Pope Scientific

Pope Scientific: who they are and what they make

Pope Scientific, Inc. is a Saukville, Wisconsin maker of wiped film stills, molecular stills and chemical processing equipment, founded in 1963 in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Pope says it pioneered the wiped film still in 1976, and it builds glass and stainless systems along with fractional distillation equipment, pressure vessels, Nutsche filter dryers and dewars.

Pope made its first wiped film still sale for a cannabinoid application in 2002, recovering CBD from a hemp seed oil byproduct in Canada. By its own count it had sold more than 500 Canna Wiped Film Stills by 2019. The company works from a 44,000 square foot facility at 351 N. Dekora Woods Blvd. in Saukville and also runs toll processing and process development services.

Where Pope wiped film stills fit by facility stage

Pope publishes three standard glass Canna Still packages, and each maps to a different scale of operation. Feed rates below are per pass with glass bodies and condensers, and Pope notes that typical processing uses two passes.

R&D and small batch: the 2 inch still

The 2 inch Canna Still has 0.033 square meters of evaporator surface and a feed rate of 200 to 500 ml per hour. Pope lists the package at just over $50,000 and the footprint at 66 by 22 by 66 inches.

Growing production: the 4 inch still

The 4 inch still raises surface area to 0.11 square meters and feed to 0.5 to 2 liters per hour. The package starts just over $75,000 and occupies 70 by 60 by 87 inches.

Production: the 6 inch still and stainless systems

The 6 inch still has 0.22 square meters of surface and feeds 1 to 4 liters per hour per pass, with stainless body options for higher rates. Pope lists it from just over $90,000, and the Pope 6 inch Canna Still spec sheet gives a 76 by 60 by 90 inch footprint. Above that, Pope builds turnkey stainless systems in 6, 9, 12 and 20 inch sizes.

All three glass packages list ultimate vacuum of 0.008 to 0.02 Torr clean and dry, a limited 1 year warranty and a lead time of 3 to 5 weeks from order to shipment.

How to size a Pope still for your daily volume

Work from crude volume per day, passes and shift length. At two passes, 10 liters of crude means 20 liters of feed through the still. A 6 inch Pope still at 1 to 4 liters per hour needs 5 to 20 hours to process that, while a 4 inch still at 0.5 to 2 liters per hour needs 10 to 40 hours. Ask Pope or Urth & Fyre for the feed rate achieved on a crude similar to yours before you pick a size.

Then check utilities. The 6 inch package draws 70 amps at 120V single phase or 35 amps at 240V single phase, and it runs an internal condenser circulator rated from minus 35°C to plus 150°C plus an immersion chiller for the cold trap. The 4 inch draws 52 amps at 120V or 14 amps at 240V, and the 2 inch draws 60 amps at 120V. Plan the circuit before the crate arrives. Our Distillation Equipment Guide covers how the still, vacuum train and chillers fit together.

Pope Scientific compared with short path and other wiped film options

The main alternative to a wiped film still is batch short path distillation. Pope's own guide states that in a batch still, product may sit at high heat for 4 to 8 hours, while wiped film residence time is measured in seconds. Wiped film is also continuous, so throughput is not capped by flask size the way a batch boiling flask is.

Within wiped film, Pope separates three designs. Wiped film evaporators use an external condenser and suit feeds high in solvent or water. Molecular stills, also called short path stills, put the condenser inside, close to the evaporator, for high boiling materials that need the deepest vacuum. Hybrid stills add a packed fractionating column for materials with close boiling points.

For buyers comparing brands, our wiped film evaporator guide lays out specs and return on investment across makers. Pope also sells a CE certified series, the WFC-200, WFC-400 and WFC-600, which it introduced at ACHEMA 2024 with capacities of 0.1 to 20 kg per hour depending on model and application.

Buying a Pope Scientific still through Urth & Fyre

Urth & Fyre does not currently list a Pope still. We source and quote Pope systems on request, new or used, and we review the vacuum train, chillers and power with you before you commit. If you need distillation capacity now, our current inventory includes a Chemtech Services two stage KDT-6 short path unit.

If you own a Pope still you have outgrown, you can sell it through Urth & Fyre. Send the still size, body material, condenser type and a list of the pumps and circulators that come with it.

Send your daily crude volume and target passes through our equipment request form, and we will quote a Pope still or a comparable system sized to that number.

• Confirm the still size and body material on the nameplate. Pope's 2, 4 and 6 inch packages differ in surface area (0.033, 0.11 and 0.22 square meters) and feed rate, and stainless bodies change the rate again.
• Pull a vacuum test before you buy. Pope rates its glass Canna Stills at 0.008 to 0.02 Torr ultimate vacuum clean and dry, so a used unit that cannot get near that range points to a leak, a seal or a pump problem.
• Inspect the wipers and drive. Pope uses virgin Teflon wipers and a 316L stainless drive on the 6 inch still, so check both for wear and ask when the wipers were last replaced.
• Check every glass body and condenser for chips and scratches, since Pope builds the condensers from certified borosilicate glass.
• List what ships with the still. The 6 inch package relies on an internal condenser circulator (minus 35°C to plus 150°C) and an immersion chiller (minus 80°C to minus 60°C); feed pumps, diffusion pump boosters and hot oil jacketing are options.
• Plan power. The 6 inch package needs 70 amps at 120V or 35 amps at 240V single phase on 60 Hz.
• For new units, budget 3 to 5 weeks from order to shipment, per Pope's spec sheets.