64 Membrane Dryers Set Highest Standards for Compressed Air Systems


The new range of Hi-DRI compressed air membrane dryers from Hi-line Industries have been re-engineered to be technologically superior products, achieving new standards for reliability, performance and energy efficiency. They feature a patented arrangement of structurally packed, permeable hollow fibres spirally wound on a support core. This creates an optimised design combining efficient air flow with high contact areas to maximise the drying performance within a compact unit size. These products are ideal for in-line installation to ensure the delivery of dry compressed air at the point of use. This ensures maximum effectiveness with virtually any dewpoint or degree of drying being achievable.


As the humid compressed air passes through the Hi-DRI unit, water vapour diffuses through the walls of the hollow membrane fibres without loss of compressed air. At the dryer outlet, a small volume of the now dry air is expanded and released into the annular space between the membrane fibres and the outer aluminium shell. This air purge then sweeps away entrained water vapour to atmosphere as a humid air stream.


The Hi-DRI air dryer makes it easier and less expensive to supply pneumatic equipment and instrumentation with clean, dry compressed air. This simple, proven technology helps eliminate condensation, oxidation and microbial growth, resulting in reliable and predictable performance of downstream air operated equipment. It also reduces component failures, improves equipment performance and operator satisfaction while showing savings on both warranty and production costs.


These dryers are designed to provide the superior solution for existing compressed air systems, maintaining maximum process reliability while remaining virtually invisible to the process installation. They do not contain moving parts and there are no desiccants or refrigerant to replace. They are also compact and lightweight, do not incorporate valves, drains or electrical connectors and do not require adjustments. These Hi-DRI membrane air dryers are suitable for a wide range of industrial plant installations including specialised commercial operations. The range of models available cover air flow rates from 17 to 1050 litres/min. Multiple dryer units can be used in parallel to achieve higher flows where required. Outlet dewpoints from +15° to -40°C can be achieved at 7 barg pressure (12.5 barg max) and with 35°C inlet air temperatures.


Circle no. 185 Accurately Characterising Nanoparticles in Ecotoxicology Study


Associate Professor James F. Ranville, from the Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry at the Colorado School of Mines, is using a Zetasizer Nano ZS from Malvern Instruments to characterise nanoparticles as part of an ecotoxicology study.


Designed to quantitatively detect, characterise and assess the environmental health and safety of metal and metal oxides such as nanosilver, the study aims to uncover what happens when these nanomaterials are released into environments such as our water supply and stomach fluids following ingestion. By employing the Zetasizer Nano’s dynamic light scattering (DLS) capabilities as an online detector for a flow field flow fractionation- Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry system (Fl FFF-DLS-ICP_MS), Associate Professor Ranville has been able to distinguish between nanoparticles, ions and aggregates in multi-modal (mixed sized) samples.


“It is now standard procedure to use DLS in a batch mode for the initial analysis of nanoparticles,” said Assoc Prof Ranville. “The technique is recognised as being limited for mixed size samples. Likewise the Fl FFF method, which separates a sample by size using a hydrodynamic cross-flow generated field, can also produce flawed results. In the normal-mode of FFF operation, small particles elute before larger ones, and dissolved ions elute almost immediately. However, when dealing with nano sized particles, where stability can be an issue, some may become aggregated and reversibly ‘stick’ to


the membrane during FFF, resulting in a delay in the elution out of the FFF. By coupling DLS with FFF, these limitations can be overcome. As well as delivering highly resolved peak separation following FFF, DLS will also act as verification of the FFF results, distinguishing interacting small species mistakenly identified as large particles.”


James F. Ranville describes nanotechnology as an exploding industry with huge growth forecast over next ten years. He believes that we don’t yet know enough about the behavior of nanoparticles, and that we require new methods of discovery in order to have a robust means to assess any potential for harm. In particular he highlights the need to assess a material’s dose response, for example, the amount required to produce a response in a biological organism, when the nanoparticle contains elements that are considered toxic, for example cadmium containing quantum dots.


Circle no. 186


Improved Range of Ductless Fume Cabinets and Hoods


Bigneat has announced a re-designed range of Chemcap ductless fume cabinets. Bigneat’s aims in the development of this new range have been to improve the usability of the well-known and popular Chemcap cabinet and investigate improving performance and safety. The resulting Chemcap Clearview cabinet design includes significant design changes and improvement in filtration.


This range features a new easy-to-use touch-button on/off control panel with incorporated service due indicator and audible low airflow. View of the working area is an unobstructed all-round 360º and this clearview vision makes a cabinet comfortable to use for long periods.


‘Tear drop’ shaped arm access apertures are provided in smaller cabinets and trapezium shaped access is provided for sizes above 1000mm width, front access flaps are lockable and face velocity is maintained at 0.5m/s.


High performance Chemcap filtration has been key to the success and low ongoing maintenance cost of Chemcap cabinets. Bigneat multi-purpose or universal filter (MP) should be selected when a fume cabinet is to be used for a variety of different procedures and handlings. However for best performance, when it is known what chemical compounds predominate, Bigneat’s chemist recommends choosing an optimised filter. This will give the best retention capacity and a long filter life. Optimised filters are manufactured for organics (OS), acids (H+), formaldehyde (F), ammonia (AM) and radioactive iodine (Ri). When certain fuming chemical compounds are handled or


retention of particles is required then a Chemcap filter should be used in combination with a HEPA (HP) filter.


Chemcap Clearview cabinet designs have been extensively tested during their development, and improvement in air flows has been incorporated so that more of the carbon media within the filter is utilised. This has resulted in an improvement of 20% in the retention of potentially hazardous toxic chemicals.


An optional extra for a Chemcap Clearview cabinet is a cupboard/stand unit fitted with lockable castors making it fully portable. It may be fitted with a ‘Services Option’ that includes a swan neck water tap with drip cup and gas tap.


Circle no. 187


Ordering Ready-for-use Oligos Made Easy


Integrated DNA Technologies (IDT) now offers its customers the ability to order RxnReady oligonucleotides. Users can specify the premixing of two – six standard desalted DNA oligos, in a single tube, according to the individual specifications provided.


An additional level of flexibility is provided by the ability to incorporate a range of modifications, including 5’ amino, 5’ biotin, 5’ or internal deoxyInosine, 5’ or internal deoxyUridine, and 5’ phosphorylation.


Final yields range from 5 to 50 nm and can be shipped lyophilised or hydrated (in RNase-free water or IDTE 8.0 nuclease-free buffer).


Researchers often mix oligos to create multiple primers as part of a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for the generation of insertions and/or deletions, or for site-directed mutagenesis applications.


By ordering RxnReady oligos, users can save valuable lab time, freeing themselves up for demanding protocols. In addition, IDT’s ISO 9001:2008 certification ensures consistent quality throughout the synthesis process; each oligo manufactured undergoes strict QC by mass spectrometry.


As a result, users can be confident in the purity of their mixed oligos and thus, the integrity of downstream data.


IDT’s RxnReady oligos are easily ordered online through IDT’s custom DNA ordering system.


Circle no. 188


INTERNATIONAL LABMATE - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012


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