Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 1 -
Packaging for a product comprising at least one hygroscopic
flowable solid
The invention relates to packaging for a product comprising
at least one hygroscopic flowable solid, where the packag-
ing has a sealable product bag made from a moisture-
permeable material for the accommodation of the product, a
transport container surrounding the product bag, and a des-
iccant which is arranged outside the product bag and inside
the transport container.
In the chemical or pharmaceutical industry, hygroscopic
flowable solids, such as, for example, pulverulent sub-
stances, often have to be transported and stored before
they are supplied for a use as intended. Numerous different
types of packaging for this purpose are known from prac-
tice. In the case of many different types of packaging, the
product or the chemical substance is introduced into a
sealable product bag for protection against contamination
and subsequently introduced into a transport container. The
transport container can be, for example, a drum or a crate.
In the case of a product which either consists of a hygro-
scopic substance or comprises at least one hygroscopic com-
ponent and is in pulverulent or granular or flowable form,
the danger regularly exists that, due to moisture during
the filling operation or subsequently during transport or
storage, the product clumps due to residual moisture. If an
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 2 -
excessive amount of moisture reaches and enters the product
over an extended period, the flowability of the product may
be reduced or disappear completely and the product may
cake, forming one or more large lumps.
In order to reduce the risk of clumping or caking of the
product during transport and storage, it is known to design
the surrounding transport container to be moisture-tight
and to seal it in a moisture-tight manner after filling
with the product. However, it is nevertheless not possible
to exclude the possibility of moisture entering the inte-
rior of the transport container during filling and in par-
ticular during successive removal of the product and conse-
quent repeated opening and sealing of the transport con-
tamer and resulting in clumping or caking of the hygro-
scopic product.
In order to avoid these disadvantageous effects of moisture
present in the transport container, it is known from prac-
tice to arrange a desiccant in the transport container,
which absorbs and stores moisture present in the transport
container. The desiccant is usually arranged in a bag or in
a plurality of bags. These desiccant-filled desiccant bags
are placed in the transport container either before or
after the product-filled product bag. WO 2003/004380 A2
describes packaging in which a plurality of bags filled
with a desiccant are arranged in an interspace between the
product bag and the transport container. However, it is not
possible to exclude the possibility, in particular during
movement and shaking of the transport container, for exam-
ple due to transport, of the desiccant bags leaving their
initial position and accumulating somewhere within the
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 3 -
transport container, causing further absorption of moisture
to be concentrated in the region around the desiccant bags
and making absorption of moisture by the desiccant bags in
regions remote therefrom more difficult.
It is known from practice that the desiccant bags are fixed
in the region of a sealable opening of the product-filled
product bag, for example by means of bands or loops. The
effort necessary for this purpose is considerable. Although
the desiccant bags can be arranged and fixed in the region
of the opening of the product-filled product bag, they can-
not be arranged and fixed at any desired place in the prod-
uct bag or within the transport container without major
effort.
It is likewise known from practice to arrange a moisture-
permeable accommodation device in the transport container,
in which a desiccant bag can be arranged. Transport
containers which have accommodation devices of this type,
for example in the form of small pockets or mesh boxes, for
the accommodation of a desiccant bag are described, for
example, in US 6,102,198 and are complex and expensive to
produce. The accommodation devices project into the
interior of the transport containers and may under certain
circumstances damage the product-filled product bag. The
transport container provided with these accommodation
devices must either have been intended for this purpose and
produced correspondingly, or alternatively retrofitted with
the accommodation devices. Besides the costs additionally
arising for this purpose, it is frequently regarded as a
severe disadvantage that only corresponding transport con-
tainers are suitable for the transport of hygroscopic prod-
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 4 -
ucts and these have to be kept ready in sufficient amount
and separately from transport containers without accommoda-
tion devices of this type.
It is therefore regarded as an object of the present inven-
tion to design packaging for a product comprising at least
one hygroscopic flowable solid component in such a way that
moisture can be absorbed in the transport container inex-
pensively using the simplest possible means and clumping or
caking of the hygroscopic product can be reduced or pre-
vented entirely.
This object is achieved in accordance with the invention in
that a drying wrapping which can be detached from the
transport container and is made from a moisture-impermeable
material which surrounds the product bag containing the
product is arranged in the transport container, and in that
the desiccant is arranged on an inside of the drying wrap-
ping facing the product bag containing the product. Due to
the use of a drying wrapping, the arrangement of the desic-
cant inside the transport container or in the vicinity of
the product bag containing the product can be pre-specified
independently of the product bag used for the accommodation
of the product and independently of the transport con-
tamer. Expensive and complex modifications of the trans-
port container are not necessary. It is equally unnecessary
to attach the desiccant to the product bag or in the clo-
sure region of the product bag after the product bag has
been filled with the product and the product bag has subse-
quently been sealed.
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
_ 5 _
The use of a drying wrapping which can subsequently be
placed in a transport container which is already present
enables the transport containers which are already present
to be retrofitted and used for the transport of hygroscopic
products. Since the drying wrapping can be used with vari-
ous transport containers, existing distribution systems
with the corresponding transport containers can be retained
unchanged. The additional cost for the acquisition and use
of the drying wrapping is extremely low.
