Food-safe rotary evaporator grease
For those of you who have rotary evaporators or other chemistry glassware in the kitchen, what do you use to grease the ground glass taper/ ball joints so that the lubricant does not either absorb or introduce flavors into the product?
Thus far I have not found anything that is a GRAS food additive marketed as a vacuum grease, but I have found some very expensive fluorinated/ PTFE compounds (Santovac 5GB) that would be insoluble in any food items being run through the system.
Best Answer
Many manufacturers and manuals say that you shouldn't grease them. However, for parts of the process you may be able to use Taylor ice cream machine lubrication or Vaseline (see below).
Dave Arnold who also runs the Cooking Issues blog, is the king of RotoVap in the kitchen. There is a full article over here on Dispensery Grade where he discusses RotoVap in the kitchen.
Here's an excerpt from the comment section of the article:
What are you using to grease the glass joints (air inlet and vacuum take-off)? Regular vacuum grease is probably not a good idea. Something like chapstick or shortening? Thanks.
Reply Dave A // Dec 12, 2009 at 11:22 am
Howdy Stephen, We use Taylor ice cream machine lubrication or Vaseline.
If you go with vaseline, make sure you get the food-grade version.
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How do you clean a rotary evaporator?
The easiest and quickest way to clean a rotary evaporator is to simply flush the machine with acetone (or another solvent of your choice). While this is not the most thorough cleaning method, it is ideal for situations where time is limited.Is rotary evaporator used for purification?
Rotary evaporation is a gentle and efficient method for liquid separation and purification.What can you do with a rotovap?
The purpose of the rotovap is to remove low boiling organic chemicals, usually solvents, from a mixture of compounds. The rotary evaporator is the method of choice for solvent removal in the modern organic laboratory. The solvents or low boiling compounds are removed by a simple distillation.Can you evaporate water with a rotary evaporator?
Evaporation rate depends on the power of the vacuum pump you use in the rotary evaporator, and the temperature in the water bath. Try to increase them. Also, because you need a small amount of sample to inject in the HPLC, you can put an aliquot of your sample in a speedvac machine, that is more efficient.Use of Rotary evaporator
More answers regarding food-safe rotary evaporator grease
Answer 2
Chapstick.
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