YC-3000 Lab Freeze Dryer

Lab Freeze Dryer

The lab freeze dryer (spray style) is a new freeze dryer combining advantages of spray drying and freeze drying.

Pilotech YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style) is applied to prepare small samples in the lab. It’s suitable for materials with no ideal experimental result in spray drying or freeze drying.

There are three disadvantages in traditional freeze dryers: 1) With long drying time, it generally takes 40 hours to 60 hours for drying; 2) It must be centrifugal concentration and pre-freezing processes before drying; 3) The material is blocky and should be crushed after drying.

Pilotech YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style)can overcome the above shortcomings effectively: 1) With a quick drying time, it usually takes only 5 hours to 8 hours to complete the drying process after atomized freezing; 2) It’s unnecessary to pre-freeze; it can directly spray freeze drying for materials with the concentration of 5% or below; 3) The material is powder after drying without the need of crushing.

Pilotech YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style) can complete both spray freezing and drying process. It can avoid secondary pollution with spray freezing and drying performed in the same machine.

With the minimum freezing temperature of -60 °C, Pilotech YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style) can freeze materials when atomizing. The drying process becomes faster when the surface area expands a lot. What’s more, after spray freeze drying, powder has good solubility and liquidity.

General spray dryer are dried after heating up. Somehow it affects the properties of samples, particularly for heat-sensitive materials, resulting in discoloration, physical structure changes, chemical changes, and loss of aromatic substances. Also, some materials after spray drying have poor solubility. Pilotech lab freeze dryer (spray style) fits the rapid drying of heat sensitive materials in the lab. It can overcome all these shortcomings.

Pilotech YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style) can process up to 2000ML in each experiment. It can even dry a sample of 10ML. And, the sample may have a wide content range of solids, ranging from 1% to 60%.

All parts of YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style) are from internationally famous brands in modular design. They can be replaced conveniently if the parts fail. Besides, we have also prepared an operating video for you. Even if you change your staff in the lab, the new operator can easily study and operate the dryer based on the detailed operating instructions in our video.

If you want to get more information about YC-3000 lab freeze dryer (spray style), contact us now.

Lab Freeze Dryer: The Ultimate FAQ Guide

This is a comprehensive guide which answers all questions you have been asking about the lab freeze dryer.

Whether you want to learn about technical specifications, components, working principle, features, advantages or applications – you will find everything right here.

Keep reading to be an expert freeze drying system.

What is Freeze Drying?

Freeze drying happens when you remove water or another solvent from a product at a low temperature.

The freeze drying process involves freezing the product, decreasing the pressure, and then eliminating ice by sublimation.

Freeze drying can also be known as cryodesiccation or lyophilization.

Laboratory freeze dryer

What is the Average Laboratory Freeze Dryer Price?

The price of a laboratory freeze dryer depends on many factors such as:

• Production capacity
• Material that makes the machine
• Size of the machine
• Automation level of the machine
• Manufacturer

For instance, a laboratory freeze dryer with a high production capacity will cost more than that with a low production capacity.

Averagely, a laboratory freeze dryer can go for between 1100 US Dollars to 55000 US Dollars.

Is there a difference between Benchtop Freeze Dryer and Lab Freeze Dryer?

Bench top freeze dryer

A benchtop freeze dryer and a lab freeze dryer remove liquid from products at low temperatures.

The major difference comes in size and usage.

Here are some of the differences between a benchtop freeze dryer and a lab freeze dryer:

• Portability

A benchtop freeze dryer is portable and you can use it in a small working station.

A lab freeze dryer is not easy to move from around when you compare it to a benchtop freeze dryer.

• Size

A benchtop freeze dryer is smaller than a lab freeze dryer.

This is one of the reasons it is easy to move it around.

• Usage

A benchtop freeze dryer is for drying small samples for research purposes.

On the other hand, you will use a lab freeze dryer in large laboratories to freeze dry large samples.

• Sample Sizes

Also, a benchtop freeze dryer freezes small sample sizes when you compare it to a lab freeze dryer.

How does Industrial Freeze Dryer compare to Lab Freeze Dryer?

An industrial freeze dryer and a lab freeze dryer have many differences to them.

Here are some ways you can compare an industrial freeze dryer and a lab freeze dryer:

Industrial freeze dryer

Freeze dryer for lab use

Size

An industrial freeze drier is much bigger than a lab freeze dryer.

This makes an industrial freeze dryer occupy a large space than a lab freeze dryer.

Initial Cost

When you consider the prize, a lab freeze dryer will cost you less than an industrial freeze dryer.

