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SCHOTT North America |
Sterilization
Operating costs and energy saving
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2 time-temperature curve in the autoclave.
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The operating costs of an autoclave are usually underestimated.
They depend on the size of the autoclave, the loads to be sterilized and the supply of media such as the operating steam available.
Supplying an autoclave with internally generated steam is normally three times as expensive as supplying it with externally generated steam.
Quite considerable costs are involved in an autoclaving process (steam, energy, water,...) so that the demand for economic operation of an autoclave is justified.
This includes making optimum use of the autoclave chamber with suitable vessels.
In an A4 autoclave (4 600 x 600 x 300 cm sterilization units) fitted with two rack shelves, 98 500 ml round laboratory bottles can be sterilized.
Compared to this 112 500 ml bottles can be sterilized per load when square laboratory bottles are used.
This equates to seven liters more liquid.
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Handling with square laboratory bottles
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When using new DURAN® square laboratory bottles, these should be subjected first to artificial aging.
This is done by filling the new bottles with very pure water and boiling them dry in the autoclave at a temperature of 121 °C on the liquid program.
This artificial aging creates a thin, almost non-porous layer of silicate on the surface of the glass which results in optimum cleaning and electrolytically neutral behavior in the presence of very pure water in repeated use.
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Reprocessing
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To ensure economic use of DURAN® square laboratory bottles it is a good idea to clean or reprocess them after use in the laboratory.
In normal laboratory automatic dishwashers with direct injection they can be washed and dried in suitable loading trolleys.
The bottles’ soft edges and curves ensure optimum washing in automatic washers.
This means that they can be reused and considerable cost-savings achieved.
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Recycling
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Special glass is completely harmless from the ecological aspect.
Glass is manufactured from natural raw materials such as sand, lime and soda.
It contains no materials that can escape and cause damage to human beings or the environment.
Glass is a reusable material either by multiple use or by disposal without problem.
Special glasses, including DURAN®, with defined chemical and physical properties have been recycled for reuse for many years.
A prerequisite for this is that the damaged DURAN® glass is not contaminated and is free from any residue.
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Summary
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DURAN® square laboratory bottles are ideal containers for sterilizing liquids and subsequent transportation to the user.
Their shape increases the number that can be loaded into an autoclave and depending on the size of the chamber, more liquid can be sterilized per load.
When cleaned using environmentally friendly methods they can be reused and can be returned to the material circuit.
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