Epoxy Resin Sinks

Epoxy resin sinks, that is, epoxy resin sinks, are quite a “regular” in laboratories. Compared with use in factories, workshops or homes, laboratories have more stringent requirements for sinks, and epoxy resin sinks can just meet these special needs. Today, let’s focus on its benefits in laboratories and see why laboratories love to use it.

Special Requirements for Sinks in Laboratories

Laboratories deal with various chemical reagents every day. When cleaning instruments, it’s inevitable that acids, alkalis, organic solvents and the like will flow into the sink. Ordinary sinks either can’t withstand corrosion and become pitted after a short time, or they easily harbor dirt and breed bacteria, affecting experimental results. Therefore, laboratory sinks must be corrosion-resistant, easy to clean, and durable. Epoxy resin sinks just hit all these points.

First, look at the appearance of epoxy resin sinks, which are particularly suitable for laboratories. Most of the colors are white or light gray. This kind of light color is not easy to hide dirt, and any stain can be seen immediately, facilitating timely cleaning. The surface is as smooth as a mirror, with no seams or dead corners. When cleaning test tubes and beakers, even if liquid splatters, it won’t seep through the gaps. Moreover, it can be made into various shapes. Since the operation platforms in laboratories are of different shapes, it can be perfectly embedded without taking up extra space, which is much more considerate than those sinks with fixed sizes.

When producing epoxy resin sinks, the raw material ratio is more particular to adapt to the laboratory environment.
The ratio of epoxy resin to curing agent is accurate to several decimal places, and an additional quartz sand reinforced anti-corrosion layer is added.
The molds are also made more precisely, with the inner walls polished smooth to avoid residual reagents.
The temperature during curing is strictly controlled to ensure that the sink has sufficient hardness. Even if it deals with hard glass instruments every day, it’s not easy to be dented.

In laboratories, when using epoxy resin sinks, the last thing to worry about is that they are not sturdy.
Once a colleague accidentally dropped a beaker containing metal weights into the sink with a loud “clang”. Everyone thought the sink must have cracked, but when it was fished out, there was nothing wrong, just a little water on the surface. Usually, when cleaning metal utensils such as iron stands and tripods, even with bumps and collisions, the sink just makes a few sounds, and scratches are rarely seen.
More importantly, it is corrosion-resistant. Once during an experiment, half a bottle of dilute sulfuric acid was accidentally spilled into the sink. At that time, I was busy recording data and forgot to deal with it.
After two hours, I remembered to wipe it, and the surface of the sink was still smooth. If it were an ordinary ceramic sink, it would have been corroded into small pits long ago.

Laboratory sinks must be clean, otherwise they may contaminate reagents.
Epoxy resin sinks are simply too easy to clean. After experiments every day, wipe with a wet cloth dipped in laboratory-specific detergent.
Whether it’s residual alcohol, iodophor, or oily cleaning solution, it can be wiped off at once. Even if there are dried reagent marks, soak them in warm water for a while and then wipe, and they can return to their original state. Unlike some sinks, whose surfaces become dark after long-term use and look like they are covered with a layer of dust no matter how you wipe them, such sinks are completely unusable in biological laboratories that pay attention to sterility.

Laboratories often use hot water to clean instruments.
Sometimes, a beaker just taken out of the oven, which is quite hot, is conveniently placed on the edge of the sink. Epoxy resin sinks are not afraid of this. Even if the temperature reaches 70-80 degrees Celsius, they won’t deform like plastic sinks, let alone get discolored marks like metal sinks.
Once, a heated conical flask was not placed stably and rubbed against the sink wall. I was startled at that time, but the sink was fine. This heat resistance is very practical in laboratories.

In chemical laboratories, epoxy resin sinks are mainly used to clean precision instruments such as reaction kettles and volumetric flasks, because they do not absorb reagents and will not contaminate utensils used in the next experiment.
In biological laboratories, they are often used to rinse petri dishes and centrifuge tubes. The smooth surface is not easy to breed bacteria, meeting the requirements of sterile operation.
Even in physics laboratories, they are indispensable for cleaning optical lenses and metal parts. They are not afraid of water stains remaining on the lenses, nor are they afraid of rust on metal parts staining the sink.

Although epoxy resin sinks are very durable in laboratories, there are a few things to note.
Never pour high-concentration hydrofluoric acid into them. This substance is so corrosive that even epoxy resin can’t resist it.
Don’t scrub hard with steel wool when cleaning. Although the surface is hard, scratches from steel wool may harbor dirt, so a soft cloth is enough.
In addition, it must be fixed firmly during installation. Instruments are often moved in laboratories. If the sink is hit and loosened, it may leak water and affect the circuit under the operation platform.

When choosing epoxy resin sinks for laboratories, pay attention to the corrosion resistance level. Try to choose models marked “resistant to strong acids and alkalis”.
Although they are more expensive, they can be used for a longer time. The size should be determined according to the operation platform, preferably one size larger than the largest commonly used instrument to facilitate cleaning.
In addition, check if there is an anti-overflow design. Sometimes, students are not skilled in operation and add too much water, which is easy to overflow. Those with anti-overflow edges can save a lot of trouble.

In general, epoxy resin sinks are simply tailor-made for laboratories.
They are corrosion-resistant, easy to clean, heat-resistant and sturdy, perfectly meeting various stringent requirements of laboratories.
If the laboratory needs to replace the sink, don’t hesitate to choose epoxy resin sinks. They can save a lot of trouble and make experimental operations smoother.