At Radleys, we design innovative products that can deliver safer, cleaner, greener and more productive working practices in the laboratory.

But What Is Green Chemistry?

Green chemistry aims to improve processes and technologies to reduce the generation of waste, minimise the consumption of limited resources, and to seek alternative chemicals to commonly used hazardous substances. It might also be thought of as “sustainable chemistry”.

The Radleys Approach to Green Chemistry

As manufacturers of laboratory equipment, we are well positioned to make a significant commitment to the advancement of green chemistry.

With our focus on innovation and efficiency, we’ve designed kit that enables scientists to carry out their chemical synthesis in a more productive and environmentally friendly way.

How the Right Chemistry Equipment Can Reduce Laboratory Waste

When designing our laboratory equipment, we look at common laboratory applications and consider ways we can make them better. How can we increase efficiency? How can we improve safety? How can we save time, space, and money?

One of the most important parts of our research and development process involves identifying ways to boost productivity while reducing waste and energy consumption.

Take our AVA Lab Control Software, which allows you to control your existing lab equipment and automate your chemistry. When you automate your chemistry using software-controlled additions and precise temperature control, you can remove the manual errors which can lead to “bad” batches. This will in turn reduce your chemical waste and energy consumption, since you will neither need to dispose of these “bad” batches or have to repeat a failed experiment.

Another way to limit chemical waste and energy consumption is by switching from the use of oil baths to heat round bottom flasks, or using heating blocks. Heating blocks are an oil-free alternative, meaning that they reduce waste while being safer and less costly to run.

Radleys’ Heat-On aluminium heating blocks are also cleverly designed to heat quicker than other heating blocks, thus reducing energy consumption by an average of 30%.

Reducing Water Consumption

The area where synthetic chemists can make an even more obvious impact on the environment is by reducing water consumption.

The Californian drought has demonstrated that water isn’t an unlimited resource that can be taken for granted. But many laboratories still use water-cooled condensers, which can consume up to 150 litres of water per hour.

With this in mind, we developed the Findenser with AstraZeneca. This ‘super’ air condenser replaces water-cooled condensers in over 95% of common chemistry applications, yet it requires absolutely no running water to operate.

Forward thinking organisations such as University of California, San Diego and Roche have replaced water condensers with Findensers as part of their commitment to sustainability and green chemistry.

Green Chemistry – An Ongoing Commitment

Paul Anastas and John Warner have published 12 principles of green chemistry. Key points include focusing on minimising waste production rather than treatment/disposal of waste and not depleting resources.

These are excellent guidelines for us all to follow to make chemistry an overall more sustainable field.

At Radleys, we understand that our equipment can enable chemists to be “green”. That’s why our research and development team is constantly looking for ways to improve existing practices.

Our logo might be orange, but don’t be fooled for a moment – Radleys is quite green too!