Technical Capabilities Complex and multi-step synthesis
Thomas Swan offers a wide range of complex and multi-step synthesis capabilities. Our aim is to provide a fast, flexible and confidential service. The following list details our current range of synthetic capabilities:
Polymerisations and Polymer Modification
More than 50 years industrial experience in a broad range of polymerisation technologies
Alkylations
Experience in using dimethyl sulfate as alkylation agents plus use of Friedel Crafts alkylation chemistry at up to 1000tpa capactiy
Nitrations
Dedicated facility for industrial applications performed on a range of aromatic substrates at 500tpa capacity
Aminations and Amidations
Dedicated and multipurpose plants capable of performing these chemistries at volumes of up to 500tpa
Halogenations
Commercial scale halogenation capacity to 500tpa with the capability for cGMP manufacture. Specificity in chlorination and bromination up to 1500tpa capacity
Cyclisation
A broad range of capabilities including Diels-Alder, primarily for household, health and personal care industries that can be performed at volumes up to 300tpa
Isomerisation
With the capacity to isomerise and isolate products by distillation can be performed at volumes up to 700tpa
Sulphonation
Sulphonation of aromatic substrates and polyaromatic polymers this chemistry can be performed at volumes up to 500tpa
Maleinisation and Alder-ene
100tpa capacity at temperatures up to 270oc
Thiocyanation
25 years of experience in aromatic thiocyanation up to 500tpa
Oxidation
Commercial scale experience of a broad range of carbon and hetero atom oxidations
Diazotisations
Several years of experience of diazotisation including hair and personal care product applications
General technologies performed include
Amidation
Chlorination
Friedel-Crafts
Amination
Cyclisation
Grignard
Isomerisation
Nitration
Oxidation
Polymerisation
Sulphonation
Thiocyanation
Extensive downstream processing capabilities including:
Drying
Grinding and milling
Formulation
Distillation capabilities
Bulk storage
Advanced Processing Facilities
For more than 30 years Thomas Swan has been at the forefront of cutting-edge innovative process engineering. Current commercial scale facilities include:
High Temperature Processing
Commercial scale batch and continuous furnaces operating under inert conditions and up to 1000oC. This versatile equipment, in a state-of-the-art manufacturing environment, facilitates many specialist techniques including:
Chemical Vapour Deposition
(batch and continuous)
Gas-solid reactions
Gas-solid reactions and other specific reactions including:
i. Reductions and Oxidations
ii. Drying and Calcination
ii. Catalyst processing and activation
Pilot Scale Laboratories
Versatile pilot scale laboratories support not only the commercial scale operations, but also facilitate the production of validation quantities under highly controlled conditions. Facilities include:
Furnaces operating under inert conditions to 1000°C.
Low-temperature processing
Vacuum and Inert atmosphere heat treatments and mixing
Vacuum and Inert atmosphere heat treatments and mixing
Heat, vacuum and freeze drying processes
High-speed shear mixing / high throughput sonication
Liquid-solid reactions
i. Dissolution
ii. Controlled precipitation
Analytical Development Laboratories
Thomas Swan’s recent £200k investment in Analytical Development Services underlines how much we recognise the importance of performing analytical development and method verification. Synchronised perfectly with process development, this ensures all projects are delivered safely to an agreed specification and on time.
Our extensive range of in-house characterisation tools includes:
GC
with FID detector, liquid and headspace injection techniques
GCMS
Assistance with impurity profiling
HPLC
with UV, Diode Array and Refractive Index dectection
GPC
with Refractive Index Detector
Atomic Absorption
Raman Spectroscopy
Useful for carbon hybridisation determination
TGA
Accurate measurement of mass loss vs temperature up to 1100 degrees C
ICP-OES
Broad range elemental analysis to ppm levels
Scanning UV
Viscosity
Viscosity
(Cone & Plate, Brookfield and PRS)
Standard wet analysis
including auto-titration
Physical properties testing equipment
X-rite Colour Spectrophotometer
QUV