Durable Solutions for Safe and Sustainable Work With Bulk Chemicals
Improve your Chemical Manufacturing
Bulk chemicals are produced in mass scale to meet the ever-growing demand from downstream producers across multiple industries. With huge volumes of raw materials in production, downtime can be extremely costly. Early optimization of development and pilot processes is crucial to safeguard margins and ensure cost-effective operations.
Laboratory environments can be tough. When working with hazardous liquids and volatile samples, labs need robust and reliable tools and testing equipment that offer high chemical resistance and ensured safety for lab technicians.
Our high-performance, corrosion-resistant lab instruments and chemically compatible consumables simplify routine chemical analysis and testing. Whether polymers are derived from petroleum, other petrochemicals, organics or inorganics, we can be trusted to help you stay connected and compliant with safe and sustainable solutions.
Our Bulk Chemical support is applicable across a variety of applications, including:
- Microbiological testing such as water and bioburden
- Air quality monitoring
- Chemical Composition Analysis – Residue on ignition, particulate matter, etc.
Applications for Bulk Chemicals
Simple Analysis to Ensure Performance and Stability
Bulk chemicals, most of which are derived from petrochemicals, are a vital component of numerous processes, providing raw materials for products used in a wide range of different applications such as automotive, construction, and manufacturing industries.
Today customers want bulk chemicals to be produced safely with minimal impact on the environment, so quality is a high priority. As a scientist, you want to ensure that your bulk chemicals are stable and perform effectively. To do that you need robust, simple to use laboratory products, that can withstand use in harsh environments or with volatile and corrosive chemicals. These help you to work safely to generate precise, repeatable results, ensuring your bulk chemicals pass tests to accepted industry guidelines such as ASTM, ISO and IP, and other global standards.
Applications for Chemical Composition Analysis
How pure is it?
Unwanted impurities in bulk chemicals can come from the environment or from solvents and residual chemicals used in or produced during manufacturing. You must safely sample your bulk chemicals regularly to accurately monitor impurities as they could impact your chemicals’ stability or performance, making them unsuitable for their specific industrial applications.
What to test for:
- Organic pollutants, including complex polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
- Total Organic Halides
- Total Non-Methane Hydrocarbons
- Formaldehyde
We offer durable products - including easy-to-clean, high quality balances designed for use with corrosive chemicals and in harsh environments such as chemical plants and refineries. We also provide simple to use, accurate pipettes, ultrapure water systems and robust filters. These help you efficiently and safely prepare samples for precise, repeatable impurity testing to rapidly ensure the stability and effectiveness of your bulk chemicals time after time.
Tools for Sample Preparation for Impurity Testing
Cubis® II Ultra Micro & Micro Balance MCA 2.7S & MCA 10.6S
Organic impurities can arise during the manufacturing process and/or storage of a product. Sample preparation is a key step used to identify these process-related impurities.
Cubis®️ II Premium ultra-micro and micro balances are ideal for sample preparation for analytical applications that require very small sample quantities (e.g., elemental analysis). Cubis II® ultra-micro and micro balances are the only laboratory balances with fully customizable hardware, software, and connectivity. These design elements guarantee a higher degree of adaptability for different workflows, whilst the gesture sensors lower the probability of contamination and reduce human interference during measurement.
Additional features include:
- Modern user interfaces with ergonomic sample handling and easy process integration
- Pharmaceutical and GxP compliance (including data handling, data integrity and connectivity)
- High accuracy and precision
Best models in this application are the MCA2.7S as well as the MCA10.6S.
Cubis® II Configurator: Your Custom Balance in 4 Easy Steps - Configure Now
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Keeping your powder dry
In many bulk chemicals, moisture has negative effects on process efficiency or can lead to microbial contamination which can cause fuel quality degradation and fuel clumping, for example. You must check moisture content to ensure it is within industry accepted levels before filling or packaging and shipment to maintain the performance and stability of your bulk chemicals.
What to test for:
Moisture determination of incoming raw materials
Moisture analysis of your finished chemicals
We have durable products including precise moisture analyzers and sturdy, easy to clean balances which can deliver precise results. This helps you safely and accurately detect moisture in your raw materials and finished ingredients, ensuring your bulk chemicals are effective in industrial processes and of the expected quality when they reach your customers.
