...KNF pumps are convenient to use by our researchers

Scientists seek understanding of extraterrestrial life with the aid of KNF LABOPORT pumps.

Life scientists at the University of North Dakota are using KNF LABOPORT® Diaphragm Vacuum pumps studying plant growth under conditions approaching the vacuum of outer space. This research is conducted within the Presidential Initiative for a "New Vision for Space Exploration" to explore future applications for greenhouses on the moon or other planets.
"KNF LABOPORT® pumps are a very important technical and engineering component of our laboratory system because they can provide vacuums or varying amounts of pressure, and maintain those pressure levels precisely, a necessity in our research," commented Vadim Rygalov, Ph.D., who is Professor and lead scientist at the University's Department of Space Studies.
"Both portable and easy to operate, KNF pumps are convenient to use by our undergraduate researchers. We have found them to be reliable as well," continues Dr. Rygalov. "We have a need for precise pressure and vacuum for long work hours."

Vadam Y. Rygalov, Ph.D., University of North Dakota, Department of Space Studies
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...managing water consumption in the lab is a priority

"Many of the activities in our chemistry laboratories incorporate suction filtration, where water aspirators were used as a vacuum source for years. These aspirators were often unable to provide a reliable low pressure when all the students in the lab needed to complete a filtration. After trying one KNF LABOPORT® pump on a trial basis, the department has chosen KNF pumps as the vacuum source in all laboratories. Soon the chemistry department will be moving into a new "green" building, where managing water consumption will be a priority. All of our new laboratories will be outfitted with KNF LABOPORT® pumps."

Allen Hovland, PH.D., St. Mary's College of Maryland, Department of Chemistry
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...Laboports lasted three times longer than any other pump

...previously we used oil-lubricated pumps, but these needed significant amounts of maintenance due to corrosive solvents mixing with the oil. We heard that KNF manufactured a chemically-resistant pump that needed less maintenance...after two years, the LABOPORT pumps have proved very reliable. In fact, they have lasted three times longer than any other pump we have used.

Patrick Bureau, Research Developer, Aegera Therapeutics, Inc.

...the KNF pumps withstood everything well

...we soon noticed that the pumps from other brands were constantly breaking down but those from KNF were not. Pumps take some abuse in our laboratories and we had to replace diaphragms and parts of the other pumps almost weekly, but the KNF pumps withstood everything well and the maintenance on them was easy. The difference between the two was as clear as night and day...

Jack Church, Facility Manager, CB Research and Development, Inc.

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..increased solvent recovery yield to more than 98 percent

...based on conversations with our colleagues in university and industrial research labs, we learned that KNF pumps had a good reputation, and therefore chose them for our labs...they have proved to be very quiet, but they have helped us to increase our solvent recovery yield to more than 98 percent.

Dr. Ken Simolo, Department of Chemistry, University of Rochester

Schott Looks to KNF Flodos for Pump Technology

Pumps from KNF Flodos are being used by Schott Instruments, based in Mainz, Germany, in the development of new analytical instruments, such as viscometers and equipment for titration.

Wolfgang Korinski, Development Manager at Schott Instruments, explained: "I am responsible for ensuring that all development projects are going well from start to finish. Some of our instruments need a vacuum and a few years ago we chose membrane pumps from KNF Flodos for this because they are good quality and are PTFE-coated so can handle the harsh liquids we sometimes need to use. They run all day long and are very easy to use."

"For one instrument in particular we needed a special input to control the pump and KNF Flodos was able to change the pump specifically for this application. I can directly contact the development service at KNF Flodos myself and this is very important for me."

KNF Flodos Pumps Help to Scale Up Chemical Manufacturing Processes

Process chemists at AstraZeneca in Sweden are using the Stepdos® and Liquiport® ranges of liquid pumps from KNF Flodos for the development of their manufacturing processes. Dr Csaba Urbaniczky, process research and development scientist, explained: "To develop full-scale manufacturing processes, we need to start with a fundamental understanding of the process on a laboratory scale. Pumps are used in pilot plants and in full-scale production, therefore it is useful to be able to simulate this environment in the laboratory."

It is important to have pumps of the right size for this kind of work, and having good control is much safer too, especially with very exothermic reactions. The Stepdos range offers medium size pumps of 30 or 80 ml/minute, made with PTFE heads - the only pumps of this size with completely inert pumping heads. Both Stepdos® pumps are RS-232 compliant, so we can use our software in automated experiments. We also use Liquiport® pumps as transfer pumps between larger reactors of 1L to 10L. They are very easy to use, and have PTFE or fluorinated plastic pump heads, so they too are chemically inert."

Dr Urbaniczky concluded: "KNF Flodos pumps give us the control we need over the addition rates and it is a major advantage to be able to mimic a plant in a laboratory environment, with complete control of all the variables."

Mettler-Toledo Chooses Liquid Pumps from KNF Flodos

The Process Analytics division of Mettler-Toledo, the biggest manufacturer of weighing instruments and liquid analytical measurement solutions, recently purchased two Liquiport® liquid pumps from KNF Flodos for their machines to manufacture in-house tools in their factory.

Thomas Würtz, system engineer at Mettler-Toledo, explained: "The machine in question has a working life of eight to ten years, with the pumps working several hours each day, providing continuous flow of liquids between different baths, so durability is a very important factor. We had used KNF Flodos pumps for other projects and were happy with their robustness and longevity so, when two of the four original pumps failed after just two years, we replaced them with the Liquiport pumps."

"Another useful feature is that the Liquiport pumps have electronic control of the flow rate, whereas the original pumps could only be adjusted mechanically. KNF Flodos was also able to modify the pumps specifically for us so that our pumps restart automatically as soon as the whole machine is started." Mr Würtz concluded: "We will almost certainly buy more Liquiports to replace the other two original pumps in the machine. Our Liquiport pumps work brilliantly for our application."