Braskem U.S. Innovation and Technology Center
Pittsburgh, PA |- Educational Institution
Protector Solvent Storage Cabinets ensure both safety and efficiency with a fire-resistant design. These cabinets ensure the safety of solvents and flammable liquids even during a building fire.
A look inside Braskem’s sustainable plastic products (PP) lab equipped with Protector XL Floor-Mounted Fume Hoods.
A closer look at the Eco-Foil™ Air Foil with Clean-Sweep™ openings on a Protector Fume Hood. This is an aerodynamic sill designed to correct the naturally occurring turbulence at the threshold of a fume hood.
Located in Pittsburgh, PA, Braskem America stands as the premier producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the largest producer of polypropylene in the U.S. These versatile materials can be found in various applications, including packaging, consumer goods, drug and medical products, and more. Braskem plays a vital role in producing the essential substances that are present in our everyday items, from housing to drug transport materials.
Labconco joined forces with Turner Construction and the architectural firm, BCJ, to expand Braskem's U.S. Innovation and Technology (I&T) Center. The project centered around the construction of a cutting-edge Research & Development and Production laboratory, equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for developing new proprietary technologies. Their goal was to support innovation in areas of circular economy, sustainability, recycling and additive manufacturing. Our role in this endeavor was to provide the appropriate laboratory equipment to facilitate their work with high pressure, potentially explosive gasses and solvents while keeping energy consumption to a minimum.
Challenge
The expansion project presented the need for large chemical fume hoods with low associated energy costs and minimal exhaust. Building codes, in accordance with environmental guidelines from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), dictated stringent emissions regulations with reduction targets and performance analysis. Labconco successfully addressed each distinct challenge by providing tailored solutions to meet the project’s need.
Solution
Labconco successfully met all the unique requirements of the new Braskem laboratories, including safety, size, customization and sustainability with the installation of two different industry-leading fume hood designs.
The Protector® XL™ Floor-Mounted Laboratory Hood was perfectly suited to handle the comprehensive workflows in Braskem’s sustainable plastic products (PP) lab. Its large size allows for rigorous testing of materials and can accommodate oversized equipment in extreme conditions. BCJ found Labconco’s ability to fit the fume hoods with custom valves and other tailored effects invaluable.
For the research and production lab, Braskem opted for the Protector® XL™ Benchtop Hood, installing ten of them due to their ability to meet size and custom installation requirements. These hoods incorporate unparalleled safety and containment features allowing them to operate at face velocities as low as 60 fpm and meet the SEFA-1 standard of a low velocity high performance hood, making the XL perfectly suited to the scientific research Braskem would be undertaking.
As a full-service laboratory supplier and manufacturer, base cabinets to support the materials and furniture within the lab were seamlessly integrated into the overall design. Cabinetry throughout the three floors was needed for storage of acids, flammable liquids and to house materials and conceal pumps and equipment. The new laboratory space showcases the future of laboratory design by integrating Labconco’s cutting edge technology with an aesthetically desirable workspace.
Benefits
It is obvious that advancing sustainability is the ultimate value proposition in this project. Being the largest PP producer in the U.S., the efforts of Braskem to support sustainable based objectives and focus on Carbon Neutral Circular Economy goals benefits all of us. Labconco is proud to be a key contributor through our green initiatives. The fume hoods selected for the I&T Center offer low energy consumption with the added benefit of reducing energy costs. Labconco engineering, filtration and blower technology play a central role in creating environmentally friendly laboratories. The materials used in constructing our fume hoods as well as packaging and shipping use up to 54% recycled content. We are committed to sustainability through our work.
The Braskem expansion project was ambitious and innovative and Labconco is proud to share how we are influencing the labs of the future. Braskem America was recently awarded the International Sustainability & Carbon Certification PLUS (ISCC PLUS) for all U.S. Production Facilities (January 2023). Driving development of the renewable solutions that are being created by Braskem in these facilities is the R&D and production being conducted at the U.S. I&T Center in Pittsburgh, in Labconco fume hoods.