Usage

With a lab freeze dryer, you will use it in laboratories, research institutions, and universities.

On the other hand, you will use an industrial freeze dryer in large industries.

Production Capacity

With this in mind, the capacity of an industrial freeze dryer is much higher than that of a lab freeze dryer.

This makes it suitable for freeze drying bulk products.

Operation Principles

Generally, it Is hard to operate an industrial freeze dryer than it is to operate a lab freeze dryer.

This means you need to have knowledgeable personnel when operating an industrial freeze dryer.

Maintenance Costs

It is expensive to maintain an industrial freeze dryer because of its size.

Contrary to that, a lab freeze dryer is easy to maintain because you can easily monitor all parts.

Material

The body of a lab freeze dryer and an industrial freeze dryer is durable stainless-steel.

Quality Compliance

Lab freeze dryers and industrial freeze dryers conform to quality standards set by international bodies for health and safety reasons.

Is Lyophilizer the same as Freeze Drying Machine?

A lyophilizer and a freeze drying machine are the same names referring to the same equipment.

A lyophilizer will remove water for the preservation of perishable materials.

This increases the shelf life of the product and makes it easy to transport.

A lyophilizer will work by freezing the material after which it will reduce the pressure.

After that, it adds heat making it possible for the frozen water in the material to sublimate.

How does Lab Freeze Dryer compare to Laboratory Drying Oven?

A lab freeze dryer and a laboratory drying oven work differently in terms of how they dry materials.

Here are some of the ways that a lab freeze dryer compares to a laboratory drying oven:

• Temperature of Drying

A lab freeze dryer dries materials at low temperatures.

On the other hand, a laboratory drying oven uses heat to dry materials.

• Drying Principle

A lab freeze dryer dries the materials and then sublimates the frozen water into gas.

A laboratory drying oven will apply heat to remove the liquid from the material via evaporation.

• Parts of the Machines

A lab freeze dryer has many components built into it than a laboratory drying oven.

A laboratory drying oven has a simple design to it.

Besides, a laboratory drying oven dries the product gently with low turbulence air moving through chambers to heat samples.

• Material

The body of a lab freeze dryer and a laboratory drying oven is stainless-steel.

• Quality Standards

A lab freeze dryer and laboratory drying oven conform to quality standards set by international bodies for health and safety reasons.

How does Lab Freeze Dryer compare to Spray Dryer?

A lab freeze dryer and a spray dryer does the job of drying materials.

The difference comes in how you will achieve the drying.

Here are some of the comparisons of a lab freeze dryer and a spray dryer:

· Drying Temperature

A lab freeze dryer dries materials at low temperatures.

On the other hand, a spray dryer uses high temperatures to dry materials.

· Drying Principle

A lab freeze dryer dries the materials and then sublimates the frozen water into gas.

A spray dryer will apply hot air to remove the liquid from the material via evaporation in the drying chamber.

· Material of Construction

The main body of a lab freeze dryer and a spray dryer is mainly durable stainless-steel.

· Quality Compliance

A lab freeze dryer and a spray dryer conform to quality standards set by international bodies for health and safety reasons.

· Duration of Drying

A lab freeze dryer takes a long time to dry materials than a spray dryer.

A lab freeze dryer will take approximately 5 to 12 hours to dry the products.

· Effects on the Final Product

A spray dryer uses heat to dry materials, and you cannot use it to dry heat-sensitive materials.

This is because it affects quality such as:

1. It will cause discoloration
2. It will change the physical structure of the product
3. It will cause some chemical changes in the final product
4. It will cause a loss of the aromatic substance of the product.
5. The final product may have poor solubility levels.

On the other hand, you can use a lab freeze dryer to dry heat-sensitive materials while maintaining their quality.

This means a lab freeze dryer will overcome all these imperfections that a spray dryer will cause.

· Atomization

A lab freeze dryer and a spray dryer all apply the atomization principle to dry the products.

They have nozzles that accomplish the atomization process that converts bulk liquid into small particles.

What is the Capacity of Laboratory Freeze Dryer?

The capacity of a laboratory freeze dryer depends on the size and type of machine you have.

For instance, large laboratory freeze dryers have a high capacity.

Besides, a fully automatic laboratory freeze dryer has a high capacity than semi-automatic laboratory freeze dryers.

Expensive laboratory freeze dryers have a high production capacity than cheap lab freeze dryers.

The average capacity of a laboratory freeze dryer is 2000ML in every experiment.

The machine can also use a sample size of 10ML in the freeze drying process.

What are the Technical Specifications of Lab Freeze Dryer?

The technical specifications of a lab freeze dryer will show you an overview of the machine.

