Your questions and our answers about glass-lined equipment

What are the advantages of using DD3009 glass-lined equipment?

There are some key reasons why our enamel can benefit your process:
 

• Corrosion Resistance - DD3009 Glass-lined steel provides superior corrosion resistance to acids, alkalis, water and other chemical solutions.
As a result of this chemical resistance, glass lining can serve for many years in environments that would quickly render most metal vessels unserviceable

• Versatility - The chemical, mechanical and thermal properties of our enamel is proof that this material can handle a diverse range of operating conditions.
Users of De Dietrich glass-lined equipment are therefore able to make drastic changes to their process without needing new equipment to do so

• Purity - Aggressive reaction environments and extractable metals can cause undesirable catalytic effects or fluctuations in process reactions leading to product contamination in unlined steel or alloy reactors. 
Our enamel DD3009 is inert, so it is impervious to contamination

• Cleanability - Glass-lined steel has been adapted to cGMP requirements for cleaning, cleanliness and sterilization. 
Our enamel benefit from high degree of surface smoothness that makes it easy to clean using non-corrosive, low pressure cleaning systems. 
The smooth surface of glass-lined steel also resists the buildup of viscous or sticky products, which means less frequent cleaning

• Durability - The combination of glass and steel provides you with the best of both materials of construction; fusing glass to steel produces a composite material with an inside that offers product protection and an outside that provides structural strength and durability

Why are glass lining color options blue and white?

The blue coloring comes from the cobalt that was added to the glass formulations a long time ago. Usually the choice of which color to use comes down to concerns about cleaning and what particles could be left behind. If people are concerned with dark-colored particles being left on the surface, they will usually choose a white glass so they can see the particles either. If the particles are a lighter color, then you would choose a blue glass. 

How are the level measurement marks made on agitators?

We create the lines/lettering using the contrasting glass color. So, blue lines on a white agitator or white lines on a blue agitator.

What temperature range should glass-lined equipment be expected to serve?

The minimum temperature allowance for a standard glass-lined steel reactor is -29°C. For cryogenic processes that require even lower temperatures there are special models that can be designed to accommodate temperatures as low as -60°C. The maximum temperature is 260°C. 
Another factor to take into account is temperature change limitations. This refers to the allowable temperature differential between the vessel walls and the product. If you put something into a reactor and the temperature of the product varies too greatly from the temperature inside the reactor, you can cause a lot of damage. 

What’s the difference between half-coil jacketing and conventional jackets? 

The half-pipe or split-coil jacket consists of a welded half pipe that wraps around the outside of the vessel, creating a circular path for the heat transfer fluid to pass through. In a split-coil jacket, heating and cooling media flow through the pipe coils with high velocity and turbulence. Thus, film coefficients and heat transfer rates are higher than in conventional jackets. Vessel contents heat up and cool down, and the heat transfer circuit drains much faster-saving energy and reducing batch time. With the split-coil design, only the diameter of the pipe - not the unsupported height of the inner vessel - must contain the jacket pressure. This permits the safe use of much higher pressures within the coils than is possible in conventional jacketing;
The coils on HemiCoil reactors are welded to the vessel prior to glassing; conventional jackets can be added to a vessel after.