Can we please pause for a moment and consider World Water Day 2022?
What is World Water Day?
World Water Day 2022 is on 22 March, as it is every year. It is an annual United Nations Observance, started in 1993, that celebrates water and raises awareness of the 2 billion people currently living without access to safe water. A core focus of World Water Day is to inspire action towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030.
The focus for this years event is groundwater, and making the invisible visible.
“Groundwater is invisible, but its impact is visible everywhere. Out of sight, under our feet, groundwater is a hidden treasure that enriches our lives. Almost all of the liquid freshwater in the world is groundwater. As climate change gets worse, groundwater will become more and more critical. We need to work together to sustainably manage this precious resource. Groundwater may be out of sight, but it must not be out of mind.”
We all know that improving sustainability and green chemistry practices is essential for the environment, but does making those changes come at a cost users will begrudge paying – either financially or as the quality of the results achieved in the lab?
The Lean, Green, Profitability Scene
For those running a business, the decisions made must be practical to enable those required to follow them to actually do so without detriment. At Asynt we have seen for ourselves that improving sustainability and green practices correlates perfectly with lowering operation costs, increasing profitability and ramping up productivity. We believe that it is possible for all businesses to implement sustainable practices and see the benefits in their bottom line.
Think outside the box and save water
Adapting to new forms of technology can be a struggle for those who aren’t in favour of change, however once the change is made and those new technologies improve efficiency and sustainability, an overall enthusiasm for innovation leads to reduced costs, less wastage in the laboratory, and a healthier environment (potentially inside the lab and outside).
When going waterless is the smart change for your chemistry
Obviously, pouring thousands of gallons of water straight down the drain is something that costs both the environment and your pocket – but it’s necessary to get the results you need in your lab, right? Wrong.
Independent scientists have reported brilliant results after swapping out their old water condensers for the robust, easy to set up (and to clean) and waterless CondenSyn air condensers.
Dr Panagiotis Manesiotis Research Team, Queen’s University Belfast reported the following:
“Since receiving the CondenSyn waterless condenser, we have substituted standard water condensers for the waterless counterpart in a number of reactions, including overnight refluxes and Soxhlet extractions. We have found the transition to CondenSyn seamless!
In our tests, CondenSyn has been as efficient as traditional condensers, however, the waterless setup is safer, greener and easier to use without loss of performance.
The lack of tubing also allows for a tidier and safer working area and the sleek shape of the condensers would allow for multiple condensers to be setup on the same hot plate, vastly enhancing productivity!”
Scale up isn’t a problem either
With a wide range of sizes and fittings, CondenSyn is designed to suit round bottom flasks up to 1,000 mL and up to B29 joints. There’s also a handy adapter kit which enables users to carry out distillations with the CondenSyn.
If it comes down to the cash, it’s still a winning solution
With utility rates on the rise it can be staggering to stop and count the financial cost of that wasted water. With figures taken from a large UK water supplier this month, just ONE water condenser running for five hours a day over the course of a year, could mean that you’re pouring approximately £450 / $600 straight down the drain.
CondenSyn has a short pay-back time but starts reducing your environmental impact immediately. You’re also taking away the flood risk and the potential to come to the lab after running an overnight reflux and finding an indoor swimming pool where your bench was…
The solution that works for the chemist, the accountant, and for the environment
It’s time to make the change and go water-free in the lab. If you’re unsure about the best model of CondenSyn to suit your chemistry then simply ask us and we’ll talk it through with you. Let World Water Day 2022 provide the inspiration and the motivation to get things moving in your lab today.
You can contact us via phone on +44 (0)1638 781709, via email at [email protected], or use the LIVE CHAT box at the bottom right corner of your screen.
For further information on World Water Day please visit the event website HERE.
