Guardian™ Bulk Container Liners Perform in Sub-Zero Temperatures

1/18/2011

Alpharetta, GA January 18, 2011

Snowball Earth is what climate researchers call a period in Earths history that occurred approximately 600 million years ago when the planet may have been covered in ice from the poles to the equator.

Dr. Bonnie Light is a Physicist IV and Affiliate Assistant Professor who is currently working on a project to study one aspect of the physics of sea ice pertinent to Snowball Earth. Her objective is to investigate the interactions between solar radiation and sea ice.

To create a Snowball Earth ocean in the laboratory, Dr. Light manufactures sea ice in a 330 gallon Bonar™ tote with a form fit Guardian™ IBC liner in her walk–in freezer laboratory. The sea ice is cooled down to around -23°C for most measurements, but can go down as low as -30°C. The container and liner need to be able to withstand the extremes of this manufactured environment for the duration of the experiment. A batch of sea ice could be used for experiments for a year or longer before the lined intermediate bulk container is drained and refilled for the next project. At the lower temperatures created in the laboratory the salt crystals begin to precipitate in the sea ice making the surface much brighter which increases the amount of solar radiation reflected back up into space, thereby allowing the earth’s surface to cool further.

Per Brian Todd, Production Coordinator at Grayling Industries; “Typically Guardian™ form fit IBC liners are used for handling bulk food and other high value products in typical industrial environments. It is gratifying to know that our liners will perform even when packaging sea water at 22 degrees below zero for up to a year in an extreme Snowball Earth type of environment”.