28 A
ANALYTICAL
CHEMISTRY
"Kjeldahl Corner" has 18 units of digestion and of distillation. Unit is all-electric with 3-heat control on heaters, thermowater control on stills, and automatic timers on digesters. On right is lead top acid and caustic dispensing cabinet. Carboys are rolled (on low carts or sliding trays) into cabinet, and dispensing burets are filled by vacuum. Titration table on left also has solutions concealed in cabinet and utilizes pressure to fill burets
LABORATORY •
First of a regular
OF THE
series to appear
on these pages
Variant heat table for vitamin A and other extractions and digestions requires closely controlled boiling ranges
Carotene unit includes Goldfisch extractors for carotene extraction and a support rod assembly for glassware used in chromatographic procedure. A vacuum manifold furnishes vacuum to individual tables. Solvents are stored within the cupboard and solvent delivery is made by pressure or vacuum
A
MONTH each
month
C U B R B N T L T P R E V A L E N T IDEA i n
the design and furnishing of laboratories is to free chemists and other scientists from housekeeping chores so that they can spend more time on work at the highest professional level. In pursuing this objective modern laboratories are being planned more efficiently and provided with the latest in apparatus and equipment. An example of this trend is the laboratory of the Colorado Department of Agriculture at Denver. Some time ago it became apparent that the department's staff and laboratory facilities were no longer adequate to handle the growing volume of determinations in connection with control of the sales of feed, fertilizer, dairy products, and insecticides in the state. Accordingly, the department acquired a building and called in the Laboratory Construction Co., Kansas City,
VOLUME
26, NO.
1, J A N U A R Y
Mo., specialists in design, apparatus, and furniture for agricultural laboratories. Instead of following the usual practice of installing work benches and cabinets, and then improvising the placement of apparatus and instruments, the department's staff first made a survey of the types and volume of determinations the new laboratory would have to handle. Labconco's engineers then closely integrated the furniture with the instruments and apparatus. Some equipment was custom built, but in most cases standard furniture was adapted to the specific requirements of special work areas. As a result of careful planning and designing, the work in the new laboratory proceeds quickly, smoothly, and safely. Each operation handled in volume has its own work area. There within arm's reach are facilities for storage, dispensing, nitrations, heating, etc., and all "built in" to the cabinets. Controls, timers, and automatic features are in service wherever possible. With the same personnel, the Colorado Department of Agriculture's laboratory can now handle a much larger volume of determinations. Chemists have been relieved of most housekeeping and common labor jobs, and are free to devote their time to the work for which thev were trained.
Hood is 8 ft., open type, and equipped for the determinations anticipated. Corner is used by dairy control chemist and has large stainless steel sink and general work table
1954
29 A
Aisle view of three center tables. W o r k here is varied, but note two Goldfisch f a t extractors on first table. Asbestos back shield is safety feature, and drawers beneath apparatus are planned and divided for glassware and solvent used in this determination
General wash-up sink is of stoneware and has two stainless steel drainboards and two peg boards. M a p l e top table in foreground is on lock casters. Laboratory personnel tell us it is used for everything from dissections to a place for lunch An adjacent room has been equipped as a bacteriology laboratory. Features include a stainless sink, ample instrument and storage space, and a special table for microscopic work
