Chemistry Laboratory Equipment
Chemistry laboratory equipment means the furniture, worktops, laboratory fume hoods (fume cupboards), reagent cabinets, sinks and laboratory taps and valves that together have to withstand concentrated acids, solvents and heat while protecting people from fumes. Renggli designs and manufactures all of these in a single factory in Białystok, so the whole laboratory is built as one system by one contractor.
What a chemistry laboratory is made of
- Furniture: island and wall-mounted benches in the modular RL laboratory furniture system, built on steel frames powder-coated with epoxy resin.
- Worktops: matched to the reagents and temperatures at each workstation, with a choice of seven materials (see below).
- Fume hoods: LabAirTec fume hoods compliant with EN 14175, available as floor-standing, bench-mounted, walk-in or twin-chamber units.
- Cabinets: safety storage cabinets for flammable liquids, cabinets for acids and bases, and ventilated chemical cabinets for volatile reagents.
- Sinks, taps and valves: laboratory sinks in polypropylene, ceramic, resin and steel, plus laboratory taps and valves for water, gases and vacuum.
Chemical-resistant worktops
For work with concentrated acids and solvents, the safest choices are monolithic ceramic or epoxy resin. The ceramic worktops in our furniture are 20 mm thick, resist 98% sulphuric acid and 65% nitric acid, and withstand short-term temperatures of up to 1,200 °C. For hydrofluoric acid, polypropylene is the right material, because HF reacts with the silica in ceramics and glass. Materials for carcasses and fronts are covered in our article on chemical-resistant laboratory furniture.
Fume hoods and ventilation
A fume hood keeps the work chamber under negative pressure: air flows in through the sash opening and is extracted through baffle slots, so fumes cannot escape into the room. A safe face velocity at the sash is 0.3 to 0.5 m/s, and the connection to the central ventilation system is designed for 400 to 1,200 m³/h and 8 to 12 air changes per hour. LabAirTec fume hoods run on a VAV system, which reduces the air demand when the sash is partly closed.
Three variants cover special applications: an explosion-proof (Ex) fume hood for ATEX zones, a fume hood with a polypropylene chamber for hydrofluoric acid, and a ductless (filtered) fume hood for rooms where an extract duct is hard to route. Why ventilation is decisive for safety is explained in our article on why laboratory ventilation is essential.
Reagent storage
Flammable liquids are stored in a fire-resistant safety storage cabinet compliant with EN 14470-1, rated for 30 or 90 minutes. Acids and bases are kept separately, in cabinets compliant with EN 16121 and EN 16122. What each of these standards covers is set out on our page on laboratory furniture standards. A ventilated chemical cabinet is needed when reagent vapours could raise the concentration in the room above the occupational exposure limit (NDS in Poland); it is connected to the extract system through a spigot 75 or 100 mm in diameter. What to keep apart is described in our article on storing acids and bases.
Services and chemical drainage
Water, chemical drainage, gas, compressed air, vacuum and electrical power are planned at the worktops. Chemical drainage is run in PP-H or PVDF pipes at a fall of 1.5 to 2%. Valves for flammable gases have Press & Turn safety locking and three-zone media identification to EN 13792.
Safety and occupational health
Furniture and fume hoods are one part of the safety system, alongside procedures, protective equipment and training. Safe working practices are covered in our articles on how to ensure safety in a chemistry laboratory and hazards in a chemistry laboratory.
Projects
- A Polish chemical group in Kędzierzyn-Koźle: 8 laboratory rooms, 368 m², RL system furniture, installation and a handover and acceptance report.
- BART Laboratories near Warsaw: 4 laboratories with fitted furniture, desks and a fume hood.
Frequently asked questions
For concentrated acids and solvents, monolithic ceramic or epoxy resin; for hydrofluoric acid, polypropylene. Ceramic resists 98% sulphuric acid and 65% nitric acid, while epoxy resin has water absorption below 0.05% and can be used continuously at up to around 180 °C.
Fumes are extracted at source: a fume hood when working with reagents, a ventilated chemical cabinet when storing them. The fume hood is connected to a central ventilation system with a capacity of 400 to 1,200 m³/h, and the room is designed for 8 to 12 air changes per hour.
When reagent vapours could raise the concentration in the room above the occupational exposure limit (NDS in Poland). For salts and weak solutions, around 10 air changes per hour are enough; for volatile and aggressive compounds, 50 to 100 are planned.
Renggli designs, manufactures in Białystok and installs the furniture, worktops, fume hoods, cabinets, sinks and laboratory taps and valves, so all the furniture and fittings for a chemistry laboratory come from one contractor. We do not manufacture analytical instruments; we plan the workstations around them.
Stay up to date with Renggli
New projects, products and guides on laboratory furniture, in one place.
Let us plan your laboratory
Tell us what has to happen in the room. We will pick the furniture and work out the rest.
Free project quote.