A tank on a firefighting aircraft initially is loaded with water. A polymer gel emulsion vessel is provided but gel emulsion is not activated and mixed with water in the tank until such polymer gel preparation is initiated by an operator. When initiated, a pump pulls water from the tank and returns water back to the tank with a dose of gel emulsion supplied therein. Double elbows and/or the pump impeller fully activates the polymer gel. The activated polymer gel is mixed within the tank by one of a variety of systems including sparging with air, routing of return water from the pump through nozzles and providing a baffle for generating circulatory mixing flow within the tank, or utilizing a mixer element which moves dynamically within the tank. Hydrodynamic forces associated with the aircraft passing over a body of water can power dosing of the water with polymer gel emulsion.

A container system includes a bag comprised of one or more sheets of flexible polymeric material, the bag having an interior surface at least partially bounding a chamber, the chamber being adapted to hold a fluid. A flexible sparging sheet is secured to the interior surface of the bag so that a compartment is formed between the interior surface of the bag and the sparging sheet, at least a portion of the sparging sheet allowing gas to pass therethrough. A tubular port or tube is secured to the bag so that a passage bounded by the tubular port or tube communicates with the compartment. A mixing element is disposed within the chamber of the bag, the mixing element being spaced apart from the flexible sparging sheet.

Apparatus and method for mixing a tank containing a fluid with a gas, wherein the gas is fired with a periodic intensity and duration through the employment of a gas container containing an inverted siphon, with one end contained in the container and the other end extending into a fluid.

The present invention is directed to a continuous fluid sample processing device for producing individually processed fluid samples and a method for producing individually processed fluid samples. Moreover, the invention also relates to the use of the device in corresponding methods, in particular in a method for continuously mixing, incubating and analyzing a fluid sample by flow cytometry.

A microfluidic chip can comprise a body defining a microfluidic network having one or more inlet ports, a test volume, and one or more flow paths extending between the inlet port(s) and the test volume. Along each of the flow path(s), fluid can flow from one of the inlet port(s), through at least one droplet-generating region in which a minimum cross-sectional area of the flow path increases along the flow path, and to the test volume. The network can include a gutter disposed along at least a portion of the test volume's periphery. The gutter can have a depth along a trough that is at least 10% larger than the depth of the test volume at the periphery and a depth along a ridge disposed between the trough and the test volume that is less than the depth of the test volume at the periphery.

A flexible tank (10, 110) for transporting fluids in a transportation container (12) is described, the flexible tank (10, 110) defining a tank (10) volume for containing a fluid. The flexible tank (10, 110) comprises at least one mixing member (146, 46) enclosing a fluid pathway (160, 60) extending across an interior surface (144, 44) of the flexible tank (10, 110), the flexible tank (10, 110) further comprising at least one inlet valve (140, 40) configured to allow the passage of fluid from outside said flexible tank (10, 110) into said fluid pathway (160, 60). The mixing member (146, 46) further comprises at least one aperture (154) such that the inlet valve (140, 40) is in fluid communication with the tank (10) volume via the fluid pathway (160, 60). An intermodal container (12) comprising the flexible tank (10, 110) and a method of mixing a fluid with the tank (10) are also disclosed.