Rapid, reproducible development of custom and specialty polymers

FaraPack Polymers Ltd (Sheffield, UK) has invested in a Radleys Lara™ Controlled Laboratory Reactor (CLR) to enable the company to more rapidly and reproducibly scale up production of custom and specialty polymers developed for contract customers.

Drawing upon extensive polymer science expertise and world class technological know-how - FaraPack Polymers Ltd has earned a reputation for researching and developing innovative new polymers designed around specific customer applications or as a solution to a particular problem. The preparation and scale-up of innovative polymeric materials using a wide range of synthetic chemistry methodologies and techniques is an integral part of FaraPack Polymers Ltd. rapid research and development process.

Asked about why they chose the Radleys Lara CLR - Malcolm Butler (Managing Director) of FaraPack Polymers Ltd commented "Much of our work to date has been on a 1-2g scale, so when a customer required a larger quantity, we had to perform the chemistry up to 6 or 7 times. This took too long and was often a big drain on human resources. It also potentially presented a challenge to the issues of batch repeatability and reproducibility, and therefore overall product quality. He added "We identified a need for larger scale reactors up to 10 litres, and after discussions with Radleys identified that the Lara reactor platform was the most cost effective solution for us. It enables us to work with a single set of ancillary equipment on any scale from 100ml to 10 litres, with a minimal time required for apparatus set-up, normally less than 5 minutes. We can cover a temperature range from around -30ºC to +165ºC, and data log all the important reaction parameters. We can see the results of variable monomer feed rates, heating and cooling profiles, initiator concentration and so on. Because Lara offers automation, it also enables us to produce a few grams of material now, and several months later produce 20 or 30 grams in a single batch with an near identical batch quality, saving time and giving our clients a better and quicker service".

Using the Radleys Lara CLR - FaraPack Polymers Ltd. have expanded their custom and specialty polymer synthesis facilities and are now able to offer a wide variety of rapid and reproducible scale up and process optimisation services to contract customers.