In
chemistry
Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
, a Controlled Lab Reactor or CLR is any reaction system where there is an element of
automated
Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...
control. Generally these devices refers to a
jacketed glass vessel where a circulating
chiller
A chiller is a machine that removes heat from a liquid coolant via a vapor-compression refrigeration, vapor-compression, adsorption refrigeration, or absorption refrigerator, absorption refrigeration cycles. This liquid can then be circulated th ...
unit pumps a
thermal control fluid through the jacket to accurately control the temperature of the vessel contents. Additional to this, it is common to have a series of sensors (temperature, pH, pressure) measuring and recording parameters about the reactor contents. It is additionally possible to control pumps to act on the reactor.
Historical background
The first controlled lab reactors were derived from the control systems used in
chemical plant
A chemical plant is an industrial process plant that manufactures (or otherwise processes) chemicals, usually on a large scale. The general objective of a chemical plant is to create new material wealth via the chemical or biological transfor ...
s. These were generally dedicated to specific tasks as reprogramming was difficult. These first systems were often home built and used hardware that was adapted rather than designed for the task
Current systems
Modern CLR systems take a wide range of forms with the ability to work on a range of different volume reactors (and indeed reactor styles). Data is usually transmitted back to a
PC to be recorded (and indeed complex recipe based control is usually performed here too) though other systems may use off-line data logging.
Embedded sensors
In the most sophisticated systems that exist, analytical instruments such as
raman spectrometers and
FTIR probes can also be integrated with the reactor. These more sophisticated systems also allow the
closed loop control of the reactor as a result of taking readings from the sensors and analytical instruments concerned.
Reaction calorimeters
Most reaction
calorimeters can be used as controlled lab reactors (indeed some calorimeters are based on CLR's).
See also
*
Reaction Calorimeter
References
Calorimetry
{{chemistry-stub