Polar bear challenge Jan 13
Transcript of Polar bear challenge Jan 13
Dr Bashir Harji
Cambridge Reactor Design Ltd
About Cambridge Reactor Design (CRD)
• Founded in 1989 by Dr Bashir Harji still leads the company
• Providing custom engineering projects to Universities and companies in Europe
• Moved to developing new off-the-shelf products based on the most successful of these custom projects
• The Polar Bear Plus is our latest technology – an extremely simple tool for controlling the temperature of an object over a wide range - hot, ambient and sub ambient conditions
Why did we develop this technology?
Cooling agent + Organic solvent or salt
Dry ice/p-xylene +13
Liquid N2/Cyclohexane +6
Dry ice/Benzyl alcohol -15
Dry ice/Tetrachloroethylene
-22
Dry ice/o-Xylene -29
Dry ice/Acetonitrile -32
Dry ice/n-Octane -56
Dry ice/Isopropyl Ether -60
Dry ice/Acetone -79
Liquid N2/(none) -196
An alternative for freezing mixtures• Only work at a single
temperature for a
given mixture
• Large amounts of
cryogenic consumables
needed
• Costs for freezers,
transport, solvent
disposal
• Impractical to use in
a large number of
cases
• Safety concerns
An alternative to oil circulators
• Bulky apparatus
• Cumbersome
tubing –
especially
problematic in
glove boxes and
fume-hoods
• Tubing prone to
leaking (who
doesn’t like
cleaning up oil
from a fume
hood?)
Precise data and recording without the use of a computer
vs.
The Technology
Modular modification of cooling/heating surface
Standard “hot-plate” setup
Multiple smaller vessels for e.g. crystallization studies
Continuous flow setup with reagents running through a coil around a temperature-controlled cylinder
Fitted jacket for round-bottom flasks
Exceptional temperature-control
Performance Data: Polar Bear Plus - Crystal with Vial Holder and Ext. PT100
Master SP, C Measured Temperature, C
-40 -40.00 ± 0.02
-20 -20.00 ± 0.02
0 0.00 ± 0.04
20 20.00 ± 0.10
60 60.00 ± 0.04
100 100.00 ± 0.04
120 120.00 ± 0.04
140 140.00 ± 0.03
Programmable temperature profiles
• Set ramp times and gradients
• Record sample temperature without the use of a computer
Key advantages • Hot, ambient and sub-ambient -40 C to
+150 C in a shoebox.
• No solvents, heat transfer fluids or
other peripherals.
• Inexpensive: Running costs are ~5 cents
an hour.
• Setup costs ~ 40% cheaper than
equivalent oil circulator products.
• Can use/design attachments for
different experiments: continuous flow,
phase change studies, etc.
How you can helpIn which settings would the capability of precise temperature control in a compact package be most useful? What experiments would this technology make easier?
We’ve designed a range of different attachments for the device. How would you make use of this modularity? Any other great ideas for extending the device’s capabilities?
Any other crazy ideas what to do with the underlying technology?
We’re looking forward to your ideas – remember, just
use your marbles!
Thanks again to our challenge sponsors: