WO2016116651A1

WO2016116651A1 - Container for hazardous liquid chemical products

Info

Publication number: WO2016116651A1
Application number: PCT/ES2016/070028
Authority: WO
Inventors: Juan Antonio Matachana Aramburu; Esther Giner Sanz; Noemí LLOSES MELÉ
Original assignee: Antonio Matachana S.A.
Priority date: 2015-01-21
Filing date: 2016-01-21
Publication date: 2016-07-28
Also published as: ES2545554A1; ES2545554B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a container for liquid chemical products that are hazardous to users. The container (1) comprises an inner chamber (2) and a pipe (4) which provides access to the inner chamber (2), is equipped with an outer mouth (6) and an inner mouth (8), and projects into the chamber (2). The container (1) is designed such that when the chamber (2) contains a volume (V) of liquid chemical product and the level of this liquid chemical product is below the inner mouth (8) when the container (1) is positioned with the pipe (4) projecting vertically upwards, no liquid product will ever be discharged through the pipe (4) regardless of the position adopted by the container (1). In addition, the access pipe (4) is covered by a hydrophobic, semi-permeable membrane (10).

Description

CONTAINER FOR LIQUID AND DANGEROUS CHEMICALS

DESCRIPTION

Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a container for liquid and hazardous chemicals for a user comprising an inner chamber.

State of the art

In industries such as chemical, pharmaceutical or medical, it is common to work with liquid chemicals that can be dangerous if they come into contact with the skin or mucous membranes of a user.

A non-limiting example of this problem occurs in the case of sterilization chambers of medical utensils. These sterilization chambers use consumable hydrogen peroxide cartridges that must be handled by the personnel operating the chamber. Hydrogen peroxide is an example of a dangerous liquid product in the context of the invention. Hydrogen peroxide is a powerful oxidant, highly reactive and unstable and slowly decomposes into oxygen and water with heat release. Its decomposition rate can increase greatly in the presence of catalysts or in case of exposure to heat and light, producing violent decomposition giving off large amounts of oxygen. In this case, the cartridge could burst with the consequent risk of burns or inhalation for the personnel handling the container, as well as danger of fire in case of contact with oxidising materials. In addition, peroxide is harmful both if inhaled and ingested. Finally, this liquid can cause severe burns if it comes into contact with the skin. However, despite the problem set forth here for the non-limiting example of hydrogen peroxide, there are a large number of liquid chemicals to which the container described below can be applied since they present similar problems.

Therefore, there is a clear need to have containers suitable for transporting these types of chemicals that minimize the risk of damage to the personnel handling them.

Summary of the invention

The purpose of the invention is to provide a container for liquid and hazardous chemical products of the type indicated at the beginning that maximizes the safety for the user who must handle them and in which, despite facilitating container handling, any risk of direct contact with the liquid

This purpose is achieved by means of a container for liquid and dangerous chemical products, characterized in that it also comprises an access duct to said inner chamber comprising an outer mouth and an inner mouth and protruding into said chamber, said container being configured as such that when said chamber contains a volume of liquid chemical such that the container supported with said conduit in an upright vertical position facing upward without the level of said liquid chemical exceeding said inner mouth, in any position adopted by said container never arrives said liquid chemical going out through said conduit, and because said access conduit is covered by a hydrophobic and semipermeable membrane.

In the invention, the concept of liquid and hazardous chemicals includes any chemical in the liquid state at room temperature that may present a risk of explosion, release relevant amounts of oxygen causing the above-mentioned problem or emitting harmful gases to humans if they accumulate in large quantities that are suddenly released or that is liable to cause an important mishap if the liquid comes into contact with the user's skin or mucous membranes. There are many products of this type, such as hydrogen peroxide, acids such as sulfuric acid, or others.

For example, applied to the non-limiting case of hydrogen peroxide, thanks to the container according to the invention it is possible to release the oxygen that is released in small quantities by the natural decomposition of the peroxide. In case of adverse storage and transport conditions (high temperatures, exposure to sunlight, etc.), oxygen could be produced in very high quantities.

This type of container has multiple advantages. First of all, it is always closed, so that the user can never come into direct contact with the liquid chemical. In any position that the container adopts, the liquid can never escape through the conduit. The height of the duct and the inner volume of the container are calculated so that regardless of its position the inner liquid never spills.

