Container puncturing systems

Container puncturing. Good for plastics, metal and cardboard containers. Not suitable for glass. Schering Packman - not now commercially available. Some systems developed for US market. Relatively large system often not carried on the sprayer. Punctured containers rinsed ready for disposal. Can be used with all types of formulation but not part packs. 

Figure 4.2 A typical layout of a closed-transfer system using the container puncturing principle...

Preventing exposure to hazardous industrial chemicals is a primary concern at industrial sites. Most sites contain a variety of chemical substances in gaseous, liquid, or solid form. These substances can enter the unprotected body by inhalation, skin absorption, ingestion, or through a puncture wound (injection). A contaminant can cause damage at the point of contact or can act systemically, causing a toxic effect at a part of the body distant from the point of initial contact. 

PH electrodes from Crison, combination electrodes that contain a built-in temperature probe, a bridge electrolyte chamber and movable sleeve junction from Mettler, and combination pH puncture electrodes with spear-shaped tip from Mettler are some commercially available pH measurement systems for semisolid formulations. 

Aged and thickened mustard (9 tonnes) contained in nonexplosive ordnance items was destroyed following approval of the test bum results. Ordnance was punctured with small explosive perforating charges under cold conditions, sealed with adsorbent (vermiculite) in cardboard boxes and incinerated. The clean ordnance items were recovered from the ash discharge system and sold to a foundry for melting into recyclable metal. 

A consequence of puncture can be a release from the package containment system, but this would have a very low probability of occurrence. A stronger concern is that of damage to the thermal insulation capability of a package, which would result in unsatisfactory behaviour should a fire follow impact. 

A HS gas analysis method for the determination of volatile hydrocarbons in sealed containers was described by Loliger (1990). The experimental setup consists of a gas chromatograph equipped with a gas sampling valve, a vacuum pump and a manometer. The sampling system is evacuated to c. 1 mbar, the tin is punctured by a stainless steel plunger, the gas is left to reach equilibrium and a HS sample is subsequently transferred by means of the valve to a column packed with activated alumina. This system allows estimation of Ci-C6 hydrocarbons, which represents final and stable secondary oxidation products, and was applied to various food systems ranging from oils and emulsions to frozen meats and dehydrated cereals, potatoes and milk. 

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