A lot of enthusiastic users of technology are able to set up their own workshops without much concern to society. These people then have the option to turn this into a start-up and a lot of innovative work has begun this way. Dyson, Apple and a multitude of others all began because they were able to practice their craft independently. This is something that historically seemed to be commonplace among chemists and pyrotechnicians such as Rev. Ron Lancaster, founder of Kimbolton Fireworks who started experimenting on his own (probably) in a shed.
Kimbolton fireworks at their best
Recently, there has been a lot of interest in biohacking or DIY microbiology but not surprisingly, fewer examples exist for proper organic synthesis that isn’t dedicated to the dark side of underground chemistry. @SyntheticRemark recently discussed the potential value of the dark side on his blog. On YouTube plenty of examples of people carrying out benign chemical synthesis can be found (such as the synthesis of luminol from gloves!), but as far as I know there isn’t a lab that is openly carrying out practical chemistry as a “hobby”/micro start-up.
How would one go about setting up a legal synthetic lab independent of an existing institution? I’d love to hear from people who have set-up their own start-up custom synthesis companies as they obviously know what is required. What I mean is a lab that can buy reagents and do reactions without impediment from police or other authorities. After all, surely we should be able to establish a start-up chemical company? The following issues come immediately to mind:
- Analytical
- Waste disposal
- Legal/Health and Safety
The cost of analytical equipment is one practical limitation that is becoming a lot more manageable these days. The cost of equipment is coming down in price to levels that are almost feasible for private individuals, particularly in the second-hand market with so many larger companies downsizing. Even NMR machines can now purchased for around $25K, apparently.
Bench-top NMR?
Waste disposal is something that people might not think about until they’ve actually made something. This is something that the old-school shed chemists probably didn’t really worry about, but these days is very important ethically and legally. My guess is that small amounts of organic wastes could be disposed of with existing local government measures considering people get rid of old cans of paint cans and pesticides regularly.
I would have thought that you shouldn’t need licences to carry out synthesis, assuming you are not making controlled drugs, explosives or chemical weapons. What do you need in order to get a chemical supplier to deliver to you? What about insurance to allow you to rent some space? How about any necessary approvals from environmental authorities? What is the absolute minimum bureaucracy one must encounter to be able to carry out meaningful organic chemistry?
I think all true blood chemists have been playing more or less seriously with this idea from time to time, including yours truly. First, I think the “answer” will depend very much on your local laws and regulations. Second, I think the freelance synthesis chemist will have a hard time ordering solvents and reagents without first having registered a company (name). I don’t know any supplier that ships to private persons. Third, I think the electricity bill could jeopardize the whole project. One fume hood consumes a lot of juice, and you don’t really want to turn it off, ever.
I would love to be wrong! I too dream about one day setting up something own. Please tell me about any progress made in this field.
That bench-top NMR sounds amazing, I would love to see it in action. Has anybody tried it?
In the UK, as far as I understand it, it is perfectly legal to do most bits of synthesis. There really doesn’t seem to be much information what is required if you want to set up your own chemical company. Potentially someone could just set up a named company and try to get an account with Aldrich or Alfa but I’m pretty sure they would inform the police who may come to confiscate your computers, books, chemicals and glassware for forensic analysis. This would probably happen even if you are doing something completely legal. What is required to convince them not to temporarily steal your stuff?
I think you’re right that even though the running costs could be quite low, they are still outside what most people would be willing to spend. However the running costs of a properly set up lab could be obtained could be off-set by membership schemes or outreach as is the case for hackerspaces and GenSpace. Normally the hood would be running constantly, but to save costs it could be shut down provided all solvents etc were safely stored in a properly vented flammables store. A single well-made hood might actually be more efficient than a lot of lab hoods. If the lab is small (a 1/2 a ships container?) then extract could be organised well. This would probably involve some kind of chimney. What about scrubbing/charcoal filtration?
It might be a bit basic as I’m not sure how advanced a setup you’re thinking about, but the “Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments” by Robert Thompson and published by O’Reilly has a lot of tips about setting up a home chemistry lab, http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9780596514921.do
Greetings, this is John Price, president and chief scientist at picoSpin. I’d be happy to answer any questions you or your readers might have about our spectrometer. By the way, the picoSpin project got its start a few years ago in a home lab. We found that it was not possible to use conventional chemical supply companies. Fortunately, very little chemistry was needed in the beginning and we were able to get by using common solvents available at our local hardware store. I did find a really good book on this subject: “Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments,” by Robert Bruce Thompson.
Great to hear picospin started in a home lab! Did you have a company set up when you began work? I’d love to see it in action, you don’t happen to be in Australia at any stage? If you’re exhibiting at any chemistry conferences (anywhere), let me know. Not sure if I’ll make the next ACS though. I think the most interesting use of a “home-lab” would be to see just what could be made using hardware store chemicals. It would be cool to choose some interesting natural products and see if they could be made in the most basic of labs.
That seems like a cool book, I’ll have to have a look! It looks like it might be a bit basic when it comes to the chemistry but I’m sure it solves a lot of the problems of operating without access to the usual lab equipment and supplies.
The dealer in Australia is John Morris:
http://www.johnmorris.com.au/files/files/picospin/index_inf.html
We will do a road show in Australia at some point but it has not happened yet. We will be exhibiting at the two major ACS shows each year.
We did have a company set up from the beginning but because we were working out of home labs we could not get chemical suppliers to ship to us.
The electricity for the hood is not as much of a problem as the air conditioning capacity needed when you are sucking so much air out of the room. And you need the AC to keep the lab environment constant. “Room Temperature” should stay reasonably constant for most industrial processes.
I set up a lab in Pasadena California and it was easy, but we were a legal business.
Yeah I agree; it’s also one additional reason to keep your hood sash as low as possible. I think £20/hour per extra inch of sash height figure was quoted for the CRL in Oxford! For small shed/garage labs that are not in constant use, there isn’t necessarily any point in heating/cooling them using AC. RT reactions can always be heated to 20 C if required. I’ve worked in a number of proper labs that had issues with achieving this in cold or hot weather so I don’t think it would be a problem for something that is primarily a “hobby” lab.