PP Trays for Lab Furniture

Quick Answer: PP Trays for Lab Furniture are polypropylene trays that sit on shelves, in drawers and in cabinets such as those under a fume hood or sink, holding bottles and small items and containing drips and spills so that they do not reach the furniture.

Containment Where Chemicals Are Stored

Reagent bottles drip down their sides, caps weep, and now and then a bottle cracks. On a bare shelf that liquid soaks into the board, corrodes metal runners or runs down to the shelf below. A polypropylene tray under the bottles catches it, so a leak stays in one removable tray that can be emptied and washed. This principle, secondary containment, is widely used in chemical storage.

Polypropylene suits the job because it is generally resistant to most aqueous acids, alkalis and salt solutions, is light and cleans easily. PP trays for lab furniture also bring order: dispensing tools, stoppers, pipette bulbs and small glassware stay grouped in drawers instead of rolling about. The listing does not give sizes or depths; choose trays whose lip is high enough to hold the contents of the largest bottle likely to leak, and check the dimensions against your drawers and shelves.

Use separate trays to keep incompatible chemicals apart, for example acids away from bases and oxidisers away from flammable liquids, so that a leak in one tray cannot mix with another. Along with flush handles, trays are among the small fittings that finish a lab cabinet, and in fume hood base cupboards they protect the carcass from damp and fumes.

Specifications

Care & Handling

• Check the trays whenever reagents are restocked, and deal with any liquid in them as the chemical it came from.
• Wash trays with detergent and water and dry them before refilling.
• Do not use PP trays to hold large amounts of solvents that attack polypropylene, such as aromatic or chlorinated solvents.
• Label each tray by hazard group so bottles go back to the right one.

Applications

• Lining the shelves of acid and alkali storage cabinets under fume hoods.
• Holding cleaning agents and wash bottles in under-sink cupboards.
• Organising spatulas, stoppers and pipette bulbs in bench drawers.
• Keeping incompatible reagents separated on the same shelf.

Why Choose LabEquip

Lab furniture makers and labs reorganising their chemical storage buy PP trays to line cabinets and drawers. LabEquip lists them in General Lab Products; shelf and drawer sizes sent through the contact page help match the trays.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are PP trays used for in lab furniture?

They line shelves, drawers and cabinets, holding bottles and small items and catching drips and spills so the furniture underneath stays dry and undamaged.

How deep should a spill tray be?

Deep enough to hold at least the contents of the largest bottle standing in it, so that a single broken bottle stays in the tray. Measure your largest container before choosing.

Can acids and bases share a tray?

No. Keep incompatible chemicals in separate trays, such as acids apart from bases and oxidisers apart from flammables, so that a leak cannot cause a reaction.

Is polypropylene resistant to solvents?

It resists alcohols and many dilute aqueous chemicals, but aromatic and chlorinated solvents can swell or weaken it, particularly over long contact. Keep large amounts of those solvents in trays of a suitable material.

How should a tray with spilled liquid be cleaned?

Wear suitable gloves, soak up or pour off the liquid as the chemical’s safety data sheet directs, then wash the tray with detergent and water and dry it.

Can PP trays go in a fume hood?

Yes. A tray under apparatus in the hood contains spills and makes cleaning easier. Keep it well back from the sash and make sure it does not block the airflow slots at the back.

Last Updated: September 2026