Tools for Moisture Determination
MA160 Moisture Analyzer
Understanding and maintaining the correct moisture content of a product is essential during manufacturing, as well as in research and development and testing laboratories. In a quality control environment, standard moisture testing approaches can be time-consuming, causing delays in production and in facilities that process a number of different kinds of samples, it can be challenging. By using a moisture analyzer you can overcome these bottlenecks and achieve results comparable to your standard method in minimal time.
The MA160 moisture analyzer is designed for quick and reliable moisture testing of a variety of samples, including liquids, pastes, and solids. It accommodates changing requirements by enabling you to use specific methods and efficiently manage all parameters.
Additional features include:
- Enhanced repeatability and balance
- A durable design that withstands heat and harsh environments
- Optimal weighing mechanism (no battery necessary)
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Size and Shape Matter
The types of particles in your bulk chemicals can affect product performance. For example, particle analysis can help you determine how viscous a lubricant is and this can govern its effectiveness and functionality.
What to test for:
Average particle size
Size distribution
Shape
We offer products including specific types of white, non-gridded filters to help you safely and precisely sample your particles for accurate analysis, allowing your bulk chemicals to meet your customer’s demanding quality and performance expectations.
Tools for Particulate Matter Analysis
Cubis® II Ultra Micro & Micro Balance MCA 2.7S & MCA 10.6S
Particulate matter is an amalgamation of different particles. These can be solid and/or liquid and be of various sizes (from a few nanometers to ~ 100 micrometers). The human or natural-made matter consists of components released directly from the source into the atmosphere (primary) and components that are formed in the atmosphere by chemical reactions (secondary). Particulate matter is a complex and significant health threat, therefore, monitoring and analysis is required for regulatory purposes.
Cubis® II ultra-micro and micro balances with specific filter models with draft shield F (MCA 2.7S & MCA 10.6S).
The Cubis® range of premium balances are designed for high performance weighing. The special filter model of Cubis® II ultra-micro and micro balance can be used in combination with the respective QApp (a pre-installed customer-specific application package) and the draft shield F – a manual stainless steel draft shield –providing protection against drafts and electrostatic charges to achieve accurate weighing of filters. Addition features include:
- Configurable balance with different pan size options (50 to 90 mm)
- Titanium weighing pans negate any magnetic interferences
- Illuminated weighing chamber and sample holders for filter weighing
Cubis® II Configurator: Your Custom Balance in 4 Easy Steps - Configure Now
Octet® in Nanoparticle Research
The Octet® platform can serve as an invaluable tool in nanoparticle (NP) development. It provides several measurable NP quality attributes, including binding affinity, kinetics and stability.
Octet®️ systems do not utilize microfluidics. Samples get measured in microtiter plates and are non-destructive. This is in sharp contrast to surface plasmon resonance (SPR) biosensor systems. A greater flexibility in samples types includes cell lysates or aggregation-prone formulations. The size of the analyte does not affect the measurement either. Hence Octet® systems are an attractive solution for nanoparticles-based biological agent development.
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Purity and Formulation
Knowing the density of your bulk chemicals will help you determine product purity and calculate your fill volume.
What to test for:
Density of solids
Density of liquids
Density with pycnometer
Our robust products are designed with the operator in mind and for safe use. These include pycnometers for use with a specific range of easy-to-clean, balances that have corrosion resistant balance pans and software for density applications. These tools help you safely and reproducibly calculate the density of your liquid or powdered chemicals.
Tools for Density Testing
Cubis® II analytical & semi-microbalance (Cubis II with Q-App) MCA (package with back-weighing program, QP2 package)
A pycnometer is used to determine the density of a paste or powder. The method relies on the use of a reference liquid with a known density (such as water). The density of the sample is calculated from the difference in weight due to the displacement of the reference liquid.
For density testing of solid samples, a density determination kit can be used. The solid sample is placed on a weighing pan to determine its weight in air, before being submersed in a test liquid. The density of the solid is then calculated and automatically corrected for influencing factors.
Cubis II ultra-micro and micro balances with QApps, MCA (QP2 advanced package)
The Cubis® range of premium balances are designed for high performance weighing. The Cubis II ultra-micro and micro balance can both be used in combination with customer-specific applications, called QApps (pre-installed software package designed to guide users through a particular weighing process) and density kits, such as the YDK03 and YDK04.
