Next-generation vacuum technology improves efficiency and sustainability
Dry screw pumps for cleaner, greener labs
24 Aug 2023
The growing demand for purer processes, greater process efficiency, reliability, and sustainability for labs places an increased demand for vacuum technology to be designed to meet these objectives. VACUUBRAND® has been at the forefront of addressing these concerns with their diaphragm pump technology for pressures down to approximately 1 mbar. Now, with the recent technological advancement using screw pump technology, VACUUBRAND addresses these concerns in the fine vacuum range.
Based on dry screw pump technology, VACUU·PURE® was designed with lab efficiency and sustainability in mind. VACUU·PURE operates down to the 10-3 mbar range and provides important benefits for the user: 100% oil-free, no wear parts and no abrasion.
A special design featuring two cantilevered spindles and a magnetic gear allows dry and 100% oil-free operation, which enables clean processes and pure products, in addition to protecting the laboratory and environment. Labs also benefits from lower operating costs and improved sustainability by not spending time doing oil changes and needing to dispose of waste oil.
The technology is also based on gap sealing, which this unique operating principle enables the spindles to rotate contact-free. This allows the pump to operate both oil- and abrasion-free, ensuring an ultrapure vacuum as well as contamination-free exhaust air.
An additional major advantage of VACUU·PURE is that it does not have any wear parts since the spindles rotate contact-free. Components are manufactured with the highest precision, down to the smallest detail. There is no scheduled maintenance for replacement of wear parts, which enables the pump to run continuously without interruption. This saves time, reduces operating costs, and enables trouble-free operation.
With its high chemical resistance, the VACUU·PURE 10C version is ideally suited to support applications that involve working with aggressive gases and vapors. A thick-walled PEEK encapsulation protects the spindles and stator in the pumping chamber removing the need in many cases for a cold trap to protect the pump - this is in contrast with other technologies that rely largely on external protective measures. In addition, VACUU·PURE has a high condensate compatibility and can easily handle high vapor loads. The integrated regeneration mode allows the pump to dry quickly in preparation for the next process. These features allow the VACUU·PURE 10C to support a variety of applications including drying ovens, Schlenk Lines, distillations as well as coating processes.
The VACUU·PURE is especially designed for applications down to the 10-3 mbar pressure range, however, unlike other fine vacuum pump technologies, it can be used across the entire pressure range from atmospheric pressure down to its ultimate vacuum. The pump can continuously operate at higher pressures, so in drying oven applications, both primary and subsequent residual drying steps can be performed with a single pump. For distillations, which tend to require pressures in the fine vacuum range, the VACUU·PURE 10C delivers the deep vacuum, high pumping speeds and chemical resistance typically needed. VACUU·PURE 10C is also ideally suited to support freeze drying processes, where deep vacuum is needed and where the regeneration mode can be used to rapidly dry the pump after the end of a process significantly increasing throughput. With pumping speeds up to 10 m3/hr for the VACUU·PURE 10 and up to 9 m3/hr for the 10C version, the pump is versatile and can support high flow processes.
The VACUU-PURE 10 version is designed for working with non-corrosive processes. It is an ideal solution as a backing pump for high vacuum systems, such as mass spectrometers, where particle- and hydrocarbon-free vacuum is essential. Since there is no oil changes and no regular scheduled maintenance to replace wear parts, it allows for continuous, uninterrupted operation. Read how the VACUU·PURE 10 is being successfully used to support Cryopump Regeneration and as a Fore Pump for Two Mass Spectrometers.
This article was written by Jason Varini, Product Manager at BRANDTECH Scientific
