DEVASTATING WATER LEAK DRIVES MOVE TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABILITY
The Maulide Group at the University of Vienna (Austria) describe how a devastating water leak in a nearby chemistry laboratory prompted them to search for alternative, water-free, options to Liebig condensers for refluxing. The group teamed up with Green Labs Austria (https://greenlabsaustria.at/) to see if they could provide and share a more sustainable solution to water cooled refluxing in the lab.

Professor Nuno Maulide commented “For many years we had been using oil baths and Liebig water condensers for our reflux reactions. It was a devastating, and costly water leak that prompted us to take action and look for ways to minimise water use, and with that the risk of a similar incident occurring again”. He added “Green Labs Austria was enthusiastic about their experience with lab tools from UK-based sustainability specialists - Asynt. As a direct alternative to a water condenser, we have found the CondenSyn air condenser extremely convenient to use and its ‘plug-and-play’ installation has rendered reaction set up very straightforward. We have also found the CondenSyn air con ...