UIC GmbH, a subsidiary of Austrian biodiesel technology provider BDI-BioEnergy International AG, has just reopened its expanded and modernized research center near Frankfurt, Germany, in Alzenau. According to BDI, UIC is a pioneer in fine vacuum technology with 65 years of experience developing and supplying components and customized solutions for fine chemistry, polymer chemistry, biodiesel, food and pharmaceutical industries. BDI says UIC is no longer just a component provider in the chemical plant construction space, but a system provider. 

In 2014, UIC’s 25th anniversary, its headquarters was expanded with a new office building and larger manufacturing and assembly units, according to BDI. In 2015, the company invested €1 million into expansion and modernization of its research center. The larger capacity and more innovative experimental facilities offer the company new possibilities for distillation experiments, BDI reported. The focus of research at the center will be on development of new processes and special equipment for the short path distillation range. 

“The new trendsetting research center immediately offers the opportunity to carry out customized tests for our customers with laboratory and pilot plants—with twice the capacity and numerous new, advanced options,” said Andreas Ehart, a member of BDI’s management board. “Thus, in the future we can support the customer processes even better, starting from laboratory testing to industrial plants.”

According to BDI, UIC’s short-path distillation and thin-film evaporators are used in applications where hazardous waste and pure substances need to be separated from the temperature-sensitive starting materials.