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Flexible tanks (also flexi-bags, flexibags and flexi-tanks) are a kind of storage equipment for liquids such as water or oil. Compared to steel tanks, flexible tanks have many advantages, including lighter weight and being rustproof, foldable, and quicker and easier to set up. With the same capacity, an empty flexible tank may have just 10% of a steel tank's weight. The disadvantages of flexible tanks include lower durability and shorter longevity. Some flexible tanks can be used as transport containers on trucks, ships, or aeroplanes, with some suitable for use in airdrops, helicopter swing, or hauling water.
Flexible tanks can be made of high-tensile strength polyester fabric, with elastomer or plastomer (PU, PVC, nitrile) coated on both sides.
Flexible tanks were first used in World War II aircraft including both fighters such as the Spitfire and bombers. Early manufacturers of flexible tanks included Marston Excelsior, who made fuel tanks for Vickers Wellington bombers and de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bombers in World War II. [1]
Flexible tanks can be used to transport wine, [2] juices, latex, oils and chemicals. Flexible tanks "made of fabric sandwiched between layers of rubber-like material" were advertised by ICI in 1959 as ways of carrying "all kinds of liquids from formaldehyde to fruit juice", and to "hold with equal safety anything from acids to drinking water." The advertisement compared modern flexible tanks to goatskins used to carry liquids by "our ancient forefathers". [3]
The tanks used in F1 and rally cars and fighting vehicle fuel tanks are a kind of fabric reinforced thermoplastic or rubber Storage tank for liquids. These have greatly reduced deaths from fire among racing drivers. [4] Rubber fuel tanks have been viable technology for cars since the late 1950s, [5] but few manufacturers have adopted them.
In 1962, 10,000 gallon flexible tanks made of neoprene rubber were used to store fuel oil in Antarctica. Each tank weighed 750 pounds and could be folded up into a volume of 125 cubic feet. The tanks were laid directly on to the Antarctic permafrost. [6]
The water industry began using flexible membranes in the 1950s. Advantages over rigid storage systems include low cost, less algae growth, lower groundwater contamination, and less evaporation and seepage. Disadvantages include shorter life expectancy, greater susceptibility to damage, and more frequent maintenance requirements. Due to the structural limitations of flexible tanks, they tend to have a maximum recommended water storage capacity. [7]
Flexi-bags offer an alternative to ISO tank containers for shipping oils, juices, wines, food-grade liquids and nonhazardous chemicals across the globe. Flexi-bags are usually loaded into 20′ food-grade, ISO containers for maritime or rail transport. [8] Sizes range from 16,000 to 26,000 litres. For transport in the US, the materials used in the production of flexi-bags must meet the US Food and Drug Administration, EU food-grade or German BAG standards.[ citation needed ] The idea is to isolate the liquid being transported from ambient air to avoid oxidation. [9]
They can also be used to transport a variety of other liquids such as base oils.
Depending on the product, many ISO tank container operators argue that flexi-bags can be more costly and less environmentally sound. This is generally the case for higher value products and/or environmentally dangerous products, because the transport protection offered by a flexi-bag is less, and the level of product that is left in the flexi-bag (2 to 5%) is higher than the amount left in a tank container.
A thermoplastic, or thermosoft plastic, is any plastic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling.
A bag-in-box or BiB is a container for the storage and transportation of liquids. It consists of a strong bladder, usually made of several layers of metallised film or other plastics, seated inside a corrugated fiberboard box.
A fuel tank is a safe container for flammable fluids, often gasoline or diesel fuel. Though any storage tank for fuel may be so called, the term is typically applied to part of an engine system in which the fuel is stored and propelled or released into an engine. Fuel tanks range in size and complexity from the small plastic tank of a butane lighter to the multi-chambered cryogenic Space Shuttle external tank.
A plastic bag, poly bag, or pouch is a type of container made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, chemicals, and waste. It is a common form of packaging.
High-density polyethylene (HDPE) or polyethylene high-density (PEHD) is a thermoplastic polymer produced from the monomer ethylene. It is sometimes called "alkathene" or "polythene" when used for HDPE pipes. With a high strength-to-density ratio, HDPE is used in the production of plastic bottles, corrosion-resistant piping, geomembranes and plastic lumber. HDPE is commonly recycled, and has the number "2" as its resin identification code.
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) is a thermoplastic made from the monomer ethylene. It was the first grade of polyethylene, produced in 1933 by Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) using a high pressure process via free radical polymerization. Its manufacture employs the same method today. The EPA estimates 5.7% of LDPE is recycled in the United States. Despite competition from more modern polymers, LDPE continues to be an important plastic grade. In 2013 the worldwide LDPE market reached a volume of about US$33 billion.
