Hazardous Waste Transport Container Liner and Process for Manufacturing Same

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates in general to plastic liners and processes for manufacturing same, and more particularly to processes for manufacturing liners for use in hazardous waste transport containers and processes for manufacturing same.

2. Prior Art

It is common practice today to transport hazardous waste such as a semi-solid material known as sludge in large rectangular steel containers known as Roll Up Boxes as well as large dump trailers. Unfortunately, there is a greater incident of faulty rubber seals used in these containers than desired which results in leaky containers. Another difficulty is the tendency of the sludge to stick to the containers during dumping of the sludge from the container. Thus, complete removal of the sludge from the containers has become a difficult, time consuming operation.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a liner for use with Roll Up Boxes and dump trailers to prevent leakage and sticking of sludge to the Roll Up Boxes and dump trailers.

Another object of the invention is to provide a process for manufacturing a liner for use with a hazardous waste container to prevent leakage from the container as well as sticking of the hazardous waste to the container during dumping.

Other objects and advantages of this invention shall become apparent from the ensuing description of the invention.

Accordingly, a process for manufacturing a hazardous waste container liner is provided comprising extruding a plastic sheet of pre-determined length, folding the extruded plastic sheet into a "W"-shaped cross-section and heat-sealing both ends of said sheet.

FIG. 1 illustrates an extruded plastic sheet which can be utilized in this invention.

FIGS. 2-5 illustrate a preferred sequence of steps to produce a liner of this invention.

FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional cutaway view of a preferred liner positioned in a Roll Up Box.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1 and 6 a plastic sheet 1 is extruded and cut along line W.sub.1, to produce a sheet having length L.sub.1, which is preferably at least one inch longer than the combined length L.sub.2 plus twice width W.sub.2 of the hazardous waste container 2.

It is preferred that the line W.sub.1, be a length at least equal to the width W.sub.2 of container 2 plus twice the depth H.sub.2 of container so that the liner formed as explained below will be longer and wider than the container and therefore fit flushly against container sides 3.

Turning now to FIGS. 2-5 a preferred sequence of steps for manufacturing a preferred liner is illustrated. In this embodiment sheet 1 is folded lengthwise down its centerline 4 to form equal sized halves 5 and 6 having a cross-section as seen in FIG. 3. Next each half sheet 5 and 6 is then folded lengthwise along lines L.sub.3 and L.sub.4, respectively, to form a "W" shaped cross-section as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. It is preferred that the width W.sub.3 of sheet 5 between lines L.sub.3 and 4 be equal to the width W.sub.4 of sheet 6 between lines L.sub.4 and 4. In a more preferred embodiment the sum of these two widths W.sub.3 and W.sub.4 should at least equal container width W.sub.2.

The folded sheet 1 is then compressed at each end and sealed at both ends by heat sealing or other conventional means. By sealing in this manner extra support and liner thickness is achieved at the ends of the liner 7. Since it is at this position that most pressure is applied during the transportation of the hazardous waste from container a liner of superior qualities has been produced.

In a more preferred embodiment as shown in FIG. 7 a plastic envelope 8 is extruded to form a verticle tube up to 40 feet or longer in circumference. Envelope 8 is then folded inward along opposite center lines 9 and 10 of the two sheets to be formed to form opposed folds indicated by dotted lines 11 and 12, respectively. The folded envelope is then cut into two sections along a plane perpendicular to a plane formed by centerlines 9 and 10 and the opposed folds as indicated by dotted lines 13 and 14. Both sections are then heat sealed at their top 15a and 15b, respectively and bottom 16a and 16b, respectively, to form the desired liners.

There are, of course, many alternate preferred embodiments not specifically illustrated but which are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined by the following claims: