DE8710974U1 - Device for the safe transport and storage of dangerous substances - Google Patents

Abstract

Integrated pallet/drum system as device for safe handling, transportation and storage of water and/or soil contaminating dangerous liquids. The pallet is provided with integrated side-walls (2) extending from the pallet base (4) upwardly and forming a basin for drums (6) positioned on the pallet base (4) wherein the side-walls (2) have such a height that the safety basin is capable of storing the entire content of the drums (6) in case of leakage. To allow stacking of the device corner posts (3) are provided, the upper ends thereof are connected to each other forming an open cage to receive the integrated drums (6) completely. This embodiment allows the stacking of the devices.

Description

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S Steel or plastic transport drums are widely used for transporting hazardous materials. They are manufactured in large quantities on an industrial scale and are relatively inexpensive. They have a relatively short lifespan and can be coated with numerous layers to make them resistant to chemical attack. Several such drums can be arranged on rectangular pallets for transport from one place to another and for handling by forklift trucks. In addition to numerous advantages, the familiar steel or plastic transport drums have some disadvantages. One of the main disadvantages of such drums is the manual handling that is often required. For example, drums are rolled or pushed and then aligned on a suitable pallet. This can be difficult with heavy, full drums, and similarly drums are often dropped from truck beds onto cushions and then rolled to the storage location. Such handling can damage the drum or the drum lining and lead to leaks. In the event of incomplete emptying, this will result in barrels with leaks being present at barrel storage sites, which may pose a danger and pollute the environment.

After use, drums are generally returned for further use, either alone or with shipping pallets. Generally, such drums must be individually cleaned or washed, rinsed and dried before reuse to avoid contamination of the future contents. Each of these steps

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is time-consuming and increases the cost of the products and creates the possibility of drum contamination, leaks and waste, which must be carefully treated due to its water-polluting properties, which can cause considerable costs. Any handling increases the risk of damage to drums or their lining, which can result in a defective or leaky drum. This is particularly critical for drums filled with solvents, acids, alkalis or other soil and/or water-polluting substances. Chlorinated solvents or other soil and water-polluting substances are considered particularly dangerous goods.

Safe transport* and storage systems are generally known.

The aim of the innovation is to create a device for the economical, safe handling, transport and storage of standard drums containing dangerous goods that can pollute soil and/or water, while avoiding the usual transfer to various intermediate containers.

This task is solved by a system that integrates the pallet and barrels and can be easily refilled by the original filler without intermediate cleaning.

The subject of the innovation is a device for the safe handling, transport and storage, in particular the intermediate storage of liquids that contaminate water and/or soil from a pallet forming an integrated system with barrels arranged thereon, which is characterized in that the pallet has integrated side walls that extend upwards from the pallet base and form a tray for the standard barrels arranged on the pallet base.

The transport pallet designed in accordance with the new design has molded-on protective side walls that protect the drums from mechanical damage and act as a tight safety catchment tray in the event of a leak with the pallet floor. Therefore, the height of the side walls is preferably so high that the volume of the tray is equal to or slightly larger than the internal volume of the drums arranged on the pallet. The capacity of the tray is in any case sufficient to safely hold the total contents of the drums. The

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This means that the upper edge of the tub is at least a few centimetres above the heightj which results in a tub volume that corresponds to the internal volume of the barrels. In many cases, however, it is sufficient* if the tub volume corresponds to the internal volume of the largest barrel arranged on the pallet, because the probability that all of the barrels will leak is lower than that of one barrel leaking.

To enable safe and space-saving stacking of the devices, preferably at the corners of the pallet within the

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Their upper ends can be connected to each other by connecting struts. To increase stability even further, crossing diagonal struts can be arranged between the ends of two reinforcement posts. The corner posts and the connecting struts form an open cage that surrounds the integrated barrels and is so high that its upper edge runs slightly above the upper edge of the barrels arranged standing on the pallet floor. The material thickness of the corner posts and struts as well as their profile is dimensioned so that the stability required for stacking the device is guaranteed.

On the top of the pallet floor, inside the tub, there can be a grating or slatted frame at a distance from the floor to ensure that the integrated drums are positioned above the tub.

&Idigr;.5 existing liquid residues. The liquid residues can also be rainwater if the device, for whatever reason, was exposed to precipitation outdoors. The pallet base is advantageously provided with an outlet valve which is arranged in the plane of the upper side of the pallet base in order to enable the collecting tray to be completely emptied. It is particularly advantageous to provide the pallet base on its upper side with a slight gradient towards a corner and to arrange the outlet valve at the lowest point on the upper side of the pallet base. This outlet valve is preferably designed as a downward-facing drain nozzle with an internal thread into which a closure is tightly screwed. The closure plug has a groove or a recess so that it can be removed with simple tools in order to be able to empty the contents of the collecting tray if necessary.

