4 Reasons Why Improper Venting Solutions Can Be Harmful to Your Business

Venting solutions are critical to the safety of various industrial and medical systems they are used in. These vents do everything from equalizing the pressure to avert batteries from exploding to preventing the ingress of contaminants that can damage the system.

Vents also act as a safety mechanism by ensuring that toxic gases do not accumulate and dissipate thermal energy to prevent runaway events. However, what happens if proper venting is neglected? Will there be safety hazards, or are there worse consequences than that? 

In this blog, let us explore the role of packaging vents and the consequences of recognizing their importance! 

 

Safety Hazards of Faulty Venting Solutions

The first consequence of failing to install proper venting systems is the myriad of safety hazards. The gravity of these hazards varies based on the scenarios they are used in.

For instance, in the case of chemical storage systems, improper venting will prevent vapors or toxic fumes from escaping into the atmosphere. This gas accumulation can cause explosions and sometimes result in fires.

In addition, faulty or ineffectual vents fail to equalize the pressure, which reduces the packaging performance of containers, resulting in leakages. If the chemical contents are toxic or corrosive, they might burn the skin upon contact, cause various respiratory diseases or sometimes even result in death.

When considering a battery safety vent, failure to equalize the pressure will cause swelling of the battery case. Thermal energy will start increasing, triggering a cascade of reactions resulting in an explosion or a thermal runaway event. The result is extensive injuries or even significant loss of personnel lives.

Additionally, during operation, batteries produce a series of gases such as carbon dioxide, ethane and hydrogen, and without an effective venting solution to allow these gases to dissipate, they will quickly accumulate and lead to explosions.

For example,  the Boeing 787 Dreamliner Battery failure created a major sensation and even led to the plane being grounded. However, it could have been avoided if proper venting solutions were implemented! 

Finally, consider the medical field, where a sterile environment is the topmost priority. If the venting solutions are futile, the vents will fail to prevent pathogens from entering the environment or the equipment.

Thus, the pathogens will cause contamination and expose injured or sick patients to an array of deadly diseases, which may even cost them their lives!

 

Product Wastage: The Cost of Compromised Venting

Proper venting ensures that pressure is equalized at all times, reducing the system’s load. However, with inadequate venting, fluctuating environmental conditions heavily influence the pressure differential, creating extra load on systems.

Systems like chemical storage containers undergo deformation due to this stress, which might create ruptures and leakages. Therefore, there is product wastage, and it might be too late when the operators realize that leakages have occurred.

Additionally, foreign contaminants may sometimes ingress and react with the chemical contents, which might alter their inherent properties, making them unfit for usage. This is predominantly evident in the medical field, where blood and other fluids are injected into the patient’s body. 

If any contaminants come in contact with the fluids, the sterility is compromised, thus making these fluids unfit for being administered to the patients.

The net result is that the inventory is then discarded, which is not only a waste of the product but also the financial resources.

 

Financial Repercussions of Venting Solutions’ Failures

A simple leak or product wastage can have a catastrophic effect on the global economy due to a series of cascading events. The financial repercussions of improper venting are discussed below:

1. Loss of Product – In industries such as pharmaceutical industries, contaminated products are discarded, and the losses that occur due to this can be substantial. If the final products are discarded, financial losses occur both in terms of the potential revenue loss and the costs incurred in procuring or manufacturing the product.
2. Liability and Property Damage Expenses – If a pressure release valve fails to work properly, battery systems or chemical storage containers might explode and trigger thermal runaway events. The fires may cause havoc and extensive property damage. This property loss causes a lot of financial strain, not to mention how these events may precipitate costly legal battles and compensation.
3. Repair Expenses – In the case of sensitive electronic components, improper venting might result in the failure to prevent moisture or contaminants from entering the system. The sensitive electronic components might get rusted or clogged due to the particulate matter. Hence, a lot of financial resources go into repairing or replacing these components.
4. Regulatory Expenses – In the event of an accident, the laid protocols and regulatory guidelines are breached, which may invite hefty penalties.

With a loss of revenue on one side and additional expenses on the other side, businesses will experience a steep decline in their cash, and hence, their liquidity will decrease. This means that they may not be able to pursue new opportunities due to the financial troubles they are experiencing. 

In addition, if the cash burn due to various expenses incurred causes a fund shortage, the day-to-day operations may get affected or even halted, which results in a domino effect of revenue loss.

Lastly, with the damages sustained by the company, its image may get tarnished, which might put off potential investors and hence cut down a source of funding.

If the product is an intermediate product required in the production of other goods, all the dependent industries will be affected due to shortage, resulting in a local or global economic crisis.

 

Compromised Brand Reputation and Loss of Customer Trust 

For a brand or company to be successful, its brand reputation and the trust customers place in it are paramount. However, accidents that take place with what started as the installation of ineffective or incompatible venting solutions can have devastating effects on the brand image.

For example, let’s consider brand Y, which is renowned for its high-quality batteries; however, due to some changes, the battery vent systems installed were incompetent. This may cause batteries to overheat and explode. 

Even if 1 out of 100 batteries explode, customers would become distrustful because, per Murphy’s law, “If it can go wrong, it will go wrong.” Therefore, if one battery can explode, others can also explode.

 

Porous PTFE Vents: The Right Venting Solutions

Choosing the right venting solutions, like those offered by PorVent®, can mitigate these risks and consequences. With the advent of PTFE vents, all the challenges associated with traditional venting solutions are overcome.

With their selectively permeable and porous nature, these vents allow the bidirectional flow of air while preventing the inner contents from escaping. In addition, these vents act as excellent barriers against foreign particulate matter.

Finally, since these vents are porous, the thermal energy is dissipated quickly; hence, pressure equalization occurs continuously. This way, the system’s integrity is maintained throughout its life.

 

Conclusion

Prevention is always better than cure, and there is no better prevention than using PTFE vents. They are dynamic and flexible in nature, which makes their installation a hassle-free process. By utilizing these vents, you can ensure that the systems are in excellent condition.

By preventing contamination, leakages, and accumulation of gases, companies can ensure that they do not have to suffer any financial losses or reputation damage. A simple and compact vent can save all the trouble and overcome all of the challenges discussed in the blog. If you are intrigued and want to explore the role of these vents further, head out to the PorVent® website!