stored liquids.
Potential applications extend well beyond ethanol, including pipeline terminals, refineries, soybean processing facilities, liquid fertilizer storage and other industrial operations where accurate measurement is critical.
“Anything where you’re storing product and overfill could be an issue — or where accuracy really matters — is a good fit,” Zweifel said.
The system also can be used in certain cases for custody transfer, meaning its measurements are precise enough to support the sale of product directly from tank volume calculations.
Interest in the new offering has been strong, Zweifel said, particularly as businesses look to modernize operations and improve efficiency.
“We’ve had a lot of interest because of the struggles with tank gauging across the industry,” he said.
For Direct, the partnership represents an opportunity to bring a purpose-built solution to a widespread issue.
As industrial businesses continue to look for ways to operate more efficiently, improve safety and gain better visibility into their operations, technologies like radar-based tank gauging are becoming an increasingly important part of the solution.
“I think the exciting part for me is being able to offer something that was specifically designed to solve this problem,” Zweifel said. “It’s not adapting another technology — it’s built for tank gauging from the ground up.”