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The underside of the pallet base is designed in analogy to the well-known transport pallets in such a way that grooves or cavities or

. Recesses for the engagement of forks of stackers are provided on all sides. The square pallets preferably have a base area such that two or four drums can be arranged next to each other within the tub. The drums are preferably made of steel, although conventional corrugated drums can be used. However, it is also possible ⁱⁿ principle to integrate plastic drums into the device if they are made of materials that are corrosion-resistant. Examples of plastics are polyethylene, polypropylene, vinyl ester resins and the like. In order to make plastic drums impermeable to solvents, a sulfonation or fluorination treatment can be carried out.

In order to ensure safe emptying of the device and to prevent unwanted filling of the barrels after emptying, the integrated barrels preferably have a one-way valve and a ventilation bunghole with a closure. The one-way valve can be screwed into a second bunghole, usually both bungholes are arranged on the top of the standing barrels. The means for ventilating the barrel can also be designed as an integrated part of the extraction valve.

The pallet of the device according to the innovation is made of corrosion-resistant material, in particular it can be made of any material that is resistant to chlorinated hydrocarbons. These include stainless steel, reinforced plastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene or polyester resins. If the pallet is made of insufficiently corrosion-resistant or solvent-resistant material, the required corrosion resistance can be achieved by a suitably thick, durable, adhesive and impact-resistant coating of the insufficiently resistant material. The material is preferably selected in accordance with the intended hazardous filling material. It is particularly preferred to form the pallet, including the side walls, as a single piece.

The open cage prevents barrels from being manually removed from the device. Since the new design of the system only allows emptying via a suction* or pressure line and filling

If it is not possible to fill the tank without removing the sealed filler neck, the authorized filler can easily refill it with the same product, making the system safer and more economical. The economic efficiency is further increased by the fact that damaged barrels can always be replaced.

The innovation is now explained in more detail using the drawings, "gur 1 is a perspective view of the device, which has a pallet with four integrated barrels.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of two embodiments of the corner posts.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the device with a pallet and two integrated drums.
Figure 4 is a perspective view of a drum with a one-way valve and a bunghole on the top. Figure 5 is a section through a one-way dispensing valve. Figure 6 is a perspective view of the bunghole closure with means for venting.
Figure 7 is a cross-section through a suitable bunghole closure.

Figure 1 shows the innovative device consisting of a pallet with four integrated barrels 6 on the pallet floor, which has side walls 2 that are tightly connected to the pallet floor and corner posts 3 at each corner, the upper ends of which are connected to one another with connecting struts 7. To further improve stability, diagonal struts 8 that cross each other are attached between the corner posts on each side. In order to make the pallet floor visible on the inside of the tub, part of the side wall 2 is cut off on the front in Figure 1. A grate 5 is arranged on the pallet floor 4 inside the tub at a distance from the floor. A grate distance of 2 to 6 cm is usually sufficient to ensure that the barrels do not stand directly in any liquid residues that may be present in the tub.

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The pallet has two parallel grooves 9 on the underside of the pallet base 4, each extending between the outer edges at a distance of 1 m from one another, for the forks of a forklift truck to grip.

The material thickness and design of the pallet base and side walls is such that it can withstand the mechanical stresses of handling, transport, stacking and storage without damage.
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Figure 2 shows possible forms of the corner posts 3. The posts 3 can be an angle profile or have a triangular or round cross-section. In the case of angle profiles, it is advantageous to arrange triangular plates in the profiles for reinforcement. A preferred place for these reinforcing triangular plates is the upper end in order to form a platform for stacking the devices on top of each other. It is particularly advantageous if the triangular plates at the upper end of the corner posts 3 are provided with webs that protrude upwards on the outer edges and are attached in such a way that a platform is formed in the size or external dimensions of the pallet base, whereby the webs that protrude upwards on each corner post together form a square for receiving a second device arranged on it and increase stacking safety because the webs prevent the second device placed on top from slipping.

It is also possible to increase stacking safety by bending the outermost tips of triangular plates attached to the ends of the corner posts upwards, thus preventing a second device placed on top from slipping. Figure 3 shows an embodiment of the device made of a pallet provided with side walls 2, the base of which has conventional recesses 9 for handling by forklift trucks. The corner posts 3, together with the upper connecting struts 7 and the diagonal struts 8, form an open cage for accommodating two barrels 6.

