ABS, needed to do some serious repairs to their tank, and decided to give it a good clean out, as you can see from the photo, the old balls are still functioning, despite having a layer of degreaser on them which is causing a few of them to sink. So after at least 6 years, we supplied them with a lovely set of new 50 mm PP clear cover balls on a next day delivery, just in time for their tank to be refilled and functioning again.
So for ABS, the primary reason for using the balls is to prevent heat loss and save on heating bills, but the other benefit is the reduction of escaped steam into the factory, which can cause corrosion to the roof and surrounding areas.
Where chemicals are used, toxic gases can also be prevented with the application of balls onto any water tank or liquid tank and a generally nicer working environment in factory processing plants can be created.