Terms & Conditions
1. Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using the ScaleChem website, application, or any associated tools and services (collectively, the "Service"), you ("you" or "User") agree to be bound by these Terms & Conditions ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Service.
You represent that you are at least 18 years old, have the legal authority to enter into a binding agreement, and — if using the Service on behalf of a company or organization — have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms.
2. Description of Service
ScaleChem provides a suite of computational tools for chemical-process design, scale-up analysis, heat-transfer modeling, dimensionless-number scaling, yield prediction, equipment recommendation, techno-economic analysis, and Bayesian experiment optimization. The Service generates outputs (charts, recommendations, calculations, reports) based on user-supplied inputs and built-in models.
The Service is delivered as software-as-a-service, accessed via web browser or programmatic API. Features, models, and pricing may evolve over time.
3. Not Engineering or Safety Advice
The Service is a screening and design-aid tool, not a substitute for engineering judgment, formal process safety review, or regulatory compliance. All outputs are estimates based on user-supplied inputs and built-in models with declared assumptions and uncertainties. Final decisions about reactor selection, operating conditions, scale-up authorization, equipment specification, vendor selection, regulatory submission, or any safety-critical action require independent verification by qualified engineers and process safety professionals with access to your specific system, materials, and site conditions.
Specifically:
- The heat-transfer tool's runaway risk classifications, cooling margins, and Stoessel-class assignments are screening estimates, not validated safety analyses. They do not replace DSC/ARC calorimetry, professional process safety review (PHA/HAZOP), or jurisdiction-specific regulatory review.
- The dimensionless-scaling and yield-prediction tools use rule-of-thumb correlations calibrated against published case studies. Real-world variance is wide (±5–15% absolute yield in case studies; orders-of-magnitude variance for some mass-transfer regimes). Always confirm with pilot trials.
- The equipment recommender suggests reactor type, agitator, operating mode, cooling strategy, and chiller specifications based on chemical engineering rules of thumb. It does not replace vendor consultation, equipment specification by a qualified engineer, or compliance with applicable codes (ASME BPVC, PED, OSHA PSM, EPA RMP, USP, etc.).
- The Bayesian experiment optimizer suggests next experiments based on user-supplied prior data and statistical models. It does not assess hazards of any suggested experiments. You are solely responsible for determining whether a suggested experiment is safe to conduct.
4. No Warranties
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE.
SCALECHEM MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT (a) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (b) THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (c) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL OBTAINED THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, OR (d) ANY ERRORS IN THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED.
5. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, ScaleChem and its officers, directors, employees, agents, contractors, and licensors shall not be liable for any damages arising out of or in connection with your use of the Service, regardless of the cause of action.
This includes but is not limited to:
- Safety incidents at any laboratory, pilot facility, or production plant operated by you or any third party, including incidents involving fire, explosion, runaway reaction, toxic release, equipment failure, environmental contamination, personal injury, or death;
- Process failures, yield losses, batch failures, or scale-up campaigns that fail to meet expected results;
- Loss of data, loss of work product, loss of business opportunities, loss of revenue, loss of profits, or any other commercial damages;
- Misuse of the Service by you, your employees, your contractors, or any third party;
- Reliance on Service outputs without independent engineering verification;
- Decisions made by you or others based in whole or in part on Service outputs;
- Service interruption, downtime, or unavailability;
- Any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages.
The above limitations apply even if ScaleChem has been advised of the possibility of such damages and even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Aggregate liability cap: If, despite the foregoing, ScaleChem is found liable to you for any reason, ScaleChem's total aggregate liability shall not exceed the greater of (a) the amount you paid ScaleChem in the twelve (12) months preceding the event giving rise to the liability, or (b) one hundred US dollars ($100 USD).
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or liabilities, so some of the above limitations may not apply to you. In such cases, ScaleChem's liability is limited to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
6. Indemnification by User
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ScaleChem, its officers, directors, employees, agents, contractors, and licensors from and against any and all claims, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees) arising from:
- Your use of and access to the Service;
- Your violation of any term of these Terms;
- Your violation of any third-party right, including without limitation any copyright, property, or privacy right;
- Any claim that any work or output you produced using the Service caused damage to a third party, including but not limited to safety incidents at any facility;
- Your conduct in connection with the Service.
