[Nhcoll-l] [EXT] Plumbed EtOH

[Jean-Marc Gagnon]

Tonya,

Here, at the Canadian Museum of Nature, we have been using a plumbed EtOH ( 95% and waste) system for nearly 24 years with great success. I do not have all the technical details and specs but I suspect our Facility Manager (Martin Leclerc), and possibly our conservators (Carolyn Leckie and Luci Cipera, should be able to provide you the details (all in cc).

From the point of view of the user, working in a fairly large research & collections facility, it has been a great improvement from the old approach of transporting 210 L drums or transferring in intermediate containers on wheels with hand-cranked pumps.

Both our systems (fresh EtOH and waster fluids) are based on diaphragm pumps<https://vevor.ca/products/vevor-double-diaphragm-pump-air-operated-diaphragm-pump-30-64gpm-1-2inch-outlet?gclid=CjwKCAjwxuuCBhATEiwAIIIz0QDuVZOb9DeuhPatL2lLbzZ-zrih-n8ywtZH__OOzEDDh8Fivl8npBoCD6UQAvD_BwE> ran by compressed air and a system of fluid level detection in all drums, with a backup full drum for the fresh EtOH and a backup empty drum for the waste fluids.

Again, there are a lot more details that can be made available.
And like any systems, there are some challenges. With this one, the durability of the pump can be an issue but they are relatively inexpensive, so you should keep a backup or two on hand.
The setup of the level detection system is very critical if you want to avoid leaks and other issues. After a few early hiccups, our system has not been reliable for at least 20 years.

One big issue we had to address was the installation of alcohol flowmeter to quantify the use of EtOH (a legal/auditing requirement). After some trials and tribulations, our solution was achieved with a custom-made system that, unfortunately, has some important limitations.

I hope this helps a bit. I’ll be happy to follow-up if you have specific questions.

Jean-Marc

Jean-Marc Gagnon, Ph.D.
Curator, Invertebrate Collections / Chief Scientist
Conservateur, Collection des invertébrés / Expert scientifique en chef
Canadian Museum of Nature / Musée canadien de la nature
613 364 4066
613 851-7556 cell
613 364 4027 Fax
jmgagnon at nature.ca<mailto:jmgagnon at nature.ca>

Adresse postale / Postal Address:
Canadian Museum of Nature     / Musée canadien de la nature
P.O. Box 3443, Sta. D   / Casier Postal 3443, Succ. D
Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4                / Ottawa, ON K1P 6P4
Canada                         / Canada

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From: Nhcoll-l [mailto:nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Haff, Tonya (NCMI, Crace)
Sent: March 23, 2021 7:30 PM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [EXT][Nhcoll-l] Plumbed EtOH

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Hello everyone,

We are looking into the possibility of getting 95% EtOH plumbed into our new collections building (in design stage now). I am wondering if any of you have this capacity, or have thoughts, observations, or other feedback about plumbed EtOH? I would be keen to not lug 200L drums around, but perhaps there are downsides we haven’t thought of?

Cheers,

Tonya

---------------------------------------------------------
Dr Tonya Haff
Collection Manager
Australian National Wildlife Collection
National Research Collections Australia, CSIRO
Canberra, Australia
Phone: (+61) 02 6242 1566 (office)
(+61) 0419 569 109 (mobile)


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