Solvent recycling reduces costs and protects the environment

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 destillation 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. BUCHI Labortechnik AG offers all the tools for an efficient and ecological way to recycle solvents. They offer a lab size Rotavapor for volumes up to 3 litres and right up to an EX proof version with 30 litre solvent capacity. 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.

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.

As cooling is essential for a rotary evaporator, BUCHI also offers a chiller that fits the R-220 SE perfectly, as it combines a movable table for the Rotavapor and a location for the vacuum pump with a strong 2500W recirculating chiller.

For more information visit www.buchi.com