On the other hand, the membrane offers an additional level of security. In fact, the membrane does not have as its main objective to prevent the outflow of liquid, but it allows to reduce in a controlled way the pressure produced inside the chamber by the natural decomposition of the product. On the other hand, in case the container is stored incorrectly or is exposed to heat for many hours, the membrane would be responsible for reducing the overpressure and avoiding the risk of the container bursting. Also, in case of improper handling of the container, for example if it is agitated, the membrane prevents the eventual release of chemical. Finally, the membrane, being hydrophobic, is also responsible for preventing the entry of liquids from the outside that could react with the chemical contained inside the container according to the invention. Depending on the situation, the entry of liquid products from outside the container could cause unexpected and possibly dangerous chemical reactions. Furthermore, the invention encompasses a series of preferred features that are the subject of the dependent claims and whose usefulness will be highlighted later in the detailed description of an embodiment of the invention.

In an embodiment that seeks to improve the stability of the container, the chamber is delimited by a first end of which said duct and a second end, facing each other, the first and second ends being configured to provide stable support on a flat surface. .

Another problem posed by the invention is to achieve maximum use of liquid contained in its interior in a simple way. To this end, preferably the second end has an internally concave area, whose lowest point faces the center of the inner mouth of the duct.

In another embodiment, the access duct is progressively narrowed continuously between said outer mouth and said inner mouth and particularly preferably has a flared shape, which facilitates the centering of an access needle inside the container.

Particularly preferably, the conduit comprises a recess that defines a step, and the membrane is placed sealing the conduit tightly over the step. This improves the safety of the container, since it minimizes the risk that the membrane can be damaged due to chafing or that can be detached from the duct, since it is protected with the step.

In another preferred embodiment, the membrane has a thickness between 250 and 600 μηι (microns).

Likewise, the invention also encompasses other detail features illustrated in the detailed description of an embodiment of the invention and in the accompanying figures. Brief description of the drawings

Other advantages and features of the invention can be seen from the following description, in which, without any limitation, preferred embodiments of the invention are mentioned, mentioning the accompanying drawings. The figures show:

Fig. 1, a schematic front view of the container according to the invention in an upright position.

Fig. 2, a view of the container of figure 1 in an inverted position in 180 ^e .

Fig. 3, a view of the container of figure 1, lying on one side.

Fig. 4, a schematic front view at the moment the container is perforated to aspirate its contents.

Detailed description of embodiments of the invention

Figures 1 to 3 show container 1 for liquid and hazardous chemicals for a user in different positions.

The container 1 delimits with its walls an inner chamber 2 intended to contain the volume V of liquid product. The cross section of the container 1 can be any, such as cylindrical, polygonal, square, oval or the like.

The container 1 has the access duct 4, which is gradually narrowed continuously between the outer mouth 6 and the inner mouth 8. In this case, the duct 4 is flared, and in particular of a conical shape, which allows access to the inside of the chamber 2. More preferably, the duct 4 has a conicity α of between 1 and 3 ^and ^e. To do this, the conduit 4 has an outer mouth 6 corresponding to the end of the conduit 4 protruding from the wall of the container 1, and an inner mouth 8 that flows into the chamber 2.

As can be seen from the comparison of the three figures 1 to 3, the container 1 has a volume and duct height 4 sized to receive a maximum volume V of liquid chemical. This maximum volume V is defined as the volume occupied by the liquid chemical when, by placing the conduit in a vertical direction, and the outer mouth 6 is below the inner mouth 8, the level of chemical does not exceed the height of the inner mouth 8. This situation corresponds to that shown in figure 2.

Thus, when the container 1 contains this volume V of chemical regardless of the position taken by the container 1, the liquid never comes out through the conduit 4.

On the other hand, and as an additional safety measure, container 1 has a hydrophobic and semipermeable membrane 10. In order to protect the membrane 10, the conduit 4 comprises a recess 16 defining a step 18. Thus, once the container 1 is full of product, the membrane 10 is heat sealed on the step 18 sealing the conduit 4 watertight form Alternatively, the membrane could be fixed on step 18 in any other timely manner, such as by pressure adhesive. Preferably, step 18 is close to the outer mouth 6 to facilitate assembly.

