Icon’s Innovations: advanced cryo-cooling technology

Icon’s advanced cryo-cooling technology: innovation that is rocket science.

Until the release of Icon’s Freeze Point analyser, cooling a sample often involved using a Peltier temperature control system. To reach cooler temperatures required an external chiller system, chilled water, or enforcing stringent sample temperature restrictions. Today, many cold-flow property analysers still use this system. But we knew there must be a solution – and we found one, in the advanced cryo-cooling technology used in space exploration.

Cryo-coolers are small closed-cycle refrigeration systems designed to reach cryogenic temperatures (from -150°C to absolute zero). They use a cryogenic fluid – usually helium - alongside moving parts, to transfer heat. This technology is even used in space! You can find cryo-coolers in the Hubble and James Webb space telescopes, in the International Space Station, and on spacecrafts, where they protect technology and lives from the impacts of the sun’s intense heat.

With Icon’s advanced cryo-cooler, an analyser can rapidly cool a sample to -100°C without an external chiller system, or even chilled water. And – just like the ones used in space – our cryo-coolers can keep running maintenance-free for decades. Combined with the fact that there are no separate chillers or heat exchanger systems to maintain, Icon analysers ensure a low or even zero-maintenance system.

This cryo-cooling technology is currently used in our Freeze Point and CFPP analysers – bringing the benefits of this advanced technology to freeze point, cloud point, pour point, and CFPP measurements. Utilising an Icon analyser for your freeze point, cloud point, or pour point measurement gives access to measurements at far lower temperatures than similar process analysers available on the market – without an external chiller. Cycle time is also improved, as the cooling process is considerably quicker. In the CFPP analyser, the cryo-cooler allows for precise control and rapid change of the bath temperature, improving accuracy and repeatability.

To learn more about how Icon’s innovative solutions can help take your process to new levels, you can explore our analyser pages - or get in touch using the form below.