Dry-running, chemically resistant systems are said to represent the future for centralised vacuum provision in the laboratory
Ferring Research has placed an order for the turnkey installation of a Univac central vacuum system to serve its laboratories at the Chilworth Science Park in Southampton.
These dry-running, chemically resistant systems are unique to manufacturer Ilmvac and represent the future for centralised vacuum provision in the laboratory, says the company.
Ilmvac UK was consulted for the replacement of the existing outdated oil-sealed vacuum plant following the successful application of their individual PTFE diaphragm pumps throughout Ferring's laboratories.
The Univac system will employ eight such diaphragm pumps operating on a demand basis through a microprocessor control system remotely monitored from outside the plant room.
The decision to install Univac was taken after visiting the James Black Foundation, a part of King's College London and site of an earlier Univac installation which has been running since December 2000 without maintenance.
Key factors in the selection of Univac were its ability to resist solvent and acid vapours, its extremely low maintenance requirements with service intervals of up to five years, and the low running costs and power consumption.
Also critical was the flexibility of Univac allowing Ferring to move the installation in th future if necessary.
The system can be adapted to give different levels of vacuum performance and is mobile.