Figure 4 shows one of the barrels 6 integrated into the device. It is usual to empty such barrels in a horizontal position through appropriately arranged bungholes. An advantage of the innovative design of the device is that the barrels 6 can be filled and emptied in an upright position, so that manual handling of individual barrels for emptying is avoided. Manual handling of individual barrels for emptying is not possible due to the integration of the barrels into the device and thus the risk of spilling hazardous substances is reduced. The integrated

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Barrels, preferably steel barrels, therefore have bungholes 10, 11 on the top. The bunghole 10, which is to be closed with a closure 12, is used to fill the barrel 6. The closure 12 for the filling bunghole 10 should only be removed for the purpose of refilling by the authorized filler and can therefore be provided with a seal for protection, which engages in eyelets on the closure and on the nozzle of the bunghole. To enable emptying, the closure 12, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, has several holes 13 for ventilating the barrel, which extend inwards from the upper part of the side wall of the closure plug provided with an external thread 14. The holes are continuous and angled. When the closure is completely screwed into the bunghole socket, the openings of the holes are located inside the bunghole socket and are closed by this, if necessary with a seal in between. For the purpose of ventilation, the closure is partially unscrewed from the bunghole so that the opening of the hole is free and a continuous connection to the inside of the barrel is created. The closure plug has one or more recesses on its top for the engagement of a tool with which the closure plug can be handled. To seal the bunghole 10, a conventional seal is arranged between the bunghole socket and the closure. The second bunghole 11 shown in Figure is used to empty the barrel and is therefore closed with a one-way discharge valve 15, as shown as an example in Figure 5. The valve that can be screwed into the bunghole socket has a closure head 16 with an external thread 14 for screwing into the bunghole socket. A riser pipe 18 that reaches to the bottom of the barrel extends through the closure head 16 and has a simple ball check valve 17 built into it to allow passage in only one direction for removal. The valve 17 has a ball that can move back and forth between a tight seat in the valve passage and a counter bearing.

In the upper end of the riser pipe 18 above the top of the barrel, a standard connection for extraction lines is formed, for example in the form of a thread 19, to which a closure cap is attached when not in use.

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Preferably, the closure of the bunghole 11 is secured against unauthorized removal using known and suitable means. The seals and the bunghole closures are made of corrosion-resistant material, in particular of a material resistant to chlorinated hydrocarbons. In order to empty the barrel, the contents are sucked out via the riser pipe. In principle, it is also possible to press the contents of the barrel out via the riser pipe 18 by applying pressure to the nozzle of the filling bunghole 10. The arrangement and design of two bungholes and the means described above for safely filling and emptying the barrels make it more difficult to use the device for its intended purpose and increase the safety of handling and transporting dangerous liquids.

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Reference symbols i i ste

2 side walls

3 corner posts

4 Pallet floor 5 Grate

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7 Connecting struts

8 diagonal braces

9 Grooves, recesses, cavities 10,11 Bung holes

12 Closure

13 holes

14 External thread of the closure 15 One-way dispensing valve

16 Bolt head

17 Ball check valve

18 Riser pipe

19 threads

Claims (1)

Patent Attorneys (2357) St/T Dr. Michael Hann
Dr. HG Sternagel
Sander Aue 30
5060 Bergisch-Gladbach 2 Applicant: The Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan, U.S.A. Device for the safe transport and storage of dangerous substances S ection claims 1) Device for the safe handling, transport and storage of water and/or other liquids that contaminate the air from pallets forming an integrated system with barrels arranged thereon, characterized in that the pallet has integrated side walls (2) extending upwards from the pallet base (4) which form a tray for the standard barrels (6) arranged on the pallet base (4), Z) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that two or four barrels (6) are arranged on the pallet. 3) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that an outlet valve for emptying the tub is arranged in the pallet base (4). 4) Device according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the height of the side walls (i\) is so high that the volume of the tub is equal to or greater than the internal volume of the drums (6) arranged on the pallet. - 2 5) Device according to claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the height of the side walls (2) is so high that the volume of the tub is equal to or greater than the internal volume of the largest barrel (6) arranged on the pallet. 6) Device according to claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the pallet and the side walls (2) are formed from a material resistant to chlorinated hydrocarbons. 7) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that at the corners of the pallet there are reinforcing corner posts (3) extending upwards inside the tub to above the upper edge of the barrels, the upper ends of which are connected to one another by connecting struts (7). 8) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that a grating or slatted frame (5) is arranged on the upper side of the pallet base (4) at a distance therefrom. 9) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the barrels (6) are made of steel or plastic. 10) Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the barrels (6) have on their upper side a one-way discharge valve (15) and a ventilation/filling bung hole (10) provided with a closure (12). 11) Device according to claim 10 > characterized in that means (13) for ventilating the barrels are integrated into the extraction valve (15). I t t Il IfIIf It* * I I Il It *■ » III tilt» it * #