Product category:
Evaporation equipment
News Release from: Genevac | Subject: EZ-2 inert purge unit
Edited by the Laboratorytalk Editorial
Team on 07 August 2003
Control of explosive mixtures in the
workplace
Inert purge unit was developed to enable laboratories to comply with a new European Union law on the control of explosive mixtures in the workplace - the Atex directive
Genevac has announced the availability of a new inert purge unit for its EZ-2 range of solvent evaporators The EZ-2 inert purge unit was developed to enable laboratories to comply with a new European Union law on the control of explosive mixtures in the workplace (Atex directive 137) introduced on 1 July 2003
This article was originally published on Laboratorytalk on 19 Jul 2004 at 8.00am (UK)
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Safe removal of inflammable solvents
Inert purge unit controls the flow of nitrogen from a cylinder to the evaporation chamber, and is interlocked with the operating system, helping labs meet Atex directives
Safe control of potentially explosive mixtures
The EZ-2 Inert Purge unit from Genevac provides laboratory managers with a fail-safe tool to meet the requirements of the Atex directives relating to safe removal of solvent vapours
The directive uses the familiar zoning concept to define increasing risk of a vapour/air mixture igniting explosively.
Lab managers must decide for themselves which zone their laboratory falls under for Atex 137 purposes.
The inside of an evaporator has to be categorised according to the solvents in use.
The EZ-2 solvent evaporator can safely remove most organic solvents without forming an explosive mixture of organic vapour and air, but for use with inflammable liquids such as diethyl ether it is now mandatory to use the EZ-2 inert purge unit.
The inert purge unit works by controlling the flow of nitrogen from a cylinder to the evaporation chamber and is interlocked with the EZ-2 operating system.
Flooding the chamber with nitrogen before evaporation commences removes the explosion risk entirely.
A run can only commence when the chamber has been purged to a pre-set over pressure, which is automatically detected by the EZ-2.
If this pressure is not reached, for example because the lid has not sealed properly or the drain valve has been left open, the EZ-2 fails safe and will not allow evaporation to commence.
In addition, the inert purge unit has an easy to read regulator indicating cylinder gas pressure and an interlock, which prevents purge commencing if the cylinder pressure is too low.
A secure key switch allows managers to dictate that purge must be used at all times if this is deemed necessary.
Taken together, this makes the new EZ-2 inert purge unit a valuable tool to help managers meet the requirements of this new directive in full and for any working solvent.
If managers are concerned about other solvents, such as pentane, which might pose a similar risk, the inert purge unit offers a convenient and cost-effective way to meet the requirements for use in a safe zone as set out in Atex 137. Request a free brochure from Genevac ...
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