The CPA 202 Reactor

The standard reactor is a cylindrical, double walled glass vessel. It is capped, top and bottom, with stainless steel. Its special design makes it very handy for the operator. The open vessel can be placed on a balance during the charge of solvents, chemicals etc. The reactor lid holds the shaft seal and the necessary armature for safety and for charging, evacuation, sampling etc.
During operation the reactor is located in a fixed position in the stainless steel thermostating bath, with also acts as a safety shield.
As standard the reactor lid and base are made from stainless steel 316 while boro-silicate glass is used for the inner and outer cylindrical enclosures.
The pressure range for the standard version is from vacuum to 20 bars. Optionally to 100 bars. Ports are provided in both the lid and the base for auxiliary probes such as pressure, pH, gas flow meter etc. All fittings in the lid are compatible with the well known Swagelok system from Crawford Fittings US.

The reactor volume
The total CPA reactor volume is approximately 250 ml where the useful volume ranges from 40 to around 180 ml. With special agitators the reactor can be run with even smaller amounts and still measure with full accuracy. This is different from traditional reaction calorimeters which usually are based on 2 litres laboratory reactors.

Safe.
When it comes to handling hazardous processes, which is a normal working field in reaction calorimetry, it is advantageous to have the reactor volume as small as possible. In a small system less energy is entrapped and consequently the worst case scenario is less dramatic.

Economical.
The small volume and the reactor design means that only small amounts of chemicals are needed for “full grown” experiment, important when working with expensive chemicals. It also means that you can make more experiment. The efficiency of the CPA202 gives you that extra time.

Powerful.
In a series of uniform reactors a smaller volume gives a higher ratio area/volume. With a reacting volume of 40 ml’s in the CPA202 reactor a cooling capacity of significantly more than 500 W/kg is possible.
Scaling up.
The favourable design of the CPA202 reactor makes it as fit for scaling up as traditional 2 litres systems.
Laboratory production.
The CPA202 is much calorimeter but it is not ideal for laboratory production of larger amounts. If laboratory production during precise reaction conditions is required then the 2 litres heat balance system Cpa122 is the device