In a preferred embodiment, the membrane 10 has a thickness between 250 and 600 μηι (microns). Particularly preferably, in an optimized embodiment for a container 1 intended to contain hydrogen peroxide, the membrane 10 has a thickness of 440 μηι. For other types of chemical the appropriate thickness may be another.

In this embodiment, the membrane 10 allows an air flow greater than 21.2 l / h (liters / hour) with a pressure differential of ΔΡ = 70 mbar (millibar) between the inner chamber 2 and the environment, which is located At atmospheric pressure Thanks to this characteristic, rapid pressure equalization is achieved inside the container so that the risk of explosion is eliminated. At the same time, this characteristic allows to avoid leaks of product towards the outside in case the membrane is moistened with product, as well as the penetration of other fluids in case the outer face is moistened. The entry of other fluids could be especially dangerous, since these could react with the chemical contained in the container according to the invention.

The container 1 could have any external shape, provided that the aforementioned condition is fulfilled in relation to the filling volume V, with respect to the height of the conduit 4 and the cross section of the container 1. However, in order to improve the stability of the container 1 in this embodiment it is provided that the chamber 2 is delimited by a first flat end 20 from which the conduit 4 protrudes inwards. Faced with this first end 20, a second end 22 is provided in the form of a cylindrical perimeter wall. In this case, the second end 22 is not intended to be flat. However, both the first and second ends 20, 22 provide stable support on a flat surface. As can be seen in Figures 1 and 2, this ensures that the chemical cannot leave chamber 2.

On the other hand, at the second end, the container 1 has a concave zone 12 on the inside of the chamber 2. The objective of this concave zone 12 is to collect all the chemical at its lowest point 14 to facilitate its extraction.

In particular, this container 1 is among other possible applications, suitable as a consumable cartridge of hydrogen peroxide for a sterilization chamber of medical devices. Thus, in this type of sterilization chamber a needle 24 is provided to access the chemical, so that the operator in charge of handling the equipment cannot come into contact with the chemical.

As can be seen in figure 4, the operator places the container 1 in the machine and the needle 24 progressively descends and pierces the membrane 10 provided in the outer mouth 6. Thanks to the conicity of the conduit 4 the needle 24 is guided inwards of the chamber 2. The needle 24 is aligned with the lowest point 14 of the concave zone 12 which faces the center of the inner mouth 8 of the conduit 4. Thanks to this, the chemical can be aspirated with a needle 24 which drills the membrane 10 and penetrates to the vicinity of the base of the container 1 to be able to aspirate practically the entire volume V of chemical. Also thanks to this system, the operator responsible for the operation of the sterilization chamber is prevented from coming into direct contact with hydrogen peroxide, thus increasing the safety of use.

As the person skilled in the art will understand, the container 1 according to the invention has application for any liquid chemical that is dangerous to handle.

Claims

one . - Container (1) for liquid and hazardous chemicals for a user that comprises an inner chamber (2), characterized in that it also comprises

[a] a conduit (4) for accessing said inner chamber (2) comprising an outer mouth (6) and an inner mouth (8) and protruding into said chamber (2),

[b] said container (1) being configured such that when said chamber (2) contains a volume (V) of liquid chemical such that the container (1) is supported with said conduit (4) in an upwardly upright vertical position without the level of said liquid chemical exceeding said inner mouth (8), in any position adopted by said container (1) said liquid chemical never comes out of said conduit (4), and because

[c] said access conduit (4) is covered by a hydrophobic and semipermeable membrane (10).

2. - Container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said chamber (2) is delimited by a first end (20) from which said duct (4) and a second end (22) protrude, facing each other, being said first and second ends (20, 22) configured to provide stable support on a flat surface.

3. - Container (1) according to claim 2, characterized in that said second end has an internally concave area (12), whose lowest point (14) faces the center of said inner mouth (8) of said duct (4) ).

4. - Container (1) according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said access duct (4) is progressively narrowed continuously between said outer mouth (6) and said inner mouth (8).

5. - Container (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that said access duct (4) has a flared shape.

6. - Container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that said duct (4) comprises a recess (16) defining a step (18), and that said membrane (10) is placed by sealing said conduit (4) tightly over said step.

7. - Container (1) according to any of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that said membrane (10) has a thickness between 250 and 600 μηι.