Intermediate bulk containers are industrial-grade containers engineered for the mass handling, transport, and storage of liquids, semi-solids, pastes, or solids. The two main categories of IBC tanks are flexible IBCs and rigid IBCs. Many IBCs are reused or repurposed.
Hiking equipment is the equipment taken on outdoor walking trips. Hiking is usually divided into day-hikes and multiple-day hikes, called backpacking, trekking, and walking tours.
Ground support equipment (GSE) is the support equipment found at an airport, usually on the apron, the servicing area by the terminal. This equipment is used to service the aircraft between flights. As the name suggests, ground support equipment is there to support the operations of aircraft whilst on the ground. The role of this equipment generally involves ground power operations, aircraft mobility, and cargo/passenger loading operations.
Tank blanketing, also referred to as tank padding, is the process of applying a gas to the empty space in a storage container. The term storage container here refers to any container that is used to store products, regardless of its size. Though tank blanketing is used for a variety of reasons, it typically involves using a buffer gas to protect products inside the storage container. A few of the benefits of blanketing include a longer life of the product in the container, reduced hazards, and longer equipment life cycles.
A flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC), jumbo, bulk bag, super sack, big bag, or tonne bag is an industrial container made of flexible fabric that is designed for storing and transporting dry, flowable products, such as sand, fertilizer, and granules of plastic.
A plastic bottle is a bottle constructed from high-density or low density plastic. Plastic bottles are typically used to store liquids such as water, soft drinks, motor oil, cooking oil, medicine, shampoo, milk, and ink. The size ranges from very small bottles to large carboys. Consumer blow molded containers often have integral handles or are shaped to facilitate grasping.
Aseptic processing is a processing technique wherein commercially thermally sterilized liquid products are packaged into previously sterilized containers under sterile conditions to produce shelf-stable products that do not need refrigeration. Aseptic processing has almost completely replaced in-container sterilization of liquid foods, including milk, fruit juices and concentrates, cream, yogurt, salad dressing, liquid egg, and ice cream mix. There has been an increasing popularity for foods that contain small discrete particles, such as cottage cheese, baby foods, tomato products, fruit and vegetables, soups, and rice desserts.
A tank container or tanktainer is an intermodal container for the transport of liquids, gases and powders as bulk cargo. It is built to the ISO standards, making it suitable for different modes of transportation; as such, it is also called an ISO tank. Both hazardous and non-hazardous products can be transported in tank containers.
International Classification of Goods and Services also known as the Nice Classification was established by the Nice Agreement (1957), is a system of classifying goods and services for the purpose of registering trademarks. It is updated every five years and its latest 11th version of the system groups products into 45 classes, and allows users seeking to trademark a good or service to choose from these classes as appropriate. Since the system is recognized in numerous countries, this makes applying for trademarks internationally a more streamlined process. The classification system is specified by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
A shipping container is a container with strength suitable to withstand shipment, storage, and handling. Shipping containers range from large reusable steel boxes used for intermodal shipments to the ubiquitous corrugated boxes. In the context of international shipping trade, "container" or "shipping container" is virtually synonymous with "intermodal freight container", a container designed to be moved from one mode of transport to another without unloading and reloading.
Pumpable icetechnology (PIT) uses thin liquids, with the cooling capacity of ice. Pumpable ice is typically a slurry of ice crystals or particles ranging from 5 micrometers to 1 cm in diameter and transported in brine, seawater, food liquid, or gas bubbles of air, ozone, or carbon dioxide.
A flexible barge is a fabric barge (non-rigid) for the shipment of bulk liquids like water, chemicals or oil. Patents indicate that the inventions relate to a flexible fabric barge technology or combination of several barges made of a rubber polyurethane material. The main body portion of a flexible fabric barge is cylindrical in shape. The barge can be used by itself or as several connected flexible fabric barges that can be towed through the open ocean under extreme conditions. The basic invention is a device for the delivery of huge amounts of fresh water in each bag at one time in a hostile wind and wave environment typical of oceans and large seas.
Fuel bladders, fuel storage bladders are a type of Flexi-bag used as a fuel container. They are collapsible, flexible storage bladders that provide transport and storage for bulk industrial liquids such as fuels.
A bladder tank is a large, flexible container used to store many types of liquids. When maximum capacity is reached, the bladder tank takes the form of a large pillow, hence it is also called a pillow tank.