Additional features include:
- Ability to test the density of solids, liquids and pastes
- Configurable balance that can be paired with QApps to increase efficiency and reliability
- Titanium weighing pans which negate magnetic interferences
Cubis® II Configurator: Your Custom Balance in 4 Easy Steps - Configure Now
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Measuring Inorganic Impurities
Inorganic impurities in bulk chemicals can come from the environment or can be produced during the manufacturing process. You must sample your chemicals using a residue on ignition test, also known as a sulphated ash test, to determine the percentage of inorganic impurities. If the amount of these impurities is too high, they could affect the performance or quality of your bulk chemicals.
What to test for:
Production reagents
Inorganic salts
Heavy metals
We have a combination of suitable products including ashless filters and robust, easy to clean balances with software for residue on ignition applications which will generate reliable results. These help you safely and reproducibly calculate the percentage of inorganic impurities in your bulk chemicals to ensure they are the right specification for your customer’s applications.
Tools for Residue on Ignition
Cubis® II analytical & semi-microbalance (Cubis® II incl Q-App); QP2 package
Residue on ignition is an important measurement for ensuring that products are not only safe and effective, but consistent between batches and manufacturers. The residue on ignition test describes the method used to measure the quantity of residual substances that are not volatilized from a sample once it has been ignited in the presence of sulfuric acid. Once the sample is weighed again, calculations are conducted and stored using the QApp.
Cubis® II ultra-micro and micro balances with QApp; QP2 advanced package
The Cubis® range of premium balances are designed for high performance weighing. The Cubis® II ultra-micro and micro balance can both be used in combination with the pre-installed “residue on ignition” QApp included in the QP2 advanced package. This application can help users determine initial weight, back weight and residue on ignition.
Additional features include:
- User friendly with 10 available languages
- Data calculation and storage functionality when paired with residue on ignition QApp
- Titanium weighing pans which negate magnetic interferences
Cubis® II Configurator: Your Custom Balance in 4 Easy Steps - Configure Now
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What is in the Water?
You need to monitor the quality of the water that goes into manufacturing your bulk chemicals, as well as the wastewater it produces. Bulk chemicals often need processing, or treatment with good quality water to remove impurities. Certain substances in wastewater from bulk chemical production pose a major threat to the environment if they enter water ways in high concentrations.
What to test for:
pH
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Heavy Metals
Lab technicians need simple to use products designed for use in harsh environments including precise pipettes, specific filters, and robust pH meters to help safely sample and analyze process and wastewater to ensure it maintains its quality profile to industry guidelines time after time.
Tools for Process & Ground and Waste Water Analysis
Sartolab® P20 Pressure Filters
Water and wastewater analysis is key to ensuring quality control standards are met and upheld. Groundwater is a drinking water source and consequently must be monitored closely to confirm its suitability for consumption. Unfortunately, groundwater can become contaminated with heavy metals from landfill and industrial site wastewater. Continuous monitoring of the wastewater emerging from these sites enables the detection of potential contaminates that may be leached into the surrounding groundwater, compromising its quality and safety.
The Sartolab® P20 pressure filter is a unit which can be used for sterile filtration or clarification of media, solvent mixtures, and aqueous solutions. The filters can process batches up to 10 L at a time.
These pressure filters can help workflows to detect heavy metals heavy metals and chlorine in water.
Other benefits include:
- Highest flow rates with a large surface of filtration (20 cm²)
- Version available with a prefilter for particle-high-loaded solutions
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Accurately Measuring and Monitoring Product Quality
To ensure bulk chemicals meet the highest stability and efficacy standards, analytical testing is performed on incoming raw ingredients, during intermediate production steps, as well as before final release. This helps you determine the levels of impurities and potentially toxic or hazardous compounds that may be present.
Applications for Analytical Testing
Smart Sampling for Accurate Analysis
High levels of undesirable compounds in bulk chemicals can make them unstable and can affect performance in some industrial applications, for example high levels of aromatics and trace metals in fuel can cause corrosion in an engine. With great sampling methods and accurate analytical tools, you can detect and monitor the levels of these compounds in your bulk chemicals to ensure these do not reach your customers.
What to test for:
- HPLC for detecting aromatic hydrocarbons
- ICP-MS for trace metal analysis
Good quality water is the first step to good quality results. The purity of the water can be a critical factor in the sensitivity, reproducibility and reliability of the analytical results obtained. We provide robust water purification systems for producing ultrapure water for preparing standards and blanks, for buffer and sample preparation. We also offer precise pipettes and easy clean, sturdy balances which are user-friendly in even harsh environments such as chemical plants and refineries. This combination of trusted sample preparation tools helps you safely get the most accurate results from your analysis.