The drying wrapping can be designed to be re-usable and can
remain in the transport container after the product bag
containing the product is removed, so that the drying wrap-
ping continues to be available for re-use of the transport
container. It is likewise possible to produce and intend
the drying wrapping for a single use and to design it as a
disposable product.
The use of a product bag which consists of a moisture-per-
meable material enhances the action of the desiccant.
Should residues of moisture be present in the product bag
or in the product located therein or accumulate after open-
ing and re-sealing of the product bag, this moisture is
transported through the moisture-permeable product bag into
the interspace between the product bag and the surrounding
drying wrapping, where it can be absorbed and bound by the
desiccant.
According to an embodiment of the inventive idea, it is
provided that the desiccant is arranged in at least one
desiccant bag which is fixed to an inside of the drying
wrapping. Desiccant bags of this type are commercially and
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 6 -
inexpensively available in numerous variants and shapes for
different desiccants. The desiccant bag can be fixed to the
drying wrapping simply and reliably, for example by weld-
ing, adhesive bonding or sewing. A plurality of desiccant
bags are advantageously fixed to the drying wrapping at a
separation from one another in order to favour the absorp-
tion of moisture by the desiccant located in the desiccant
bags and in order to prevent the desiccant from concentrat-
ing in a small region within the transport container and
the moisture not being absorbed or only being absorbed to a
small extent in other regions.
Particularly simple and effective fixing of the
desiccant bags to the drying wrapping can be
achieved in that the at least one desiccant bag is covered
and fixed by a moisture-permeable covering on the inside of
the drying wrapping. The moisture-permeable covering may be
perforated and made from the same moisture-impermeable
material as the drying wrapping. If the drying wrapping
consists, for example, of a film, the desiccant bags can be
arranged in pockets produced by multiple turning-over and
subsequent fixing, or adhesive bonding or welding of the
pockets of the drying wrapping formed in this way.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the
inventive idea, it is provided that the drying wrapping is
matched to the shape of the transport container. The drying
wrapping can be placed in the interior of the transport
container and can form an inner lining of the transport
container. Due to the matching of the drying wrapping to
the shape of the transport container, the arrangement of
the drying wrapping in the transport container or relative
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 7 -
to the transport container can be pre-specified and the
position of the desiccant bags fixed to the drying wrapping
in the interior or on the walls of the transport container
can thus be pre-determined. Due to the drying wrapping
lying against the transport container, the filling of the
transport container with the product bag which is itself
filled with the product does not become more difficult.
It is likewise conceivable and advantageous for individual
applications for the drying wrapping to be matched to the
shape of the product bag. The product-filled product bag
can then be introduced into the drying wrapping, with the
arrangement of the desiccant or the individual desiccant
bags relative to the filled product bag being pre-speci-
fled. In this way, a highly uniform distribution of the
desiccant on the product bag and thus in the immediate
vicinity of the product can also be ensured for the case
where the filled product bag only occupies a part-region of
the transport container and its position and shape within
the transport container frequently change during transport.
For many applications or products, it is already sufficient
for a few desiccant bags to be arranged in the transport
container. In these cases, it may be advantageous for the
desiccant only to be arranged in a region of the drying
wrapping facing an opening of the transport container. Dur-
ing filling of the transport container, an unused volume
usually remains in the region of the opening of the trans-
port container. After sealing of the transport container,
air, which generally has a moisture content, is located in
this volume. The arrangement of the desiccant in this
region facilitates effective dehumidification of the air
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 8 -
present in the transport container. In addition, fresh and
moist air flows into the transport container each time the
transport container is opened, for example for successive
and gradual removal of the product. This air accumulates in
the region close to the opening, where it can be effec-
tively dehumidified.
In particular in the case where high air humidity is expec-
ted or in the case of a particularly moisture-endangered
product, it may be advantageous to arrange the desiccant
distributed over the entire inside of the drying wrapping.
In this way, for example, a relatively large number of des-
iccant bags can be fixed to the drying wrapping distributed
at regular or alternatively irregular separations over the
inside of the drying wrapping. Irrespective of the shape of
the product-filled product bag and independently of the
amount of product remaining in the transport container
after partial removal, it can thus be ensured that a plu-
rality of desiccant bags are arranged at a separation from
one another in the vicinity of the product bag.
In order to support dehumidification of the product located
in the product bag, it is provided that the product bag is
a textile nonwoven made from thermally welded high density
polyethylene (HDPE) fibres. A nonwoven material of this
type is already extensively employed in practice. Besides
high permeability to moisture and air, the advantageous
properties of a nonwoven material of this type also include
high tear strength and straightforward use together with
numerous hygroscopic products from the chemical industry or
pharmaceutical industry.
