* * * INSIGHT * * *

Don’t Forget the Vacuum Pump

By

Thomas A. Jennings, Ph.D.

Unless you really have an ancient freeze dryer, like that used by Bennedict and Manning [1] and would  be better suited in a museum than in a laboratory, then you are using some form of a mechanical vacuum pump to perform the drying process. In spite of the introduction of dry pumps in the field some years ago, the vast majority of dryers being produced today still depend on an oil sealed pumping system. The chief advances of the oil seal pump is that it is less expensive and can achieve lower pressures than the dry pump. Its reliability and durability are well known to those who use them. But it is these latter qualities that have prompted me to write this INSIGHT to make the reader aware that just because the pump is running does not mean that everything is under control. That may not always be the case and poor care may in time lead to poor performance or worse - replacement.

Vol. 5 No. 7                                                                                                 July, 2002

5 Pages          1 References           0 Figures

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