Sartorius Solutions for HPLC
HPLC Sample Preparation
High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is a highly precise, reproducible, and specific analytical method. For optimal results, a sample must be dissolved in the correct solvent and free of particles to reduce interference and prevent blockage of the HPLC column. As a result, of this labor-intensive sample preparation step, the protocol is considerably time-consuming.
Using Sartorius’ products during sample preparation, you can overcome these challenges, save time, and increase the reproducibility of your results. Additional benefits include:
- Higher accuracy and sensitivity
- No blockage and or leachables
- Reduced background noise and false-positive peaks
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The Solution for Solutions
Often bulk chemicals are used in a liquid form, so you must test how stable and effective they are in solution to ensure they will perform as your customers expect them to. For example, viscosity of an oil can indicate that its grade is incorrect or possible contamination and degradation, all of which will affect your customer’s product performance.
What to test for:
Color
pH
Viscosity
Particles
We provide water purification systems to produce ultrapure water for high quality aqueous sample preparation. We also offer precise pipettes, specialists filters and sturdy balances which are simple to use to generate reliable results. These trusted sample preparation tools help you safely and rapidly produce the best solutions of your bulk chemicals for testing every time.
Tools to Support Wet Chemistry
Cubis® MSA dosing system
Reference samples, also known as standards, are used to determine the concentration of chemical compounds using highly sensitive quantitative analytical procedures. These standards have a defined concentration of one or several known compounds which must be as accurate as possible to prevent subsequent errors when determining unknown sample concentrations.
The Cubis® MSA dosing system simplifies workflows in the preparation of analytical standards. Using the special QApp software, the solvent volume is automatically corrected to the appropriate value, eliminating the need to reach the precise target weight. At the end of the procedure, the weight of the compound and solvent is used to calculate the verified concentration and volume of the standard prepared.
In addition to providing valid and flexible results, other features include:
- Integrated system with software application and automatic preparation of standards
- Standardized process (100% compliant with SOPs) with controlled and consistent workflows
- Automated processes that are cost- and time-efficient
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Managing Your Microbes
To minimize contamination risks with your bulk chemicals you need to know which microorganisms are lurking in your water, production, filling lines prior to packaging and transportation. Introducing microbes at any stage in your process may cause changes in viscosity for example, as well as oxidation, and degradation, leading to poor quality bulk chemicals which may be unstable, damaging, or ineffective in specific applications.
Applications for Microbiological Testing
Testing your Water for Microbes
Microbes in your process water can contaminate your bulk chemicals making them unstable, corrosive or diminish performance. To monitor your process water, you must undertake regular water tests and decontaminate your water systems if high levels of microbes are present.
What to test for:
- Total Count of Aerobic Microbes (Bacteria and Fungi)
- Corrosion-inducing bacteria
With regulatory compliant membrane filtration systems, as well as media and label-free biosensor technologies we offer safe and efficient detection of microorganisms in your process water. These enable you to generate accurate, reproducible results and help you meet industry standards with bioburden testing of your bulk chemicals.
Tools for Membrane Filtration
Microsart® Manifold
Bioburden testing is used to measure levels of microbial contamination in a sample. Microbial contamination can cause incorrect results, unproductive workflows and ultimately results in poor product quality and stability. Therefore, quality control laboratories need to achieve accurate detection and quantification of microorganisms in liquid samples (such as those from water systems).
The Microsart® Manifold is an instrument for membrane filtration which provides reliable and reproductible results. This product allows the consumer to select the correct manifolds to suit the needs of individual microbiological testing workflows. For example, reusable or single use funnels/ filtration units and various sized manifolds.
Additional benefits include:
- 100% stainless steel for easy cleaning, full autoclavability without disassembly
- Low height for ergonomic working in laminar flow
- Quick connection adaptors for fast assembly of tubing and manifolds
Octet® Systems for Bacterial Pathogen & Endotoxin Detection
The high-throughput Octet® instruments provide a simple, quick and sensitive platform for the detection of E. coli and other bacterial contaminants label-free. The microfluidic-free sensor design makes it highly suitable for on-site real time detection of pathogens and other contaminants. In addition, the Sartorius Octet® N1 instrument is a miniaturized version of the Octet®, allowing for easy portability of the technology.
