A. General Information
FreeZone 4.5 Liter Benchtop Freeze Dryers are designed for lyophilizing light to moderate sample loads. The compact design is ideal for labs with limited floor space.
The upright stainless steel collector coil holds 4.5 liters of ice before defrosting. A single 1/3 hp HCFC/CFC-free refrigeration system cools the collector to -50° C (-58° F), suitable for aqueous samples.
- Information is from Labconco website, click here for more...
B. Theory of Freeze Drying:
The FreeZone 4.5L system removes water (or other solvents) from a frozen product by a process called sublimation. Sublimation occurs when a frozen liquid is converted directly into a gaseous state without the intermediate formation of a liquid phase. To achieve sublimation, samples must be pre-frozen before being placed on the instrument. Once on the instrument, the rate of sublimation depends on the difference in the vapor pressure of the sample compared to that of the ice collector.
