A rotary evaporator is a laboratory device used for the removal or recovery of solvents at low pressure. As its name indicates, it evaporates substances through the process of distillation, to later be condensed and later its components separated one by one. These equipment have existed in laboratories around the world since the 1960s, when the Büchi brand patented the first models, which had a capacity of only 1.5 liters.
It basically consists of an electric motor, which causes the rotation of a tube attached to a ground glass joint guide tube. A round bottom flask containing the solution is attached to the latter. This flask is partially immersed in a water bath, maintaining rotation. Next to the system is a coolant that circulates a liquid (water or antifreeze). This produces condensation of the solvent, which is recovered in a collector. The set is a closed system connected to a vacuum intake.
What is the structure of a rotary evaporator like?
This equipment has a rotating and lifting movement unit, a distillation equipment, generally made of glass, and a heating unit that is normally a thermoregulated bath or water bath. Among its components we can mention: A round flask for the collection of the distilled material, a vacuum equipment to reduce the internal pressure of the equipment, an adjustable height column, a spiral-shaped condensing column, an adjustable heating plate, a second round flask for evaporation and a pedestal for the variable rotation motor.
When using the rotary evaporator, the distillation and melting points of the analytes must be known in advance, so as not to overheat the equipment. The sample to be processed is inserted into the evaporating flask, which is immersed in water, and the thermoregulated bath and the rotation system are turned on. After this and by means of the vacuum pump, the atmospheric pressure is reduced, which allows the solvents to separate from the solute and then be distilled in the condensation tube at low temperature and collected in the corresponding flask.
The rotation of the equipment is generated with an induction motor from 1/30 h.p to 1,700 r.p.m and its speed is reduced with a dedicated mechanism for this, as well as the constant speed control. The temperature of the water in the thermoregulated bath is in turn controlled by an electronic thermostat.
What is the application of a rotary evaporator?
A common basic operation in the chemistry laboratory is the removal of a volatile organic solvent from a reaction mixture or a process such as liquid-liquid extraction. Although this operation, in principle, could be carried out by simple distillation, the fastest and most convenient method is the use of a rotary evaporator for distillation under reduced pressure. This is an equipment used mainly in the pharmaceutical industry and in chemical laboratories for the efficient and gentle removal of solvents from samples by evaporation. They are also used in molecular cuisine for the preparation of distillates and extracts.
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