Last week I had dialogue with a potential customer who was stumped with a bulk bag problem.  The solution had nothing to do with bulk bag handling equipment; rather it had everything to do with the flexibility of bulk bags themselves.

This customer was faced with having to fill bulk bags with a sludge like material that contained over 20% moisture.  Needless to say, it easily bridged and ratholed.

Specifically, the customer's system was being designed to mechanically convey the product to a small surge hopper, which would in turn empty into a bulk bag.

The customer was searching for a way to ensure that the product would flow easily from the surge hopper into the bulk bag.  However, they had been unable to find a suitable solution to getting the sludge through the bulk bag inlet spout sized at the typical 14" diameter.

The answer required a paradigm shift.  That was: bulk bags do not have to have a spouted top.

As can be seen in the following diagram, bulk bags can be manufactured with many different top and bottom configurations.

In the case of this application the solution was to use the 'skirt top' design shown above - also commonly known as a duffle top bag.

This allowed the customer to design the surge hopper with an outlet large enough to prevent bridging and ratholing while still being able to get the product into the bag. 

All they had to do was open the duffle top to completely expose the inside of the bulk bag and let the sludge fall from the large opening in the bottom of the surge hopper.

Because the product was so heavily moisture laden dusting was not an issue. Therefore, there was no need to have the bulk bag inlet sealed to the surge hopper outlet.

Plus, the duffle top allows the bag top to be tied and closed securely preventing comtamination of the product and spills.

The customer was able to simply, easily and inexpensively solve their problem once they learned that - true to their name - Flexible Intermediate Bulk Containers or bulk bags can be designed to suit almost any bulk solids handling task - flexible indeed!