stoichiometric_steve
National Hazard
Posts: 827
Registered: 14-12-2005
Member Is Offline
Mood: satyric
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Help! Finding cheap flow chemistry reactor tube & accessories
Hey friends! I'm d(r)ipping my toes into flow chemisty and thus would require a few pieces of equipment for R&D while not spending too much money.
I'm pretty positive there are everyday things or lab equipment that can be repurposed to serve as building blocks for a flow setup.
Reactor
Of course there are commercially available reactors (like Diba Omnifit, Thalesnano CatCart etc.) but those are a bit expensive, if quite attractive
once the project is past a proof-of-concept stage.
The reactor would have to withstand a bit of pressure (less than 3 atm/45psi), be resistant to alcohols (and ideally Heptane and Toluene), have an
inner diameter of less than 10mm and length ideally around 100-150mm.
It should also be able to accomodate a frit or filter plate assembly (~25µm) on the inlet and outlet side to catch particles from the catalyst
packing.
I thought about repurposing e.g. a MN Chromabond SPE/Flash LC cartridge which has Luer Lock connectors, but the cartridges only come in packs of 50
for about 150 EUR. Someone got unused spares lying around? 
LC columns in general (especially ones that can be thermostated) like the XK50 from LKB/Pharmacia also look attractive, but they're hard to come by in
the dimensions i'm looking for.
A similar device could probably be made by modifying a HDPE/PE or glass syringe, but i'm unsure how to manufacture an end cap that replaces the
plunger and can handle a bit of pressure.
Maybe cutting off the conical ends on two centrifuge tubes and fusing the open ends together?
Another idea i had was using a thick-walled PTFE/Polyamide pipe with threaded ends for screwing on end caps (much like an inline filter cartridge),
but haven't had any luck finding anything. Of course a machine shop could put threads on a stock pipe and make the caps, but that's probably going to
be a bit more on the expensive side then.
Ultimately, thin-walled but rigid PTFE/PA tubing with compression fittings on each end would probably also work, while i'm not sure how to implement
the filter elements.
Pump
I do have a peristaltic pump, but it's probably not able to provide the flow rates (around 0.1ml/min) required.
A syringe pump would be attractive (Perfusor, Injectomat etc.) due to the pressure tolerant Luer Lock connections used on the syringes.
Any input and direction is highly appreciated. Have a great sunday!
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Triflic Acid
Hazard to Others
Posts: 486
Registered: 27-9-2020
Member Is Offline
Mood: Slowly Oxidizing into Oblivion
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Well, what are you making in flow?
There wasn't a fire, we just had an uncontrolled rapid oxidation event at the power plant.
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