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
- 9 -
A particularly inexpensive and at the same Lime effective
and moisture-impermeable drying wrapping consists of a thin
polyethylene wrapping or film, or comprises a thin poly-
ethylene wrapping of this type as coating or individual
layer of the drying wrapping. With a view to simple and
inexpensive production, the individual desiccant bags are
covered and fixed by a covering on the inside of the drying
wrapping, where this covering may likewise consist of a
thin polyethylene film, which is moisture-permeable owing
to a perforation.
The invention is explained in greater detail with reference
to a plurality of illustrative embodiments, which are
depicted in the drawing, in which:
Fig. 1 shows a sectional view of packaging with a transport
container, with a drying wrapping arranged in the transport
container, and with a product-filled product bag,
Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of another packaging in which
the drying wrapping surrounds and lies closely against the
product-filled product bag, and
Fig. 3 shows a sectional view of yet another embodiment of
packaging, in which the drying wrapping lying against the
transport container has a plurality of desiccant bags which
are fixed laterally to the drying wrapping by a perforated
covering.
Packaging 1, depicted by way of example in Fig. 1, has a
sealable product bag 2, which is filled with a flowable
hygroscopic product 3. The product bag 2 consists of a
CA 02879203 2015-081.2
26474-1433
- 10 -
moisture-permeable nonwoven material made from high density
polyethylene (HDPE) fibres. The hygroscopic product 3 can
he, for example, a chemical substance which is required for
the production of end products in the chemical or pharma-
ceutical industry.
The sealable product bag 2 is arranged in a transport con-
tainer 4 surrounding the product bag 2. The transport con-
tainer 4 has a drum-like basic body 5, which can be sealed
by means of a lid. The transport container 4 consists of a
moisture-impermeable material, for example polyethylene.
The lid 6 can be arranged and fixed on the basic body 5 in
a moisture-tight manner by additional sealing elements 7 in
order to seal the transport container 4 in a moisture-tight
manner. If it appears necessary, the sealed transport con-
tainer 4 can additionally be provided with a tamper-proof
seal, for example in the form of a lead seal 8.
A drying wrapping 10 matched to the shape of the transport
container 4 is arranged in an interior 9 of the transport
container 4. The drying wrapping 10 consists of a thin
polyethylene film and is likewise designed to be moisture-
impermeable. A plurality of desiccant bags 13 are adhes-
ively bonded to the inside 11 of the drying wrapping 10 in
a region 12 of the drying wrapping 10 facing the lid 6 of
the transport container 4 on an inside 11 of the drying
wrapping 10 facing the product bag 2 with the product 3
located therein. The desiccant bags 13 contain a suitable
desiccant 14, for example silica gel or zeolites, anhydrous
sodium sulfate or magnesium sulfate.
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
=
- 11 -
Moisture present in the free interior 9 of the transport
container 4 is absorbed and bound by the desiccant 14 in
the desiccant bags 13, which are arranged in this region 12
of the drying wrapping 10. If residues of moisture are pre-
sent in the product 3, these are transported through the
product bag 2 into the interior 9 of the transport contai-
ner 4, which is then dry, where they are likewise absorbed
and bound by the desiccant 14.
In the case of the illustrative embodiment depicted in Fig.
2, the shape of the drying wrapping 10 is matched to the
shape of the product bag 2, so that the drying wrapping 10
surrounds and lies closely against the filled product bag
2. A plurality of desiccant bags 13, each of which contain
a portion of the desiccant 14, are attached to the inside
11 of the drying wrapping 10 at regular separations. The
product bag 2 and the product 3 located therein are accord-
ingly evenly dehumidified from all sides. The shape of the
surrounding transport container 4 is unimportant in this
variant of the packaging 1.
In the case of the illustrative embodiment depicted in Fig.
3, the shape of the drying wrapping 10 is matched to the
shape of the transport container 4, so that the drying
wrapping 10 forms a lining of the side walls and base of
the transport container. The drying wrapping 10 can be
placed in the transport container 4 before the introduction
of the product bag 2 and does not hinder the subsequent
introduction of the product bag 2, even in a state already
filled with the product. The drying wrapping 10 has desic-
cant bags 13, each containing a portion of the desiccant
14, distributed over its side surfaces 15. Each individual
CA 02879203 2015-08-12
26474-1433
=
- 12 -
desiccant bag 13 is covered by a covering 16 comprising a
section of a polyethylene film matched thereto, and is
fixed to the side surface 15 of the drying wrapping 10. The
individual coverings 16 are each provided with a perfora-
tion 17, so that the coverings are moisture-permeable in
spite of the moisture-impermeable material polyethylene.
The present description will enable the person skilled in
the art to apply the invention comprehensively. Even with-
out further comments, it is therefore assumed that a person
skilled in the art will be able to utilise the above
description in the broadest scope.
For better understanding and in order to illustrate the
invention, examples which fall within the scope of protec-
tion of the present invention are given in the drawings
Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Fig. 3. In addition, the embodiments
depicted may exist in modified variants. Owing to the gen-
eral validity of the inventive principle described, the
examples shown in the drawings are therefore not suitable
for reducing the scope of protection of the present inven-
tion to these alone.
