The PressTech laboratory is fully equipped for the production, characterization and modeling of biorefinery processes and products, supercritical fluids, CO2 conversion, energy storage and any other process related to chemical engineering.
Our technological capabilities can be useful to different companies, research centers, public administrations and other entities.
One of the main challenges in the development of new products or processes is the lack of basic information on the behavior of the systems under operating conditions, which often occurs:
– because you are working with poorly studied compounds
– because the conditions are not the usual ones
– because it is difficult to find data on phase equilibrium, solubilities or reaction kinetics in the literature.
Visual cells are high-tech devices specifically designed and built to study solubility, equilibrium and reaction kinetics under carefully controlled conditions. By using a visual camera, the formation of different fluid or solid phases, such as precipitates or gas bubbles in a liquid, can be detected.
PressTech has 4 visual cells for the analysis of different systems.
High Pressure View Chamber Eurotechnica “HPVC 300r”
The high pressure recirculation unit “HPVC 300r” is designed to study the phenomena of phase equilibrium, solubility, adsorption and extraction desorption in the presence of supercritical CO2.
A solid material can be placed inside the high pressure view chamber. The equipment is filled with a pressurized fluid (CO2) and is isobarically circulated past the viewing chamber to dissolve, for example, some volatiles from the solid. The dissolved substances can be adsorbed on an adsorbent and the recycled CO2 is passed back through the viewing chamber.
The maximum operating conditions of the cell are 320 bar and 120°C.
It was constructed by Eurotechnica.
High pressure view chamber Type HPVC 300-HT
This high pressure view chamber is designed for observation of phase behaviour and reactions and elevated temperature and pressure.
Basically, a cylindrical internal volume is filled with a fluid or a fluid mixture. This mixture is agitated via a magnetically coupled agitator. A manual operated magnetic lift allow to place a solid sample inside the cell view chamber after being thermostated and pressurized via a sluice (lock hopper) system. Two further ports allow fluid supply, sampling and pressure detection. Two cylindrical sapphire windows that are allocated opposite to each other allow visualization of main part of the internal volume.
Maximum operating temperatures and pressures are 500 ºC and 30 MPa, although specific parts of the device as the magnetic lift and the agitator should not be into contact with temperatures higher than 300 ºC.
It was designed and constructed by Eurotechnica.
Horizontal view cell Eurotechnica “HPVC 350-W”
This visual cell allows the observation of phases behaviour at high pressures and temperatures.
The apparatus is composed by a stainless steel cylinder, in the interior of which is housed the substance that is going to be studied and a piston moved by an hydraulic manual Nickel alloy piston pump. To ensure a correct mixing, the cell disposes also of a hermetically sealed magnetic stirrer.
This horizontal visual cell has a variable volume between 40 and 70 mL. Maximum operation temperature is 200 ºC and maximum pressure is 200 bar.
The device disposes of a lamp to illuminate one end of the view cell and a camcorder to capture images of inside the cell and displayed on the computer screen, avoiding direct viewing through the windows.
It was constructed by Eurotechnica.
Vertical view cell (SITEC 740.2120)
This view cell allows the observation of phases behaviour at high pressures and temperatures.
The apparatus is composed by a stainless steel cylinder, in the interior of which is housed the substance that is going to be studied and a piston moved by an hydraulic manual piston pump. The cylinder has 5 perforations: two for the sapphire windows located in oposite sides of the cylinder, one for the pressure transductor, one for the thermocouple for temperature measurement and the last one, that could be used to introduce a fluid inside the cell. Also, a magnetic stirrer can be introduced to enhance mixture inside the cell.
The device disposes also of a lamp to illuminate one end of the view cell and a camcorder to capture images of inside the cell and displayed on the computer screen, avoiding direct viewing through the windows.
PressTech’s laboratory offers a wide range of equipment to crush, pulverize and grind large samples to homogeneous and representative sample aliquots.
Ball Mill RESTCH PM 100
Planetary ball mill, 25 ml zirconium oxide and 500 ml stainless steel containers.
Knife Mill RESTCH SM 100
Wet Mill
Spray dryer Niro Mobile Minor
Treatment capacity: 180 – 660 mL/h of dissolution.
Drying air flows up to 80 kg/h and 200 ºC.
Filter Press
Maximum filter press closing pressure: 240 bar
PressTech’s analysis and characterization laboratory focuses on the chemical, structural and morphological characterization of materials and components, studying their evolution and degradation.
