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."