7. Data, Privacy, and Security
7.1 Data You Provide
You retain ownership of any reaction data, process parameters, experimental observations, project information, or other content ("User Content") that you input into the Service. ScaleChem stores User Content for the purpose of providing the Service to you.
7.2 ScaleChem's Use of User Content
ScaleChem will not sell User Content to third parties. ScaleChem may use User Content as follows:
- To operate, maintain, and improve the Service for you;
- To diagnose technical issues and respond to your support requests;
- In aggregated, anonymized form, to improve models and benchmarks;
- As required by law or valid legal process.
7.3 Data Security
ScaleChem implements reasonable technical and organizational measures to protect User Content against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However:
No system is 100% secure. ScaleChem makes no guarantee that User Content will not be accessed, altered, destroyed, lost, or compromised. You should maintain your own backups of any business-critical data. ScaleChem is not liable for data loss or for the consequences of any data breach.
7.4 Cookies and Telemetry
The Service uses cookies for authentication and session management. The Service may collect basic usage telemetry (e.g., feature usage counts) to inform product development. The Service does not sell user data to advertisers or data brokers.
7.5 Account Deletion
You may request account deletion by contacting hello@scalechem.com. Upon deletion, your User Content will be deleted from active systems within 30 days, except where retention is required by law or for legitimate business records (e.g., billing).
8. Account & Access
8.1 Account Registration
To access most features of the Service, you must create an account with accurate and complete information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activities that occur under your account.
8.2 Account Approval & Access
New accounts are created in a pending state and are activated by ScaleChem after a scoping conversation. ScaleChem may grant, decline, suspend, or revoke access to the Service at its discretion. The scope, terms, and any fees for an engagement are agreed directly between you and ScaleChem and are not posted publicly; where a written agreement or order form exists between you and ScaleChem, that agreement governs in the event of any conflict with these Terms.
8.3 Changes to the Service
Features, tools, and the products offered may evolve over time. ScaleChem will provide notice of material changes affecting active engagements where practicable.
8.4 Fees
Any fees for the Service are as agreed in writing between you and ScaleChem. Unless your agreement states otherwise, fees already paid are non-refundable except where required by law.
9. Acceptable Use
You agree not to use the Service to:
- Engage in any activity that violates applicable laws, including export-control regulations, chemical-weapons treaties, controlled-substances laws, or any other regulatory regime;
- Design, plan, or simulate the synthesis or scale-up of chemical weapons, biological weapons, explosives, illegal drugs, or any other prohibited materials;
- Reverse engineer, decompile, or otherwise attempt to extract the source code of the Service;
- Resell, sublicense, or redistribute the Service or its outputs as a competing product;
- Attempt to circumvent any access controls, rate limits, or tier restrictions;
- Use the Service to infringe on third-party intellectual property rights;
- Upload malicious code, attempt to gain unauthorized access to other accounts, or interfere with the Service's operation.
ScaleChem reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these acceptable-use restrictions, with or without notice.
10. Intellectual Property
The Service, including all software, models, algorithms, documentation, branding, and design elements, is owned by ScaleChem (or its licensors) and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual-property laws.
You retain all rights to your User Content. By submitting User Content to the Service, you grant ScaleChem a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, process, transmit, and display that User Content as necessary to provide the Service to you.
11. Termination
You may terminate your account at any time by contacting ScaleChem. ScaleChem may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, including (but not limited to) for violation of these Terms or non-payment.
Upon termination, your right to access the Service ceases immediately. ScaleChem will provide a reasonable opportunity (at least 30 days, except in cases of acceptable-use violations) to export your User Content before deletion.
12. Modifications to Terms
ScaleChem may modify these Terms at any time. Material changes will be communicated to active users via email or in-product notice at least 30 days before taking effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree to the modified Terms, you must discontinue use of the Service.
13. Governing Law & Disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION TO BE SET BY ATTORNEY], without regard to its conflict-of-law principles.
Any dispute arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall be resolved through:
- First, good-faith negotiation between the parties;
- If negotiation fails, [BINDING ARBITRATION OR COURT JURISDICTION TO BE SET BY ATTORNEY];
- You agree to bring claims only in your individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class action or representative proceeding.
14. Contact
Questions about these Terms? Contact us at:
ScaleChem
hello@scalechem.com