Rotary evaporator is a laboratory equipment that uses the principle of vacuum distillation to achieve liquid evaporation and separation, and is widely used in fields such as chemistry, chemical engineering, and biomedicine. The core is to form a thin film by rotating the flask to increase the evaporation area, lower the boiling point in a vacuum environment, and achieve separation with heating and condensation systems.
The working principle of the rotary evaporator is mainly based on vacuum distillation and rotational action:
Reduced pressure environment: By using a vacuum pump to lower the pressure inside the system, a reduced pressure environment is created. Under reduced pressure conditions, the boiling point of the liquid decreases, allowing the solvent to evaporate rapidly at relatively low temperatures.
Rotation effect: During the rotation of the distillation flask, the material forms a uniform thin film on the bottle wall, thereby increasing the evaporation area and improving the evaporation efficiency. The rotation speed is usually adjustable to meet the evaporation requirements of different materials.
Heating evaporation: Use a heating bath (such as a water bath or oil bath) to heat the solvent in the distillation flask, and the heating temperature can be close to the boiling point of the solvent.
Condensation collection: The evaporated solvent vapor is cooled by a condenser and becomes liquid, which is collected in a receiving bottle.
Solute separation: During the evaporation process, the solute in the material remains in the evaporation bottle, thereby achieving the separation of solvent and solute.
The rotary evaporator mainly consists of the following parts:
Rotating flask: used to hold materials to be evaporated, usually pear shaped or round bottom flask with standard ground mouth interface.
Condenser tube: A highly reflux serpentine condenser tube used to cool the evaporated solvent vapor into liquid.
Receiver flask: a receiving flask with a ground mouth, used to receive evaporated organic solvents.
Vacuum system: including vacuum pump and vacuum buffer bottle, used to provide a vacuum environment and reduce the pressure inside the system.
Heating bath pot: Water or oil is commonly used to heat materials and provide a stable heating temperature.
Rotating motor: By rotating, it drives the evaporation bottle to rotate, causing the material to form a thin film on the bottle wall.
Lifting device: used to quickly lift the evaporator bottle from the heating bath for easy operation and maintenance.