Pilot Plant and Lab Capabilities

For information concerning laboratory testing or equipment rental, contact our Laboratory Manager, Robert Szalda, at rszalda@buflovak.com.

Buflovak's 10,500 square foot Pilot Plant and Lab in Buffalo, NY, is divided into the following areas:

Offices and glassware laboratories (1,200 square feet)
Pilot Plant and Main Laboratory (9,200 square feet including:
- 1,000 square feet of floor space with 26-foot headroom (32 foot at peak of roof)
- 8,200 square feet of floor space with 18-foot headroom

The work performed at this facility enables customers to evaluate the specific elements of any proposed drying, vacuum drying, or cooling drum flaker application prior to its implementation. We thoroughly test the equipment's performance before we commit to full-scale installation. New and existing products can be tested in absolute confidentiality. More than 21,000 tests have already been performed on our customers' food, chemical, and pharmaceutical products.

The laboratory has its own boiler that permits test work to be conducted at any time. Steam pressure is limited to 150 psig (350°F at the point of use). This must be considered to allow for sufficient temperature differences when scheduling tests. A portable syltherm heater is available for high temperature operations (up to 650°F). It is arranged to be used with the 3' diameter pan dryer, the melt tank for the 24" x 24" flaker, and selected evaporation/stripper tests. With the various combinations of stem jet air ejectors and vacuum pumps, absolute pressures can be obtained down to 2-3 mm Hg. This varies with the equipment involved as well as other operating factors.

The glassware and analytical laboratories are equipped with necessary instruments, glassware, and reagents for most of the common moisture, pH, viscosity, screen analysis, and general analytical test work. Hand refractometers are available as is a microscope with polarizing attachment for crystallographic examinations. The laboratory has its own workshop, located within its confines, so that mechanical modifications can be quickly made without loss of time.

The pilot plant equipment installed in the work areas is of the smallest feasible design to yield indicative results suitable for scale up to commercial size equipment. All necessary allied accessory items are available. Auxiliary items such as condensers, stainless steel kettles, pumps, product flakers, etc., are maintained within the laboratory at all times.

The feasibility test is the first step in determining the right equipment to be used in the design process. If data does not already exist in our extensive product files, the feasibility of processing a material can be determined with quantities as small as one gallon of liquid or ten pounds of solid material. Feasibility tests are conducted at no charge to the customer. If a process appears feasible, pilot testing can be conducted to obtain heat transfer and other engineering data needed for the design process. The cost of process equipment is quoted to customers with a process guarantee upon successful completion of pilot testing.

Buflovak Rotating and Vacuum Thermal Process Equipment Group

Dryers:
6" x 8" atmospheric and vacuum, single, double, and twin drum dryers, equipped with cast iron and chrome plated drums

24" x 24" single, double, and twin atmospheric drum dryers, equipped with cast iron and chrome plated drums. Stainless steel feed accessories available.

12" x 18" vacuum double drum dryer (with stainless steel enclosure/hopper).

24" x 42" single drum dryer with chrome plated drums and four application rolls.

Stainless steel 2' diameter by 4' long jacketed vacuum rotary dryer complete with dry dust collector.

Small laboratory size A-1 vacuum shelf dryer with cast iron casing and stainless steel product tray.

3' diameter pan dryer (crystallizer) with stainless steel construction that may be used as a pan filter-dryer.

Flakers:
6" x 8" laboratory size flakers, single and double, with cast iron or chrome plated smooth drums, and stainless steel and cast iron grooved drums. Applicator or agitator roll available.

24" x 24" single drum flaker with independent temperature and speed control on the drum and applicator or agitator roll. Cast iron, chrome plated, smooth stainless steel drum, and cast iron grooved drums available.

Instantizer:

FA-1 instantizer with two-deck after-dryer complete with conveying feed system and final product sifter. Bench scale instantizer for feasibility testing only.

Buflovak Separation Technology and Applied Equipment Group

Evaporators:
Stainless steel, vertical, long-tube evaporator with provisions to try various tube diameters (1", 1\", and 211) and tube lengths (10', 15', and 20'). Unit may be operated as a recirculating long-tube, falling film, or down flow evaporator.

Stainless steel horizontal, submerged tube, forced circulation evaporator containing 2.8 square feet of heating surface.

RFC or RRFC evaporators of 316 stainless steel:
• One 7.84 square foot with six 1' OD #18 Ga. Tubes, 5'0" long each (3 per pass)

Plate Evaporators/Strippers:
PPS 150, up to ten square feet of heating surface can be accommodated, using size 01 plates, complete with separator, condenser, and decanter. The unit can be used as an evaporator, stripper, or stripper with steam and/or nitrogen injection. Micro unit also available without decanter.

Distillation Column:
6" diameter, 29' high stainless steel distillation column. The tower contains a 10-foot section of structured packing (stripping section), a feed port located at the center of the column, and an additional 10 feet of structured packing as a rectifying section.