Senmin, a manufacturer and supplier of mining chemicals, chooses Reactor-Ready Systems for efficient and flexible scale-up process

Contacts: Natasha Bannerman

Organisation: Senmin International

Department: R & D

Country: South Africa

Product: Reactor-Ready

Case Study No: CS1060

Situation

Senmin is a manufacturer and supplier of mining chemicals used in the beneficiation of a wide range of ores such as platinum, copper, zinc and coal.

R&D was being done in round bottom flasks in oil baths or in traditional reaction systems. In these conditions, chemists were getting poor temperature control as well as all the usual problems associated with traditional reactors (e.g. leaks, stirrer misalignement, dedicated reactors as vessel change is very difficult).

Objective

  • Improve temperature control
  • A system with a wide range of vessel volumes
  • Ability to exchange vessels quickly

Results

The Reactor-Ready systems offer the customer ease of scale-up without the need for tools, which improves work flow efficiency and productivity.

  • 2 Reactor-Ready systems are now being used in Senmin’s R&D lab in the development of ‘collectors’. These chemicals are used in the ‘beneficiation process’ across an entire range of ores such as platinum, zinc, copper, coal etc. Scale-up includes 500 ml, 1 L and 2 L process vessels and accessories. Temperature control is via Huber CC-K6 Pilot ONE thermoregulators.
  • 2 Reactor-Ready systems used by the Biotechnology laboratory for enzyme reactions. Scale-up includes 1 L, 2 L and 5 L process vessels and accessories. Temperature control is via Huber Ministat 240 Pilot ONE thermoregulators.
By introducing Reactor-Ready, we were able to improve temperature control and change vessels easily to fit with the evolving requirements of our projects.Natasha Bannerman, Senmin International