You can never be too careful when using a rotary evaporator during the evaporation or distillation process. The modern rotary evaporator is not only the standard configuration of laboratory in medicine, chemical industry and biopharmaceutical industry, but also plays an important role in the processing of high-value samples. Due to the use of liquid and vacuum heating, rotary evaporators are a safety hazard in the laboratory, so many people regard the additional safety functions as the most important condition. Today I will introduce you how a rotary evaporator can be used safely.
In a conventional distillation apparatus, the distilled liquid medium is only accessible to the heat source at the wall of the distillation vessel. This contract can lead to overheating, so the boiling process is out of control and this will also bring security risks to equipment and personnel. Excessively high temperatures on the other hand can also cause product quality to be affected or samples to be completely scrapped. By means of vacuum (boiling and evaporation at low temperature) and rotation (avoiding overheating) of a rotary evaporator, the diluent removal process can be completely controlled.
Our company adopts PTFE and rubber as a composed sealing to guarantee the high vacuum degree; high efficiency condenser can ensure continuous feeding with high recovery; water bath digital constant temperature control; reasonable structure and materials; the mechanical structure is mainly made of stainless steel and aluminum alloy materials, and the glass parts are all made of high temperature resistant high boron glass; the key parts of electrical appliances are imported, and the rubber seals are all easy to adopt new international, easy for users to purchase and update.
How can a Rotary Evaporator be Used Safely?
1. Vacuum degree
The vacuum degree is the most important process parameter of a rotary evaporator, and the users often encounter the problem that the vacuum degree cannot reach, which is often related to the properties of the solvent used. The biochemical pharmaceutical industry often uses acetic acid, ethanol, propanol, ethyl ester, diethyl ether, petroleum ether, chloroform, water, and stupid as the solvent. Generally, the vacuum cannot withstand strong organic solvents, and the special vacuum pump with strong corrosion resistance can be selected first. (The water circulation vacuum pump is recommended to use.)
A simple way to check if the instrument is leaking:Clip off the external vacuum tube to observe whether the vacuum meter on the instrument can keep five minutes.If there is a leak should check the sealing joint and rotating shaft seal ring is effective. If the rotary evaporator is normal, check the vacuum pump and vacuum pipe.
2. The temperature rising of the motor
The motor adopts E-class insulation, the winding adopts polyester high-strength enameled wire, the use environment and altitude are not more than 1000 meters, the ambient temperature does not exceed 40 °C, and the continuous use of motor surface temperature rise (the difference between motor surface temperature and environment) does not exceed 45 °C Normal and safe to use. If the temperature rise exceeds 45 °C, check the relevant transmission lubrication system. If the ambient temperature is very high, the water bath temperature is also high, and the user can use the fan to cool.
Daily Maintenance and Clean
- Heating port: choose deionized water or low viscosity and clean silicone oil to replace weekly.
- Glass components: The joint of the glass grinding mouth is cleaned with ethanol and coated with vacuum silicone grease every week.
- Sealing ring: It is recommended to check the wear of the sealing ring every quarter (judged by the vacuum value).
- Main engine: keep the shell and the panel dry.
- Cleaning: Please disconnect the power supply when cleaning and maintaining the instrument. Use a surfactant cleaner or isopropyl alcohol to remove inert stains.
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