Until 2002, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) in Blacksburg, Va. produced dormitory heat by burning coal and number six fuel oil. In July of that year, the university decided to switch its fuel system to the more environmentally friendly combination of natural gas and number two fuel oil. However, the university encountered a barrier with their 300,000-gallon concrete underground storage tank. After so many years of using number six fuel, the substance had absorbed into the concrete. If the number two fuel oil was placed in the storage tank, it would have soaked into the ground.

The university hired a tank cleaning company to clean the tank of the number six fuel. After two successful cleanings, the fuel would seep out of the concrete within a few days. This prevented the lining from being put directly on the concrete interior. A lining system was engineered and designed to serve as a bladder-type lining for the tank. Geotextile fabric was first attached to the walls at the ceiling all the way around the interior of the tank, overlapping out onto the floor by two feet. The fabric was then coated with a modified Polyurea elastomeric at 80 to 100 mils. Once the walls were finished, the floor was then lined in the same manner. On completion, the tank had a lining that was not dependant on adhesion to the tank interior. The tank needed to be lined, but to do that, the tank would first need to be cleaned of its original fuel.