Large scale Rotavapor - reduces costs and protects the environment

A big advantage of the rotary evaporation process is the easy possibility of scaling-up. Whether using a 20 liter scale for kilo-laboratory and pilot plant or a 50 liter scale for industrial production: the process is comparable to the results from the bench-top instrument.

The costs of buying and of disposing of solvents are increasing. Recycling is an alternative. Many solvents like Acetone, Ethanol, Ethyl acetate, Hexane and others are often used and are easy to recycle. The easiest way to do this is by distillation in a rotary evaporator.

The most important step is the way in which the used solvent is collected. The cleaner the collected solvent is, the better the separation. This process is already very well established in universities, where “green chemistry” is a part of the education. The solvents are collected in 5 litre tanks and then usually distilled in a 20 litre rotary evaporator. Depending on the impurities of the waste solvent, a purification of > 95% is possible.

As the costs for disposing of solvents are high, there is now already a market, where used solvents are available almost for free. Some of these slightly polluted solvents can be recycled in a rotary evaporator. Another way to get low cost solvents is to buy technical grade solvents and distil them to remove impurities like oil or water.

All you need is a rotary evaporator, a vacuum pump and a cooling source. BÜCHI Labortechnik AG offers all the tools for an efficient and ecological way to recycle solvents. From a lab size rotary evaporator, for volumes up to 3 litres, right up to an EX proof version with 30 litre solvent capacity, BUCHI covers customer needs. The perfect rotary evaporator to recover solvents in an economical way is the Rotavapor R-220 SE. With its 20 litre evaporating flask it is possible to distil up to 19 litres of Acetone or 38 litres of Hexane within an hour. The integrated vacuum controller and the PTFE membrane pump complete the space saving design of the solvent recycling system. A lot of new features and upgrade possibilities let you modify the Rotavapor R-220 SE according your needs.

The advantage of a Rotavapor for solvent recycling is the fact that other applications can also be carried out with the system, like concentrations, extractions and drying.

Large-scale rotary evaporators have to comply to stricter standards and directives. Most installations are working under GMP/GLP regulations and explosion-proof standards have also to be taken into consideration. For more than 50 years the rotary evaporators from BUCHI have focused on ease of use, durability and quality. For this reason, 20-year-old instruments can still be found in pharmaceutical and chemical laboratories all over the world. Such expectations to meet high quality standards are also found within industrial rotary evaporation line.

Find out more now on www.buchi.com