Oil baths and circulation baths: What are their functions?

Laboratories are places where many clinical and research analysis processes are carried out, through the use of reagents and specialized equipment, which allow and facilitate their development, including oil and circulation baths.

What is an oil bath?

An oil bath is a thermostatic device that is used to transfer heat indirectly, by thermal convection, to a sample that requires analysis. When using these equipments, the heat transfer is carried out in a uniform way to the sample. They are commonly made up of stainless steel trays and covered on the inside by an antibacterial layer, this bath allows a controlled management of temperatures and total uniformity.

How do oil baths work?

Oil baths have the same foundation as water baths with the difference that some oil is used instead of water. Its use is recommended when the temperatures to be reached exceed 100 ° C. You must bear in mind that for the use of these baths it is important to use very thick-walled beakers to contain the oil.

It is important to know that ordinary mineral oil should not be used for baths in which the temperature exceeds 200 ° C, above that temperature the bath may self-ignite. In addition to ordinary mineral oil, there are other oils that are used for baths, including silicone oils, polyethylene glycol in various degrees of polymerization, certain waxes or paraffins, and even edible oil.

What is a circulation bath?

The circulation baths are made up of a stainless steel bath and allow to control the temperature of the internal and external thermoregulation tasks. Materials can be directly thermoregulated by placing them in the thermostat bath.

Circulation baths are also thermostatic equipment used in chemical research laboratories to transfer heat indirectly, by thermal convection, to a sample that requires analysis, allowing the transmission of heat in a uniform way to the materials placed inside. There are many models of these equipment, depending on the use that you want to give it, which can perform from very basic tasks to multiple tasks simultaneously, among them the following can be highlighted:

  • Liquid circulation and cooling baths: They are intended to cool samples at low temperatures, which can reach -15 ° C in a pre-established range of time.
  • Thermostatic bath: This equipment can achieve hot and cold temperatures, according to the operator’s need. They generally have an alarm that prevents samples from being subjected to temperatures for longer than necessary and are easy to handle.

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