Company: Roperhurst
Application: Academic/Research Cleanroom Facility
Location: Nottingham
Contract Value: £100,000
Overall Project Value: £23 million
Overview: Design, fabricate and install two wet benches for use in academic and industrial research. One bench to be polypropylene for acid use, the other to be PVDF for hydrofluoric (HF) acid use.
The Challenge
Roperhurst was approached by our client as a result of previous wet bench design and installation carried out at the Harwell Campus.
The end user, part of a major university investment, was looking for partners to design and build two wet benches to very precise criteria.
We met with all parties on site over a period of two months to clearly establish requirements and co-ordinate with both the cleanroom company and the ventilation controls teams.
The services required for these wet benches included towns water, DI water guns, nitrogen guns, and a weir sink with flow controllable via a timer. The wet benches were also supplied with drawers beneath for secure vented storage.
What is a wet bench?
With similarities to a fume cupboard, a wet bench is a work surface or table with integrated sinks and controls used to perform wet processes on materials or samples. Wet processes use liquid-based solutions, such as chemical baths, rinses, or coatings, to treat or modify materials.
Since many wet chemical processes generate hazardous fumes, a typical wet bench would also incorporate fume extraction for user safety.
These are safety-critical pieces of equipment, as the nature of the work done can often mean that very high chemical resistance is required, using high purity materials such as PVDF.
Roperhurst understands that every requirement differs, and we will work with you to determine the right solution for your processes.