Technical specifications are readily available for all to see and come in every lab freeze dryer.

Some of the technical specifications of a lab freeze dryer include:

• A trap chamber size of e (Ø x L) 165 x 202 305 x 355
• An average condensing temperature of -50 °C
• An average power supply of 220V 50 Hz 850 W
• A spray freezing temperature of -20 to -40⁰C
• An adjustable spray pressure of 2 to 5 bars
• An average dimension (W x D x H) of 710 mm x 610 mm x 960 mm.
• An ICE Condensing Capacity of 3 kgsto 8 kgs.

What are the Principles of Freeze Drying Process?

There are three stages when it comes to freeze drying:

· Prefreezing

Freeze drying involves changing a solid material to a gaseous material.

This means you have you prefreeze the material before the process begins.

The final temperature and the prefreezing method will affect how successful the freeze drying process will occur.

When you rapidly cool the product, small ice crystals will form.

This is useful as it preserves the structure that you can examine using a microscope.

Also, it leads to the formation of a product that is difficult to freeze dry.

Cooling the product slowly results in the formation of large ice crystals which is easy to freeze dry.

There are two ways in which you can use to freeze products.

· Eutectic Temperature

The products that you are to freeze dry consists of a solute and a solvent.

The majority of products which you can freeze dry are eutectics.

This substance in the mixture freeze at a much lower temperature than the water available in it.

The solute concentration of the product will change when you cool the aqueous suspension.

As more water changes to ice during the cooling process, the concentration of the solute increases.

The solutes that have a high concentration have a lower freezing temperature than water.

When the solute in the suspension completely freezes, you are sure that the product is fully frozen.

A eutectic suspension contains solutes and solvents.

When the eutectic solution fully freezes, the material is frozen.

It is vital that you prefreeze the product to lower than the eutectic temperature during freeze drying process.

If some parts do not freeze, the product may expand hence compromising the stability of the product you are freeze drying.

· Glass Formation

In this process, you are not forming eutectics.

Instead, the suspension now becomes more viscous when you lower the temperature.

Finally, the product will freeze when it reaches the glass transition point, and it forms a vitreous solid.

This particular product is difficult to freeze dry.

Primary Drying

After you freeze dry, it’s vital to initiate a condition where you will remove ice from the product through sublimation.

This means you are to carefully control the temperature and the pressure available in the freeze drying system.

The sublimation rate depends on the difference between the vapor pressure of the product and the ice collector.

The temperature of the product needs to be warmer than the temperature of the ice collector.

To get the best drying, you are to:

1. Ensure you have a temperature that will maximize the vapor pressure.
2. Ensure that the temperature will maintain the integrity of the product you are freezing.

A vacuum pump is essential to encourage the free flow of the water molecules from the product.

Another essential component is the cold trap that collects moisture that leaves the product you are freeze drying.

The vacuum pump will remove all non-condensable gases while the collector will condense all condensable gases such as water molecules.

The other essential component is energy in form of heat.

The machine requires ten times the energy to sublime a gram of water.

The heat energy can come in two forms:

1. Directly apply heat via a thermal conductor shelf
2. Apply ambient heat

Secondary Drying

Bound moisture is available in the product once primary freezing is complete and all ice has undergone sublimation.

This residual moisture can be between 7 to 8% even though the product appears dry.

The machine will continue drying the product at a warmer temperature to eliminate the moisture.

It is known as isothermal desorption.

Secondary drying happens at a higher temperature than the ambient temperature while still considering the sensitivity of the product.

In this stage, the pressure and the collector temperature remain the same.

The time for secondary drying is averagely 1/3 to 1/2 to that of primary drying.

What are the Methods of Freeze Drying?

There are three methods you can use in freeze drying.

The one you chose depends on the product.

Manifold Method

In this method, you will attach vials, ampules, or flasks to the drying chamber or manifolds’ ports.

The product undergoes drying in a freezer by shell freezing that depends on the nature and volume of the product.

Then you will quickly attach the product to the manifold to prevent warming.

This method is applicable for small sample sizes that have high collapse and eutectic temperature.

You can mount several vessels on the manifold, meaning you can freeze dry many products at the same time.

Batch Method

In the batch method, you will place similar products that are in similar vessels into the tray dryer.

Prefreezing happens on the shelf of the tray dryer.

Maintaining the temperature of the product and the heat you are applying is vital in this method.

With batch drying, you will accomplish the results of the products under the same conditions.

Batch drying is suitable for large samples of ampules or vials.

Bulk Method

Bulk drying uses a tray dryer similar to batch drying.

