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EP-4741152-A1 - SEALABLE POLYPROPYLENE FIBC AND FIBC PARTS

EP4741152A1EP 4741152 A1EP4741152 A1EP 4741152A1EP-4741152-A1

Abstract

Sealable fabric (1) for a flexible intermedia bulk container (FIBC) for receiving bulk material comprising a woven fabric (10) comprising polypropylene, a coating (20) comprising polypropylene and a sealable film (30) comprising sealable polypropylene, particularly sealable polypropylene resin.

Inventors

  • DOGAN, AFSIN

Assignees

  • FPS Investments B.V.

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20241107

Claims (15)

  1. Sealable fabric (1) for a flexible intermedia bulk container (FIBC) for receiving bulk material comprising: a woven fabric (10) comprising polypropylene, a coating (20) comprising polypropylene, and a sealable film (30) comprising sealable polypropylene, particularly sealable polypropylene resin.
  2. Sealable fabric (1) according to claim 1, wherein the woven fabric (10) further comprises: sealable polypropylene, particularly sealable polypropylene resin, and/or colorant, and/or protective additives.
  3. Sealable fabric (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the woven fabric (10) has a weight of 40 g/m 2 - 300 g/m 2 , in particular 55 g/m 2 - 250 g/m 2 , preferably 75 g/m 2 - 235 g/m 2 .
  4. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coating (20) further comprises: sealable polypropylene, particularly sealable polypropylene resin, and/or polyethylene, in particular linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE).
  5. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the coating (20) has a weight of 15 g/m 2 - 35 g/m 2 , in particular 20 g/m 2 - 30 g/m 2 .
  6. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealable film (30) further comprises: polyethylene, in particular linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE) and/or low-density polyethylene (LD-PE), and/or low fluidity polypropylene heterophasic copolymer, and/or tie material.
  7. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealable film (30) comprises at least one first layer (31) and/or at least one second layer (33) and/or at least one third layer (32).
  8. Sealable fabric (1) according to claim 7, wherein the first layer (31) of the sealable film (30) comprises at least 80 %, preferably at least 90 %, most preferably at least 98 %, sealable polypropylene.
  9. Sealable fabric (1) according to claim 6 and claim 7 or 8, wherein the second layer (33) comprises the polyethylene.
  10. Sealable fabric (1) according to claims 7-9, wherein the first layer (31) and the second layer (33) are attached to each other by the third layer (32).
  11. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealable film (30) is a coextruded film.
  12. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealable film (30) is produced by a multilayer blown film method, in particular by a multilayer blown film coextrusion method.
  13. Sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sealable film (30) has a thickness of 30 µm - 160 µm, in particular of 30 µm - 75 µm, preferably of 35 µm - 45 µm.
  14. Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container (FIBC) (3, 4) for receiving bulk material comprising at least one sheet of sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims forming a leak-proof seamless usable space having at least one body fabric (7) and/or a bottom element (6) and/or a top element (9), preferably wherein sealing areas (4) of the at least one sheet of sealable fabric (1) are sealed together.
  15. Method of manufacturing a Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container (FIBC) (3, 4) for receiving bulk material comprising providing at least one sheet of sealable fabric (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the FIBC is formed by sealing the at least one fabric (1) forming a leak-proof seamless usable space having at least one body fabric (7) and a bottom element (6), preferably wherein sealing areas (4) of the at least one sheet of sealable fabric (1) are sealed together.

Description

The present invention relates to a sealable fabric and a Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container (FIBC) made of a sealable fabric. A flexible intermedia bulk container (FIBC) or big bag is an industrial container made of flexible fabric designed for storing and transporting dry and/or flowable products e.g. sand, fertilizer or granules. A FIBC usually has a filling volume of about 1000 l - 1300 l and can be filled with approximately 1000 kg - 1500 kg. A FIBC or big bag comprises a plurality of woven fabrics made of polypropylene. Such woven polypropylene fabrics comprise a high strength and are chemically inert. During manufacturing of a FIBC or a big bag the woven polypropylene fabrics are usually sewed together. However, the sewing reduces the strength of the woven polypropylene fabrics through the needle punctures and thus damaging of the fabric. In addition, sewing can result in leakage problems, contamination problems and is usually a time consuming, e.g. manual, process. A FIBC or big bag usually comprises an inner liner, e.g. comprising low density polyethylene (LDPE), to protect the filling product. The inner liner is typically fixed to the FIBC or big bag by adhesives or by using adhesive tapes. Depending on the filling conditions of the FIBC, the fixation of the inner liner can be separated and/or the handling the FIBC with the inner liner can be more difficult compared to a FIBC without an inner liner. US 2014/0363106 A1 teaches an alternative method for producing a flexible polypropylene fabric wherein the polypropylene fabrics comprise a coated and an uncoated side. During manufacturing, the coated sides of two polypropylene fabrics are joined together by applying heat to the polypropylene fabrics. It is an object of the invention to provide a sealable fabric for a FIBC having increased properties for manufacturing a FIBC and reducing contamination and leakage risks. The problem is solved by a sealable fabric according to claim 1 and a Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container (FIBC) according to claim 14. According to the invention, a sealable fabric for a flexible intermediate bulk container (FIBC) or big bag for receiving bulk material is provided. The sealable fabric comprises a woven fabric comprising polypropylene, in particular additionally sealable polypropylene, a coating comprising polypropylene, in particular additionally sealable polypropylene, and a sealable film comprising a sealable polypropylene, in particular sealable polypropylene resin. Hence, the sealable fabric is particularly formed by different layers, a first layer comprising the woven fabric, a second layer comprising the coating and a third layer comprising the sealable film. Preferably, the coating is provided between the woven fabric and the sealable film to bond the woven fabric and the sealable film. The sealable film provides the effect that the sealable fabric can be sealed to another sealable fabric by means of a sealing technology. The sealable fabrics can in particular be sealed by applying heat to a sealing area of the sealable fabrics. Hence, a sewing operation can be eliminated. Due to the sealing process, the sealable fabric is not damaged providing a high strength of the joined sealable fabrics. Additionally, the main component of the sealable fabric is polypropylene. Hence, the whole sealable fabric can easily be recycled providing a high degree of sustainability. Particularly, the woven fabric is the load-bearing layer of the sealable fabric. A sealable structure and/or material, in particular PP and/or PE, is in particular a structure/ material which can be sealed by applying a temperature of at least the melting point of the material, preferably plus at least 10 °C, further preferably plus at least 20 °C, and/or by applying a temperature of at least 80 °C, optionally at least 100 °C, further optionally at least 140 °C, further optionally at least 160 °C, further optionally at least 200 °C and/or less than 300 °C, optionally less than 200 °C. Most preferably, a temperature in a range between 100 °C - 200 °C is used for sealing. The woven fabric is particularly manufactured of warp and weft yarns. In an embodiment the woven fabric, in particular the yarns of the woven fabric, further comprises a sealable polypropylene, in particular sealable polypropylene resin, and/or colorant and/or protective additives. Due to the sealable polypropylene, the bonding strength between the different layers of the sealable fabric can be increased during the sealing process. The protective additives can comprise protection against ultraviolet (UV) radiation and/or against splitting of the woven fabric. The anti-splitting additives in particular comprise calcium carbonate. Hence, the lifetime of the sealable fabric is increased. Preferably, the woven fabric, in particular the yarn of the woven fabric, does not comprise polyethylene (PE). In particular, the woven fabric, particularly the yarn of the woven fabric, comprises the foll