The Founder of CP Lab Safety, Dr. Ron Najafi, and current COO of NovaBay Pharma, has joined the YouTube revolution in order to demonstrate the features and function of the patented Safety ECO Funnel, which he invented in the mid 1990s to address the growing problem with hazardous fumes from open waste containers in laboratories.
The ECO Funnel went through three design phases, each one improving upon the previous version to effectively control and eventually prevent 99.9% of emissions from waste containers.
The First Generation:
The first conception of the Safety ECO Funnel was a plain white funnel with a simple hinged lid and an adapter at the botton so it could screw onto a waste solvent bottle. Unfortunately, the powerful vacuum of a fume hood was still able to suck up solvent in the bottle despite the lid, so Dr. Najafi had to create something even better.
Once this original model was improved so that it met the intended goal of significantly reducing emissions, the 1st generation ECO Funnel was born. The improvement involved a ball and the end of a cord which fell snugly into the opening of the funnel neck when the lid was closed, providing a second barrier for the fumes.
The Second Generation:
The second generation eventually abandoned the ball design and moved toward a better lid design instead.
The new lid was colored red to indicate the contents were potentially flammable, and the recessed design help keep the solvent fumes inside the vessel.
A pressure equalizing tube was added to the side of the funnel to prevent the contents from being under pressure, and a variety of screw cap adapters were introduced so the ECO Funnel could be used with a broader range of standard lab bottles and carboys.
This second generation ECO Funnel was offered in both 4" and 8" sizes, as opposed the the first generation which came in only one size. The smaller 4" was extremely popular with chemists who had low fume hoods or vented cabinets that could not tolerate the larger profile of the 8" ECO Funnel.
The Concept ECO Funnel: An experiment in self-closing funnels
During the development of the Safety ECO Funnel at CP Lab Safety, Dr. Ron Najafi experimented with a self-closing design that would ensure proper usage of the safety product.
This design involved a small computerized metal platform that would remain magnetized only for a specified amount of time before releasing the lid back into a shut position.
The self-close mechanism has not been put into product even in the Third Generation, but we may come back to it in the future!
The Third Generation:
The Thid and most recent generation of the ECO Funnel has a number of improvements that make it the ultimate solution for the open waste container problem.
The lid now bears a sturdy latch and an internal gasket, which prevents 99.9% of volatile solvents from escaping when properly closed.
There is also an air lock mechanism which prevents overfilling. Solvent backs up into the funnel body to show that the maximum fill has been reached, but when the screw can is released and removed, the solvents flows into the remaining "locked" container volume and does not spill over. (This feature is only available with the 8" version.) An internal filter in the new version catches stir bars and large particles.
Steve Carroll, Fire Marshall and Biotech Inspector in San Diego, CA had this to say about the ECO Funnel:
“The Safety ECO Funnel™ is an ideal containment system that eliminates the danger of ignited vapors and spills from open chemical waste containers.”