In bulk drying, you will pour all the product on a bulk pan and dry it.

Heat input is not the same as the product at the corners may dry faster than those in the middle of the pan.

Bulk drying is suitable for stable products that are not that delicate to moisture or oxygen.

What are the Components of Lab Freeze Dryer?

A lab freeze dryer has many components.

The five basic components include:

• Control System

The control system is where you can control and monitor the temperature and pressure of the lab freeze drying process.

• Drying Chamber

This is the area you will place the product after you freeze it.

Besides, the freezing can happen within the chamber as the initial step.

In such a scenario, the lab freeze dryer has to have a freezing system.

• Vacuum Pump

The vacuum pump removes all non-condensable gases from the chamber.

This will help the machine reach an optimum vacuum level which is less than 0.61 kPa (4.58 mm Hg/0.006 atm)

• Heat Source

Once you freeze dry the product, the heat source will provide latent heat that helps in sublimation.

This happens when the machine reaches a high vacuum state.

The temperature varies between − 30 to 150 °C (243.15 and 423.15 K).

• Condenser

The condenser collects all water vapor that came from the product.

The condenser has a large surface area and cooling capacity to freeze all the steam from the sublimation stage.

When the water vapor gets in contact with the condenser, it turns into ice crystals hence releasing energy.

The average temperature of the condenser can be around (− 65 °C (208.15 K).

How does Laboratory Freeze Dryer Work?

• Step One

The freeze dryer starts by cooling the product lower than its eutectic temperature level.

The lab freeze dryer then lowers the temperature of the collector to averagely 20° C cooler than the temperature of the product.

This is generally within -50 to -105° C.

• Step two

The machine freeze dries the product at a temperature lower than its collapse or eutectic temperature.

When the product is colder, it will take the laboratory freeze dryer longer to complete the primary drying.

• Step three

Once you freeze the product and the temperature of the collector is correct, a vacuum pump will clear the system.

At this stage, the primary drying will begin and happens until the entire product appears to be dry.

The heating system drives the entire process even though the collector and the vacuum pump creates optimum conditions.

Enhancing the heat input can happen by controlling the pressure in the dryer above the capability of the vacuum pump.

Some lab freeze dryers have vacuum control systems that regulate the pressure automatically.

The gas molecules will reside more in the system hence bettering heat conduction to the product samples.

All these will cause:

1. The sublimation rate to improve
2. A reduction in the processing time
3. A reduction of the energy costs

• Step Four

The pressure within the system must not exceed the ice vapor pressure of the product.

Maintaining this inhibits the melting of the sample.

The vacuum system maintains a low-pressure level to ensure water vapor flows to the collector from the product.

A pressure gauge will monitor the pressure in the lab freeze dryer during the whole drying process.

• Step Five

The final product then collects after the drying process is complete.

The sensors will then indicate the rate of the drying process as well as the endpoint of the drying process.

How do you Determine the Drying Endpoint in a Lab Freeze Dryer?

Lab freeze dryer

There are different methods to determine the endpoint of primary drying.

In batch drying, the boundary of the product moves to the bottom, and an inspection can reveal no ice is visible.

Besides, there is no indication that the center of the product is also dry.

An electronic vacuum gauge will measure the condensable gases that are in the system.

When the electronic gauge shows the minimum pressure is in the system, it means no vapor is getting out of the product.

When you increase the heat input, evaporative cooling will keep the temperature of the product below the temperature of the neighboring atmosphere.

The surrounding temperature will match the temperature of the product when primary drying is complete.

When using manifold systems and tray dryers that have external collectors, you can close the door of the collector using a valve.

A vacuum gauge then measures the pressure above the dried product.

The pressure in the system will increase if the drying is still happening.

What are the Kinds of Contamination that Occur in Lab Freeze Dryer Machine?

The two types of contamination that can occur in a lab freeze dryer result from:

• Freeze Drying Microorganisms

This is highly possible when you freeze dry microorganisms with no protective barrier.

An example of a protective barrier is a bacteriological filter.

In batch freeze drying, this kind of contamination is common.

This can present a risk to the operator and the samples.

· Freeze Drying Corrosive Materials

This kind of contamination can damage the lab freeze dryer.

Although stainless steel makes up the lab freeze dryer, clean the machine after each use to prevent corrosion.

What is Backfilling in a Lab Freeze Dryer?

The recommended system for closure in freeze drying of products is under vacuum.

This prevents oxygen and moisture from contacting the dry product.

Backfilling the product container with an inert gas prevents outside air from coming into contact with the product.

Examples of inert gases are nitrogen and argon.

