WORKSTATIONS: HEL INC.

HEL Inc. has available a product line to address the process development needs in R&D.

To monitor and fine-tune reaction conditions, HEL has available the Low Pressure Chem-SCAN system. This system integrates key factors needed to expedite efficiently the reaction development process. It can accommodate 2 racks for tubes and 3 multiple-well reactors capable of working at different temperature conditions simultaneously and/or individually from each other, each reactor accommodating an ample range of reaction tubes. The Low Pressure Chem-SCAN system also includes an automated single-needle liquid handler to probe ongoing reaction mixtures at different conditions at different time intervals. In line there is an Agilent HPLC analytical system to analyze ongoing reactions at intervals selected by the user's criteria providing real-time information on starting material disappearance and/or product formation.

Low Pressure Chem-SCAN system

HEL provides its High Pressure Chem-SCAN system for parallel high pressure and heterogeneous catalysis reactions. This system has a maximum throughput of 8 reactions in parallel accommodating 10- or 15-ml reaction vessels. As its name indicates, the High Pressure Chem-SCAN system can handle up to 1500 psi of pressure covering a temperature range from room temperature up to a maximum of 200 °C. To ensure maximum reagent conversion, this system comes with an integrated agitator to reach agitation speeds up to 1500 rpm. For reaction mixtures involving corrosive reaction conditions, HEL also has available the specially designed Hastelloy reactor vessels that are inert to corrosive reagents.

High Pressure Chem-SCAN system

HEL also has available its auto-MATE plus system for scale-up R&D applications. This system is suited to expedite process development controlling up to 16 devices all working in unison allowing detailed control of all major step process involved in reaction optimization such as agitation, temperature, addition rates, etc. The system accommodates 50-ml reactor vessels, can heat reactions to reflux, sustain high pressure conditions, and it perform chemistries requiring temperatures as low as - 80°C. The automate plus system is suitable for organic reactions, hydrogenation, crystallization and polymer chemistry.

Automate plus system

As part of HEL's product line there is also the automate HP system. This powerful system allows high-pressure parallel synthesis capable of sustaining pressures up to 1500 psi. The automate HP system is flexible enough to run experiments in in continuous, semi-batch and batch modes controlling key factors such as agitation and reaction temperature.

Automate HP system

For pilot-scale processes such as hydrogenation, compound crystallization, solid-phase synthesis, catalyst research, cascade reactions, polymer chemistry and batch or semi-batch reaction processes, HEL has available its AUTO-LAB system. This modular system permits the use of a pilot-scale reactor, a cooler/heater, a volume range from ~0.25 to 100 liters and a temperature range from -60 to 350 °C. The AUTO-LAB system uses either standard Büchi or custom-made Hastelloy reactors, sensors and controls to run safe 24x7 unattended reactions.

AUTO-LAB system

For less demanding or complicated chemistries, HEL has also introduced its AUTO-LAB junior system. This system has been designed particularly for unattended process development, process optimization and sample work-up tasks. The AUTO-LAB junior system can accommodate a glass reactor fitted with a mechanical stirrer, a heater/chiller and a temperature control to operate between -30 and 200 °C.

AUTO-LAB junior system

For bench chemistry HEL has available the Chem-SCAN system. This system is suitable for general organic synthesis. It uses a liquid and powder dispensing robot for compound dispensing. The Chem-SCAN system can hold up to 4 reactor blocks, each block accommodating either 2- or 10-ml reaction vessels for a maximum throughput of 32 reactions per cycle.

Chem-SCAN system

HEL's software to control all these systems include:

• WinISO, for the Windows platform to control the chemical reactors.
• 32 bit WinCalc, to manipulate and present the WinISO collected data.
• Optima, for the Windows platform for the kinetic modelling of chemical reactions and the evaluation of reactor designs.