Mersey water made fit for lab robots

ELGA Process Water has supplied the water purification equipment to a state-of-the art laboratory at the University of Liverpool

The facility, funded by the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), is the centre for materials discovery in the university's chemistry department and is developing high throughput robotic techniques in formulation and synthesis chemistry and analysis to provide support for scientific companies in the north west of England.

A high throughput laboratory uses a lot of water, as the facility's operations manager Neil Jones explains: "Most of the water we use is general purpose laboratory water for our formulation work, reagent make-up and rinsing glassware - typically about 1Mohm.cm resistivity is good enough - but we also need ultrapure water for analytical techniques like mass spectrometry and HPLC".

Jones's needs are met with two laboratory water purifiers from the Elga LabWater Purelab range: an Option S7 and an Ultra Ionic.

A central Purelab Option 7 treats Liverpool mains water by a combination of reverse osmosis and ion exchange to produce purified water which is rather better than distilled water.

This water supplies the requirement for general laboratory use and is also fed into the Purelab Ultra Ionic which polishes it, using a combination of ion exchange, UV photo-oxidation and microfiltration, to ultrapure water standards: 18.2MW.cm resistivity, 3^-10ug/l TOC and <1cfu/ml bacteria count.

When there is no demand for treated water the Purelab Ultra recirculates the product to ensure that the quality is maintained.

The dispense head is at the top of the unit to allow access for tall vessels, and is fitted with a 0.2um filter as a final guard (<0.1cfu/ml bacteria count) on water quality.

An important feature of the Ultra Ionic is its unique volumetric profile dispense.

This facility enables the user to easily record and then replicate specific volumes and flow patterns, providing accurate and speedy repeat dispensing.

It also minimises the possibility of contaminating the water by collecting it in a beaker, measuring the required volume in a measuring cylinder and then pouring it into the flask; every transfer entrains airborne bacteria and contaminants.

Convenience like this is a design feature of the Purelab Ultra range with front entry service doors providing easy access for changing cartridges.

And there is an easy to read display which provides a warning when the fully traceable cartridges need to be changed.

Like any good laboratory manager, Jones is very conscious of cost.

"The Elga LabWater equipment is really cost-effective," he says.

"It's easy to use and has low maintenance, and that all helps to reduce the operating costs.

"And it's flexible enough to meet all our needs".

One worry that Jones doesn't have is what to do if something goes wrong.

The Purelab units are backed by the most comprehensive service support and training network in the UK with a 24/7 helpline to assist with troubleshooting.

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