Backfilling has to be slow to allow cooling and prevent the temperature of the collector from increasing.

What Factors Determine Stability of Products in Laboratory Freeze Dryer?

Several factors determine the stability of products in a freeze dryer.

The most common ones are oxygen and moisture.

Residual moisture is the amount of moisture present after freeze drying.

The residual moisture depends on the length of the secondary drying as well as the nature of the product.

You can determine residual moisture by:

1. Chemically
2. Manometrically
3. Chromatographically
4. Gravimetrically

Packaging must prevent contamination from humidity or air.

What is Collapse Temperature in Freeze Drying?

Collapse temperature determines the maximum temperature the product can handle.

The temperature helps to know if, during primary drying, the product will not melt or collapse.

It is an important factor to consider in the freeze drying process.

What is Cycle Optimization in Freeze Drying?

When designing how to successfully dry a product, it is important to shorten the length of the cycle.

This is especially vital when there is a possibility of increasing or repeating production.

You can lower the cycle time by investing factors such as:

• The thickness of the product
• The collapse temperature
• Freezing and annealing

What are the Features of Laboratory Freeze Dryer?

Some of the features of a laboratory freeze dryer include:

Laboratory freeze dryer machine

• Prefreezing happens within the machine
• An LCD touchscreen with a PLC controller
• U disk transfer data
• A drying temperature variation of ≤1 ℃
• An inflatable valve for the dry inert gas
• Software to print and browse the data
• An adjustable and controllable temperature
• Observation windows to see the drying process

What are the Advantages of using a Lab Freeze Drying Machine?

Some of the advantages of using a lab freeze dryer are:

• It increases the shelf life of products to more than 12 months
• It performs the freeze drying process quickly hence saving a lot of time
• The final product is in powder form hence, needs no crushing
• Rehydration of the final product is possible as it is porous
• the lab freeze dryer maintains the nutrient content and color of the final product

What are the Limitations of Lab Freeze Dryer?

Some of the limitations of a lab freeze dryer include:

• It is quite costly to purchase a quality lab freeze dryer
• There is a possibility to have microbial contamination
• Silicon oil leakage can happen in weak areas due to the continuous heating and cooling process

What are the Applications of a Lab Freeze Drying Machine?

Many industries use a lab freeze dryer.

Some of the applications include:

• Freeze drying of food materials

Such products include coffee, insects, fruits, military rations, etc.

• Technological industries

Such uses include chemical synthesis, bioseparation, and nanotechnology.

• Pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries

A lab freeze dryer increases the shelf life of products.

Such products include biologics, injectables, and live virus vaccines.

• Taxidermy

This involves preserving animals in taxidermy.

This preservation is known as freeze-dried taxidermy or freeze-dried mounts.

It can preserve amphibians, insects, small mammals, crustaceans, fish, and reptiles.

Is Freeze Drying Better than Dehydrating?

Yes, freeze drying is better than dehydrating.

The benefits of freeze drying include:

• Retains nutrition
• Longer shelf life
• Removes 99% of moisture

Is Freeze Drying Healthy?

Yes, freeze drying is generally healthy as it retains the nutrition and structure of the products.

Which Industries use a Lab Freeze Dryer?

Industries that use a lab freeze dryer include:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Research institutes
• Universities
• Archeology

How do you Maintain Laboratory Freeze Dryer?

Here are some ways of maintaining a laboratory freeze dryer:

• Defrost and clean the system after each cycle use
• Change vacuum pump oil
• Conduct frequent inspections of all seals and gaskets
• Replace and repair broken parts with genuine parts

What are the Misconceptions of Freeze Drying?

Some of the misconceptions include:

• A colder condenser temperature will result in rapid freeze drying
• Prefreezing is not that important
• You can fill vials at any depth
• The drier the product, the better

How do you Store Products Dried using Lab Freeze Dryer?

You should airtightly seal all containers as the products are hygroscopic.

This prevents moisture and oxygen contamination.

What Types of Freeze Dryer Machines are there?

The types of freeze dryers available include:

• Radiant freeze dryers
• Contact freeze dryers
• Microwave-assisted freeze dryers

What are the Quality Standards of Lab Freeze Dryer?

Some of the quality standards that a lab freeze dryer should conform to include:

• Current Good Manufacturing Practice [cGMP]
• Restriction of Hazardous Substances [RoHS]
• Food and Drug Administration [FDA]
• CE Mark

At Pilotech, we design and manufacture a range of drying systems such as lab freeze dryers, andspray drying machine.

Depending on your material processing needs, you can get lab freeze dryer for your unique requirements – contact us now.