Chromatograph HPLC Waters
PDA 2988 e IR 2141
HPLC Waters
IR and UV detector
Sampler
Gradient operation
TOC Shimadzu
Surface tension meter for liquids under ambient conditions (Krüss)
Malvern Mastersizer 2000
GC/SM Chromatograph
Agilent 7840B
GC/SM Chromatograph
Agilent 7840A
FT-IR analysis
Bruker ALPHA equipment.
Press and diamond cell for analysis of abrasive solids or non-volatile liquids samples.
Portable Raman Spectrophotometer
i-RAMAN B&WTEC (532 nm-1)
Portable Gas Chromatograph
MicroGC VARIAN 4900
Freeze dryer
TELSTAR LyoQuest (down to -55ºC)
ULTRA-TURRAX
IKA LABOR PILOT 2000/4
Tubular furnace ENERGON
Glove box with nitrogen flow
GP(Campus) JACOMEX
Rotary evaporator HeiDolph
Associated to vacuum pump and cooling system.
Moisture Analyzer Sartorius
PressTech has a wide variety of small-scale process plants. In this way, we obtain information about a given process, which enables us to:
Aerogel drying plant using supercritical CO2
30 mL cell, Pmax: 150 bar, Tmax: 60ºC
Equipment for measuring dissolution kinetics in aqueous media COPLEY
Plasmon-catalyzed CO2 reactivation plant
Flow rate: up to 1 mL/min; Tmax: 200 ºC; Pmax: 70 bar
Emulsions formulation plant
Emulsions formulation plant using pressurized fluids.
Laboratory scale plant for continuous hydrothermal hydrolysis
Reactor with mechanical stirrer 300 ml, Pmax: 225 bar, Tmax: 454 ºC
Supercritical Fluid Extraction Equipment
Capacity: 5 liters, flow rate 16 kg/h, Pmax: 400 bar, Tmax: 80ºC.
Batch microwave for assisted extraction CEM – DISCOVER
Reactor for microwave assisted extraction (ANTON PARA)
Laboratory scale plants (LSP) are low capacity but high flexibility facilities. LSP are used at the first stage of a researching when not a high productivity capacity is need but a great amount of experimental essays are required. On LSP, any modifications could be done quickly and with a relative low cost, what allow to reach easily the best process configuration and conditions.
Siphon 1
TRL 3
Equipment for the saturation of materials with CO2 and water with steam and CO2 explosion.
Laboratory pilot plant for batch hydrogenation reactions
Reactor: BERGHOF BR-25, Pmax: 200 bar, Tmax: 300ºC
PressTech’s laboratory is equipped with state-of-the-art pilot plants to create more efficient, environmentally friendly that allow the creation of more efficient and environmentally friendly production processes and the promotion of high-value projects.
PHUn 1
Pressurized Hydrolisis Unit 1
TRL 4
Hydrothermal processes for the fractionation and hydrolysis of biomass. Continuous hydrothermal and solvothermal processes.
Processes up to 0,5 Kg biomass/hour.
PHUn 2
Pressurized Hydrolisis Unit 2
TRL 5
Hydrothermal processes for the fractionation and hydrolysis of biomass.
Continuous hydrothermal and solvothermal processes.
Processes up to 5 Kg biomass/hour.
PHUn 0
Pressurized Hydrolisis Unit 0
TRL 3
Multi fixed-beds pilot plant for biomass fractionation by means of hydrolysis with subcritical water
Tmax: 180 ºC, Pmax: 20 bar, capacity: 5 L, up to 30 L/h.
ESC Pilot Plant
Supercritical CO2 extraction pilot plant
SAS
Pilot plant for obtaining microparticles and microencapsulations using the Supercritical Antisolvent (SAS) technique.
Volume: 1 L: CO2 flow: 5 kg/h; dissolution flow: 0.5 kg/h
PGSS y PGSS Drying
Pilot plant for obtaining microparticles and microencapsulates by means of PGSS and PGSS Drying technology.
CO2 flow rate: 30 Kg/h; emulsion flow rate: 5 Kg/h
Pilot plant for continuous CO2 reactions
Dissolution flow rate: 10 mL/min; Pmax: 300 bar; Tmax: 350 ºC
Microwave-assisted continuous extraction pilot plant
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