Harper International Corporation Research & Pilot Facilities

Harper offers clients access to a number of research and piloting facilities for thermal processing to help develop the most efficient and effective regime to meet their goal. We understand the importance of R&D necessary for the scale up of advanced materials. Using our depth and breadth of experience in thermal process programs, we partner with our customers in our Ignite® Program to ensure success as they scale up their operations through process development, optimization, and piloting. • Technology Research Center – Harper Headquarters, USA • Partner Research Facility – Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA • Partner Research Facility – UDRI, OH, USA • Partner Research Facility – Carbon Fiber Pilot Line, Portugal Technology Research Center – Harper Headquarters, NY, USA Let Harper help bring your next material innovation from spark to reality. Hundreds of companies have used our Technology Research Center for process development and process optimization as they work toward commercial scale-up or with systems requiring unique process specifications. Customers can utilize numerous on site thermal systems to gather data and fine tune their processes, with a focus on varying production rates, temperature regimes, processing times, atmosphere compositions, and flow rates, resulting in savings on the investment ultimately required for new thermal processing systems. Harper has a wide variety of thermal systems that can handle your process conditions. Additionally, we have the ability to make modifications to tailor the existing pilot equipment to specific customer process requirements. Our range of equipment on site includes: • Batch or continuous furnaces • Sizes from small kilns to large furnaces, with 3 temperature zones • Furnace conditions from atmospheric to nitrogen or specialty gases, with temperatures up to 2500°C Along with our thermal systems, Harper provides state-of-the-art laboratory environments to help transfer your technology from the lab to the global marketplace. Our comprehensive range of lab testing capabilities include: SEM/EDX electron microprobe qualitative and quantitative powder XRD high temperature XRD particle size analysis analysis surface area measurement DTA and TGA thermal diffusivity thermal and elemental As a result of their experience in the testing and feasibility stage, many customers work with Harper to conduct in-depth studies to determine equipment requirements and help define process parameters for optimal plant design to assist with technical and business strategy and financial planning. Our vast capabilities in thermal processing engineering studies include, but are not limited to: • process cost models • economics of increased production capacity with current and future state technologies • analysis of best-suited thermal process technology system for new material innovations • identification of opportunities for improved product quality and cost reduction • investigation of solutions for transition from batch to continuous processing • engineering of material handling solutions for unique processing systems In addition to Harper’s rotary, box and elevator furnaces, we also offer microwave testing as a part of our Research and Piloting facility. Harper’s Lab Scale Experimental Apparatus is capable of delivering up to 3kW of microwave energy and it can be controlled in steps of 50W. The frequency of the radiation is 2450MHz. The current aluminum container designed as a single mode applicator can reach very high temperatures. If a controlled atmosphere is required, a quartz container can be placed with quartz tubes extending through the holes of the applicator. Connecting gas sources to the quartz enables atmosphere control.All non-metallic and electrically non-conducting materials can be tested in temperatures ranging from 600°-1800°C. Applications include, but are not limited to; ceramic processing, powders, shaped ceramics, activated carbon, battery materials and food processing.