Freeze Drying Solutions

EcoStream™ Technology for Sustainable Cooling

Buchi's freeze dryers incorporate EcoStream™ technology, which is a groundbreaking feature focused on delivering a sustainable and efficient cooling solution. This technology ensures an exceptional, reliable, and stable cooling performance while simultaneously significantly lowering the environmental impact of the instrument. This is primarily achieved through the use of highly efficient cooling components and refrigerants characterized by a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) index. The implementation of EcoStream™ is part of a certified commitment to enhancing the sustainability of laboratory processes, ensuring quality and ecological responsibility are both maintained.

Infinite-Technology™ for Continuous Sublimation

The Infinite-Technology™ is a pioneering feature designed to overcome the inherent downtime associated with batch freeze-drying. It achieves, for the first time, continuous sublimation by incorporating two alternately working condensers. While one condenser is actively collecting solvent vapor, the second is undergoing an automatic hygienic cleansing or regeneration cycle. This design allows for the processing of an effectively unlimited condenser capacity over time, significantly maximizing throughput and ensuring that the freeze-drying process itself does not have to be manually interrupted or halted for defreezing the condenser.

Lowest Condenser Temperature Capabilities

The freeze dryer range offers instruments with varying condenser temperatures to match the specific needs of the samples being processed. Systems are available with minimum condenser temperatures of $-55^\circ\text{C}$, $-85^\circ\text{C}$, and, for the most demanding applications, as low as $-105^\circ\text{C}$. The ability to reach this extremely low temperature is critical for efficiently trapping low-boiling-point solvents or ensuring complete sublimation of solvents from the sample matrix, thereby ensuring the highest quality of the final dried product and stable cooling performance throughout the cycle.

Infinite-Control™ for Process Management and Mobile Access

The Infinite-Control™ technology provides comprehensive entire process control over all relevant freeze-drying parameters. This includes monitoring and regulating condenser temperature, vacuum levels, and cycle timing. Crucially, this control and monitoring can be accessed via mobile devices, offering unparalleled flexibility and remote management capability to the user. This advanced automation and control system not only guarantees highly reproducible results but also enhances operational efficiency by allowing scientists to manage and optimize complex drying protocols from any location.

Condenser Capacity and Throughput

The available instruments offer different specifications regarding their condenser capacity and condensing capacity per 24 hours, catering to laboratories with low to high-volume requirements. Capacity specifications range, for example, from $\le 5\text{ kg}$ to $\le 6\text{ kg}$ per batch. The rate of solvent removal is specified by the condensing capacity, such as $\le 6\text{ kg}$ or $\le 4\text{ kg}$ per 24 hours. The highest-end system, featuring Infinite-Technology™, effectively boasts an unlimited condenser capacity due to its continuous operation cycle, providing the highest throughput capability in the series.

Minimizing Environmental Impact (GWP)

A core technical differentiator of the freeze dryers, particularly those featuring the EcoStream™ technology, is their focus on minimizing the environmental impact. This is quantified by the use of refrigerants with a low Global Warming Potential (GWP) index, with index values as low as 3 or 4 available across the product line. This commitment to sustainability is formally recognized by the award of the ACT label for certain configurations, certifying the instruments as eco-friendly solutions without compromising on the required quality and reliability of the cooling performance.

Automation and Reduced Drying Time

The advanced automation features integrated into the freeze dryers are engineered to reduce overall drying time and optimize laboratory productivity. Sophisticated control loops manage the sublimation process, dynamically adjusting parameters to accelerate the removal of frozen solvent efficiently and safely. This level of automation ensures consistency across runs, minimizing the potential for operator error and shortening the duration required to achieve a final, highly preserved product. The entire Lyovapor line is designed with this advanced automation and flexibility in mind.

Quality and Reliability of Cooling Performance

The instruments are designed with a foundational commitment to providing exceptional, reliable, and stable cooling performance. This stability is crucial because any fluctuation in condenser temperature or vacuum level can compromise the delicate sublimation process and impact the integrity of the final product. The technology used ensures that the condenser remains at the programmed low temperature throughout the cycle, reliably trapping the solvent vapor and ensuring that the final dried material is of the highest quality and ready for subsequent analysis or storage.

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