Loading...
Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) on ASTM standards and related intellectual property is prohibited. Violations will result in suspension of access.
By Parr Instrument Company
Sep 04, 2025
Parr reactors and pressure vessels include both standard designs and custom-built equipment in laboratory and pilot plant sizes. More than half of the vessels sold are customized in some way. Uses for this equipment are found in a broad range of chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and biotech research, and development and control laboratories. Parr calorimeters are used for testing a variety of solid and liquid fuels, foodstuffs, and other combustible materials. Over 60 percent of all Parr sales now go to users outside of the U.S. Manufacturing operations are centered at its plant in Moline, IL, which has approximately 100 employees, most of whom are highly trained professionals or skilled machinists and technicians.
Parr Instrument Company designs and builds a wide variety of specialty and custom reactor systems. Often, we are asked to provide equipment to perform a test or material evaluation at elevated temperatures, pressures, or both. During initial discussions, we try to determine if the customer’s process or procedure is the basis of a standard test method or practice. Many times we find that the customer requires an apparatus to replicate a test environment specified by an ASTM International standard or to extend or extrapolate the operating conditions. In this scenario, the ASTM standard becomes a collaborative tool and a framework for encouraging ongoing R&D activities.
The following systems illustrate several examples of specialty and custom reactor systems designed and built using exactly this collaborative process.
This system was designed to perform corrosion studies as described in the standard practice for evaluating and qualifying oil field and refinery corrosion inhibitors using the rotating cylinder electrode (G185) at elevated pressure and temperature.
Based on our popular 1 liter stirred reactor, Parr’s HPHT RCE system includes a rotating cylinder electrode, along with static high-pressure reference and counter electrodes. The base system, with all wetted components constructed of Alloy C276, is rated for use up to 200 bar (2900 psi) at 200°C, with rotational speeds up to 2000 rpm.
Parr Instrument Company designs and manufactures pressure vessel-based lab equipment.Evaluation of corrosion inhibitors for use in refinery and oilfield applications typically requires apparatus that can simulate the interaction between the corrosive fluid and the carbon/low-alloy steel used in the construction of the refinery, pipeline, or drilling equipment. The standard guide for evaluating and qualifying oilfield and refinery corrosion inhibitors in the laboratory (G170) describes the use of a rotating cage (RC) for such testing.
Parr can provide an HPHT RC system that typically includes the following components:
[For the standard practice for evaluation of disbonding of bimetallic stainless alloy/steel plate for use in high-pressure, high-temperature refinery hydrogen service (G146)]
Parr has developed an automated reactor system for the evaluation of disbonding of bimetallic stainless alloy/steel plate. This hydrogen disbonding reactor system is capable of attaining the conditions necessary for treating samples consisting of bimetallic plate typically used in the refining industry for HPHT hydrogen gas service. The test temperature and hydrogen gas pressure are selected to simulate those conditions found in refinery hydrogen-containing environments. These typically range from 14 to 20 MPa hydrogen gas pressure and temperature from 300 to 500 °C, depending on actual refinery service conditions under consideration. The purpose of this test scheme is to allow for comparison of data among test laboratories on the resistance of bimetallic stainless alloy/steels to hydrogen-induced disbonding (HID). This test procedure provides an indication of the resistance or susceptibility, or both, to HID of a metallurgically bonded stainless alloy surface layer on a steel substrate due to exposure to hydrogen-containing gaseous environments under HPHT conditions.
[For standard test methods for film-insulated magnet wire (D1676)]
This apparatus is used to test magnet wire used in hermetically sealed compressor applications. The test method determines the percentage of insulation on film-insulated magnet wire that can be extracted by refrigerants or related solvents. The extractable material is functionally important since this material may be re-deposited in the capillary tubes of refrigeration systems. In this test, the specimen is subjected to extraction by a specified refrigerant using the procedures outlined in the D1676 standard. At the conclusion of the test, the refrigerant is evaporated and the mass of residue is determined.
ASTM standards, as well as other standards and specifications, are used regularly at Parr in order to assess material properties prior to manufacturing. Additionally, ASTM standards are also used in connection with the quality-control and servicing aspects of this specialized equipment.
ASTM voluntary consensus standards are developed through a robust, collaborative process involving knowledgeable stakeholders. They offer a dependable framework for maintaining consistency and reliability in a wide variety of fields. The process of developing instrumentation to implement a test or evaluation scheme is of great benefit when we are able to work within, or to expand, established methodology provided by ASTM standards. ●
HEADQUARTERS
Moline, Illinois USA
DESCRIPTION
Parr Instrument Company designs and manufactures pressure vessel-based lab equipment used to perform chemical reactions and testing under high temperatures and high pressures. Its products include oxygen combustion calorimeters, stirred reactors, pressure vessels, and tubular reactors, serving industries such as energy, pharmaceuticals, polymers, biofuels, and fuel testing.
NUMBER OF STAFF
100
NUMBER OF STAFF WHO ARE ASTM MEMBERS
2
TRADING AREA
Global
September / October 2025
