Flexible intermediate bulk container

A flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC), jumbo bag, bulk bag, dumpy bag, super sack or a big 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.{{cite patent|country=US|number=6062732|title=Flexible intermediate bulk container|pubdate=2000-05-16|assign1=Intertape Polymer Group|inventor1-last=Scott|inventor1-first=Ray}}{{cite patent|country=US|number=5244280|title=Flexible intermediate bulk containers|pubdate=1993-09-14|assign1=Megasack Corp.|inventor1-last=Porter|inventor1-first=Clavin M.|inventor2-last=Pierce|inventor2-first=Jack D.|inventor3-last=Cawyer|inventor3-first=Sidney|inventor4-last=Talbot|inventor4-first=Colin L.}}{{cite patent|country=US|number=5556205|title=Flexible, intermediate bulk container|pubdate=1996-09-17|assign1=Nampack Products Ltd.|inventor1-last=Gallie|inventor1-first=Ian G.|inventor2-last=Thorpe|inventor2-first=John R.}}

FIBCs are most often made of thick woven strands of oriented polypropylene,{{cite journal

| last =KOVÁČIK

| first =M

| title =Measuring of Mechanical Properties of Flexible Container Fabric

| journal =VSB, Technical University of Ostrava, Mechanical Series

| volume =LXIV

| pages = 19–25

| date =2018

| doi =10.22223/tr.2018-1/2040

| s2cid =126133714

| url =https://dspace.vsb.cz/bitstream/handle/10084/133560/2040.pdf?sequence=1

| accessdate =7 June 2021}} either coated or uncoated, and normally measure around {{convert|45|–|48|in|cm|0}} in diameter and varies in height from {{convert|100|to|200|cm|in|abbr=in}}. Its capacity is normally around {{convert|1000|kg|lb|abbr=on|disp=or}}, but the larger units can store even more. A FIBC designed to transport {{convert|1|t|spell=in|sp=us}} of material will itself only weigh {{convert|5|-|7|lb|kg|abbr=on}}.

Transporting and loading is done on either pallets or by lifting it from the loops. Bags are made with either one, two, or four lifting loops. The single loop bag is suitable for one-man operation as there is no need for a second man to put the loops on the loader hook. The bags are emptied via a special opening in the bottom such as a discharge spout, of which there are several options, or by cutting it open.

History

Although there is disagreement on exactly where FIBCs were first made and used, it is certain that they have been employed for a variety of packaging purposes since the 1940s. These forerunners of the FIBC as we know it today were manufactured from PVC rubber and generally utilized within the rubber industry for the transportation of carbon black to be used as a reinforcing agent in a variety of rubber products.

By the 1960s, with the development of polypropylene combined with advances in weaving, the bulk bags as we know them today came into being and were rapidly adopted by a wide variety of oil and chemical companies to store and transport powdered and granular products.

It was during the oil crisis of the mid-1970s that the FIBC really came into its own for transporting huge quantities of cement to the Middle East from across Europe for the rapid expansion of the oil producing countries. At its zenith, upwards of {{convert|50,000|t|sp=us}} of cement was being shipped out on a weekly basis to feed the vast building program.

The modern FIBC transports a growing figure of over {{convert|250,000,000|t|sigfig=3|sp=us}} of product each year and is used to handle, store and move products as varied as cereals to powdered chemicals and flour to animal feeds. With a capacity of up to {{convert|3|m3|cuyd|abbr=on}} and load capability ranging from {{convert|0.5|to|2|t|sp=us}} FIBCs are highly cost effective, easily recyclable{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} and ideal for virtually any free-flowing granule, powder, pellet or flake. FIBCs are also being developed to hold and filter fluid products.

Flexible intermediate bulk container

History

See also

References

Further reading