Genevac EZ2 Elite Powder Handling Suite

Genevac EZ2 Elite Evaporator and Powder Handling Suite

            Flow Sciences, Inc. was tasked with designing a modular containment unit that would house a Genevac EZ2 Elite Evaporator and allow for transfer of materials post-manipulation into a separate, connected balance enclosure for weighing. The Genevac equipment required a level, sturdy work surface and a 2” air gap between the evaporator and the bench edge, according to manufacturer installation materials. The Genevac Evaporator was to be housed in a unit alone that connected via a square pass-through to a separate unit where powder handling could commence. Environmental health and safety officers established standards for the lab which required that bag-in/bag-out Dual HEPA filtration be utilized. Due to facility constraints, particularly ceiling height (3.5 feet was designated the maximum height of the enclosure in order to allow for 18” clearance from the ceiling), prohibited the usage of top-mounted fan/filtration systems, so a rear-mounted option was designed. In addition to height restrictions, there was also a depth restriction of six feet and a length restriction of eight feet.

            After using the Genevac, the client’s operating procedure stipulated that material removed from the enclosure would be housed in vials 2.25” high with a one-inch diameter on trays that measured 5”L x 3.5”W x ½”H. The Genevac also produces waste which is evacuated into a 500mL bottle that is eight inches high and four inches in diameter. These dimensions were crucial and influenced the pass-through design between the two enclosures. The Genevac was measured and designers compensated for the 50mm clearance required on all sides for proper functionality and safe usage.

            Due to its resiliency to a variety of cleaning materials, a polypropylene structure was chosen coupled with acrylic for the draftshield, viewing panels, and sliding door. Using a hybrid isolator as a basis for design, as the hybrid units effectively contain using airfoils and plenums to create laminar airflow across the work surface and reduce eddies and turbulence. The fans/filters were moved to the rear of the unit and acrylic panels were placed in the ceiling of enclosure to allow for a better view of the workspace. The draft shield with oval glove ports engineered to be removable from the unit that would house the Genevac to allow for ease of cleaning and for proper equipment installation.

For filter replacement, customer was instructed to leave at least 22.75” clearance at the rear of the unit. The Genevac containment unit was made slightly taller to accommodate the equipment and allow for more freedom of operator movement in using the evaporator. Upon filling the tray with evaporated samples, the operator would open a sliding door to the passthrough where the tray would then be placed. Another sliding door in the second, connected unit allowed for the weighing operator to ensure containment was achieved in their area before allowing the samples into the balance enclosure.

            Factory Acceptance Testing was performed on the enclosure to measure overall performance and to determine the containment effectiveness during simulated operations. Overall performance indicated that the enclosure met the specifications determined by a company. During surrogate powder testing, no individual breathing zone sample exhibited an exposure of more than 34.7 ng/m3.