The present disclosure is related to environmental process containment bags, systems and methods of using the same.
There are many industrial applications that involve the storage or transfer of hazardous media. Such media includes, for example, solid, vapor, or fluid materials that have negative health effects, explosive in nature, strong chemical reactivity, environmental issues, etc. Sometimes such media needs to be transferred from one vessel, pipeline or other conveyance or storage device to another. Other times such media needs to be transferred to the applicable process equipment, or to another device that is capable of destroying the subject media for environmental control purposes. During the storage or transfer process, the container or conveyance device may need to be opened for cleaning, maintenance, or service due to unintentional equipment malfunctions such as leaks in pipes, connections, flanges and valves. Due to the hazardous nature of such media, it is desirable to contain it from entering the atmosphere when the container or conveyance device is being worked on.
Therefore, there is a need for a novel system and method for environmental process containment.
The present invention provides a bag and a system for environmental process containment. In one embodiment of the invention, a flexible bag assembly includes a body which has a first end and a second end; a closure system for opening or closing of the body between the first end and the second end along a seam; and at least one tubular section on one end of the body. The tubular section is configured to wrap around a pipe portion connected to a container.
In another embodiment of the invention, a system for environmental process containment includes a bag assembly which has a body and the body has a first end and a second end; a closure system for opening or closing of the body between the first end and the second end along a seam; and at least one tubular section on one end of the body; wherein the tubular section is configured to wrap around a pipeline connected to a container.
In a further embodiment of the invention, a method of containing hazardous media from a container which has a body and at least one pipe connected to the body includes the steps of wrapping a flexible bag assembly around the body of the container and closing the body of the bag assembly around the body of the container using a closure system.
a is a schematic side view illustration of a bag assembly.
b is a cross sectional end view of the bag assembly of
a is a schematic illustration of a side view of a bag assembly in use with a container.
b is a schematic illustration of a side view an alternative embodiment of a bag assembly in use with another container.
c is a schematic illustration of a side view of a portion of an alternative embodiment of a bag assembly with a funnel-shaped section.
In the following detailed description, only certain exemplary embodiments of the present invention are shown and described, by way of illustration. As those skilled in the art would recognize, the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein.
Referring to
The embodiment of
The closure system can be any suitable systems for opening or closing the body between the first end 121 and the second end 122.
a shows an exemplary application of the flexible bag assembly. The bag assembly is wrapped around a leaking part 437 with a pipeline 435 on each side of the leaking part.
The flexible bag assembly can further include access holes for reaching tools into the bag to interact with the leaking part when performing the maintenance. The access holes can be of various shapes to accommodate various tools needed.
In one embodiment of the invention, as shown in
The resealable flap can be attached to the flexible bag assembly at joint 303 using any suitable bonding means, including adhesives, welding, heat sealing, solvent bonding, etc. The resealable flap can have a pressure sensitive coating over its face 305 to allow repeated opening and closing.
The flexible bag can further include a vacuum port 105 and an air intake valve 107. The vacuum port can be connected to a vacuum source to draw the hazardous liquid and or vapor away. The air intake valve can be used to adjust the level of vacuum inside the bag to allow a small negative pressure inside the bag. When vacuum is used, the flexible bag assembly may wrap around the container under the negative pressure, forming a good seal around the container. However, it should be understood that an air-tight seal is not needed. It is usually enough to have the fit be such that most liquids will be physically contained and a negative pressure established relative to the outside environment so that most vapor is maintained inside the bag.
Depending on the size of the container, a bag assembly with an appropriate size and shape and with appropriate sized vacuum port and air intake valve can be selected. For example, if the container is small, such as in a “Leak Detection and Repair” (LDAR) operation commonly in use in oil refineries and manufacturing plants on leaking valves and connections, a small sized vacuum connection and air intake valve, such as ⅜″ in diameter, can be used. On the other hand, if the operation is on a larger scale, such as in “tank blinding” or opening large pipes at flanged fittings, the vacuum port and air intake valve can be a larger size, such as 2″ in diameter to allow for connection to large vapor extraction and destruction systems such as an IC system, flares, etc. In each case, a restricting valve 109 may be applied to the air intake valve to regulate the intake air flow.
The flexible bag assembly or portions thereof can be made of a material that is transparent, or translucent in color. This can aid in allowing maintenance work to be performed through the bag access holes. Such a material can be selected from fabric, fluoropolymer such as Teflon PTFE, Teflon FEP, polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyvinyl chloride. The selection of the bag material depends on chemical composition and the thermal requirement of the media, as well as the manufacturing attributes of the material compounds. The bag material should not react with the hazardous material to be processed and should not deteriorate under the operating conditions.
The flexible bag assembly can be manufactured from polymeric film or fabric parts that are cut to flat patterns. These flat patterns can then be sewn, stitched together or joined with heat sealed seams into a clam-shell configuration with a closure system along the seam. The flexible bag assembly can be of various shapes and sizes suitable for each specific operation. For example, when the operation is on a connection with a leaking valve connected to two pipeline in two opposite side of valve, the flexible bag assembly can have two tubular sections for wrapping around the two pipelines, as shown in
The bag assembly can be used on various applications, such as to wrap around a leaking pipe flange, a leaking valve, or a bad pipe connection.
In one embodiment of the invention, the bag assembly further includes a collection container for collecting the hazardous media from the leaking container. When vacuum is used, the collecting container can be attached through the tubing that also connects the vacuum source to the bag assembly through the vacuum port. In one exemplary embodiment, a canister with adsorption media to capture volatile organic compounds is further attached to the bag assembly. Exemplary adsorption media includes carbon, resins or zeolites. The canister can be open to atmosphere on the outlet, opposite to the side where it is connected to the bag assembly.
In other embodiments of the invention, a portion of the bag assembly can further have a shape with funnel-shaped or bowl-shaped extensions 410 designed to aid in the collection and removal of certain solids and liquids. For example, in one embodiment as shown in
The bag assembly can be used in a system for environmental process containment. It can be used to arrest, contain and allow for the safe removal of hazardous solids, vapors and or liquids in the event of an equipment malfunction causing leakage or during cleaning or planned maintenance to preclude such leakage.
A process of using the bag assembly of the present invention to contain hazardous media from a container includes wrapping the flexible bag assembly around the container, with the tubular section wrapping around a pipeline connected to the container, and closing the bag with the closure system. In one embodiment, a vacuum source can be connected to a vacuum port of the bag. The bag, including the tubular section can be sealed around the container upon the application of negative pressure, due to the flexible nature of the bag.
Although limited embodiments of the flexible bag assembly for environmental process containment have been specifically described and illustrated herein, many modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, it is to be understood that flexible bag assemblies constructed according to principles of this invention may be embodied other than as specifically described herein. The invention is also defined in the following claims and equivalents thereof.
This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/605916, filed Mar. 2, 2012, entitled ENVIRONMENTAL PROCESS CONTAINMENT—Provisional Patent Description, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61605916 | Mar 2012 | US |