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Microbial Limits
Microbial contamination can be present in raw materials or could be introduced when producing bulk chemicals. Although microbes are often present in low numbers in most bulk chemicals, if water is present in fuels for example this can lead to serious microbial contamination. These can cause biocidal mats and sludge which produce potentially destructive organic acids. This type of contamination can shake your customer‘s confidence in your brand and may have a financial impact on your company. Your bulk chemicals are not expected to be microbe free, but they must contain low levels of potentially damaging ones.
What to test for:
- Total Count of Aerobic Microbes (Bacteria and Fungi)
- Corrosion-inducing bacteria
By adhering to a regular sampling plan with in-process controls along the entire production chain from raw materials through to finished chemicals you can easily detect unwanted microbes. We have durable products including ASTM-tested membrane filters which can help detect microorganisms in petrochemicals such as gasoline and jet fuel. We also provide media and label-free biosensor technologies for efficient, accurate detection of potentially damaging microorganisms to help you meet industry standards with your microbial limits testing.
Tools for Microbial Limits Testing
Microsart® @filter
Microbial limit testing is designed to investigate the quantity and identification of microorganisms present on raw materials, in-process samples and finished products. These tests are needed to confirm the safety of a product or sample, specifically if quantitative limits of certain microorganisms are exceeded, for example Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Salmonella.
The Microsart® @filter combines a funnel, filter base and a gridded membrane filter in one unit. This filter unit can detect microorganisms in raw materials, in-process samples and final products across numerous industries including pharmaceutical, cosmetic and personal care. As per USP <61>, membrane filtration is a viable method for detection of microorganisms within your sample.
Key benefits include:
- Ready-to-use sterile filtration devices
- Reliable results as no liquid remains after filtration
- Transparent funnel material allows the filtration process to be visible
Octet® Systems in Formulations & Aggregation Studies
Octet® platforms give you the capability for multiple applications in one system. It enables critical functional stability studies, where the presence of aggregation can be monitored in tandem with more traditional binding analysis such as target binding, potentially saving some users the need for multiple technologies.
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Sartorius Solutions for Data Analytics
The Umetrics® Suite of data analytics software tools can help you to monitor production in real-time, preventing waste and quality concerns, decrease raw material usage, enable more cost-effective and sustainable manufacturing procedures, and find alternative ingredients if there is an interruption in your usual supply. Enabling you to improve your process at every stage from research, process development, and large-scale manufacturing.
Stay in Control of Raw Material Quality
Data analytics streamlines evaluating the chemical properties of raw material, saving time and money by reducing the number of experiments you need to do to find the best available product for your purposes. Raw material supply can be unpredictable and substitute raw material sources may be required to meet demanding production schedules while maintaining quality. MODDE® Design of Experiments (DOE) software enables you to identify the best substitutions for ingredients affected by market scarcity or increased costs.
Optimize Production Processes
SIMCA® Multivariate Data Analysis software provides a comprehensive toolbox for data mining, multivariate data analysis (MVDA), and model interpretation, so you and your team can visualize data to investigate sources of variability and make impactful adjustments to processes to use raw materials more efficiently, increase yields, maintain quality, and reduce wear and tear on equipment.
Controlling Processes
One of the most effective ways to ensure you stay in control of your processes and meet their critical quality attributes is with real-time batch process monitoring. Being able to take corrective action as soon your process diverges from its optimal operating conditions helps you maintain safety, reduce costly waste disposal and re-work (lost batches), and allows you to plan preventative maintenance with minimal disruption. With SIMCA®-online, you’ll achieve consistent product quality and maximize productivity.
Featured Resources
Service & Support
Peak Performance
To ensure your bulk chemicals are of the required quality and comply with industry standards, you need to produce accurate test results often while working in challenging environments. To do this, your laboratory equipment must be hard-wearing, easy to clean and perform at its best day after day, and at best year after year. Downtime is costly. Regular service, calibration, and software updates will ensure the longevity of your equipment and keep it in prime condition.
There When You Need Us
We offer a global network of service and support, with trained experts and scientists to help you. We can assist you with accredited service and calibration, or with technical questions, software updates and repairs as and when you need them. With expertise straight from the manufacturer and specially-trained service technicians we are at your side to help you comply with regulations, be ready for the next audit or minimize downtime so you can concentrate on your research and testing to produce your bulk chemicals as cost-efficiently as possible.
