Freeze Dryers are used for preservation of a wide variety of product types, as diverse as pharmaceutical products, food and beverages, soil samples, flowers and archaeological artefacts. If you are intending to purchase a freeze dryer for the first time, you may find the following information useful:
Trials
Have you carried out freeze drying trials of your product? Trials will help to determine how your product reacts to the freeze-drying process. E.g., the length of time to freeze dry a batch, how much ice it generates – before investing in capital equipment.
You can carry out trials either by using a company that provides contract freeze-drying, or by hiring equipment and carrying out your own trials. MechaTech Systems offer benchtop freeze dryers for monthly rental >
Budget
How much can you afford? Freeze Dryers are expensive – fact! Prices do vary according to quality and manufacturer, but a good quality, 5Kg (ice condenser capacity) -55°C benchtop freeze dryer, including chamber and vacuum pump, is likely to start at around £11,000. For pilot and production scale freeze dryers, prices vary from tens to hundreds of thousand pounds, usually determined by the condenser and chamber size, and temperature and control requirements.
Temperature
What Condenser Temperature do you need? A freeze dryer typically has a condenser temperature of -55°C which is suitable for many product types, but not all. Your product may have a lower freezing point (eutectic point), in which case you will need a lower condenser temperature. MechaTech Systems manufacture LyoDry Freeze Dryers > with condenser temperatures of either -55 °C or -85°C.
What Chamber Temperature do you need? Many small lab freeze dryers, such as the LyoDry Compact Benchtop Freeze Dryer >, or LyoDry Benchtop Pro > are modular: this means that you can choose the drying chamber > – often an acrylic chamber, perhaps with a tray accessory – or a manifold or chamber with ports for flask drying. In this instance, pre-freezing in the chamber is not an option, so your product must be pre-frozen either in a suitable freezer, or snap frozen in liquid nitrogen.
Heating your product, if appropriate, may speed up the freeze-drying process. For this purpose, the LSAD6H Heated Chamber from MechaTech Systems has a temperature controller and heater mats.
Larger, pilot-scale freeze dryers, such as the LyoDry Heritage > or the LyoDry Grande > do offer integral, temperature-controlled chambers or shelves. You can both pre-freeze and heat the product. LyoDry pilot and production scale freeze dryers are typically available with chamber temperatures ranging from -60°C or -40°C, to +60°C.
Capacity
What Condenser Capacity do you need? This will be determined by how much ice will your product generates before the condenser needs to be defrosted, and what batch size you wish to process. This is particularly important if you have a very wet product, which will generate more ice.
For example, the LyoDry Compact benchtop freeze dryer has an ice condenser capacity of 5Kg, before defrost is required. The LHS60 LyoDry Heritage has an ice condenser capacity of 60Kg before defrost is required. If you don’t know how much ice your product generates, trials > will help you to determine this.
What Chamber capacity do you need? i.e. How much space do you need for the product you wish to freeze dry per batch. Smaller, R&D freeze dryers, such as the LyoDry Compact benchtop freeze dryer, are often modular, so you can choose which chamber/drying accessory you need. This might be an Acrylic Chamber, for bulk samples, often with a tray accessory, for freeze drying multiple samples. Or a manifold accessory, for attaching flasks. Or a combination of both so that you have different options available, for example the LSDCV 8-port lidded acrylic chamber. See Freeze Dryer Accessories > for LyoDry Freeze Dryer accessory options.
Pilot scale and production freeze dryers usually have an integral chamber, with a set number of shelves offering a total chamber capacity. For example, the pilot-scale LyoDry Maxi Freeze Dryer > is available with either 3, 4 or 5 shelves, each measuring 360mm W x 480mm D, up to a total of 0.86m2 drying space.
Solvents
What solvents are involved in the process? Often, the only solvent present in the freeze-drying process is water. In which case, any chamber is suitable. However, some organic solvents can cause an acrylic chamber to corrode, especially if a high concentration of corrosive solvent is present. In this instance, a stainless steel chamber is a better option. You may also need to protect the vacuum pump with a chemical trap and sorbent.
Control What level of control automation do you need? Entry level, laboratory freeze dryers will usually have a basic digital controller and display, showing temperature, vacuum level and readiness. The operator needs to follow certain steps, such as pressing the ‘Pump On’ button to switch on the vacuum pump, when the freeze dryer display indicates that it has reached the correct pre-cooled temperature. For more closely controlled laboratory freeze drying on a small scale, the LyoDry Benchtop Pro > and LyoDry Midi Pro > offer touch screen control, data logging, trends, pressure control, USB and ethernet comms.
Pilot and production freeze dryers, such as the LyoDry Heritage, Maxi and Grande, have more comprehensive controllers, usually a touch screen PLC, with pre-programmable, freeze drying ‘recipes’. These provide product protection and require only minimal operator intervention. They often include process and product temperatures variables, and real-time systems status and fault indicators. They also have comprehensive alarm management systems, and the option of remote view via an external computer. If you’re freeze drying in vials, some pilot and production freeze dryers, such as the LyoDry Maxi and Grande, also offer automatic stoppering of vials.
Space and Logistics
Last, but not least, where will your freeze dryer be installed? A benchtop freeze dryer can sit on a lab bench, or a purpose-built trolley on castors so that it can be moved around the lab.
For example, the LyoDry Midi modular freeze dryer offers a larger condenser capacity (18Kg) than a LyoDry benchtop freeze dryer (5Kg), but is specially designed be positioned next to a typical laboratory bench.
The LyoDry Maxi has a built-in chamber on top, so needs height, but is specially designed to fit through a standard laboratory doorway.
The LyoDry Production Freeze Dryer >, however, is a through-the-wall design – so only the chamber doorway and operator control are accessible in the clean room, whilst the mechanical parts such as the vacuum pump and condenser are in a separate room.
To summarise:
Have you carried out trials > ?
What can you afford > ?
What temperature > do you need?
What capacity > do you need?
What solvents> are you using?
What level of control > do you need?
How much space > do you have?
MechaTech Systems manufacture LyoDry Freeze Dryers >, from our Bristol, UK facility.
We can provide advice, quotations and also practical help in the form of rental benchtop freeze dryers for carrying out trials of your product. For further information, please contact us: enquiries@mechatechsystems.co.uk / +44 (0) 1454 414723