Safe Evaporation of Explosive Solvents

Organomation’s Z Purge option makes it possible to safely concentrate samples containing highly flammable solvents, such as hexane or diethyl ether, without risk of explosion. In the event of insufficient ventilation through a fume hood, the optional Z Purge safety device will prevent solvent vapor from coming into contact with any electrical components.

The Z Purge option uses pressurization and purging to protect against an explosion. Pressurization is an affordable yet effective alternative to intrinsically safe or explosion proof equipment. A small flow of inert gas is inserted into the heating unit, creating a positive pressure gradient within the enclosure. This prevents solvent vapor from entering the heating unit and igniting. During evaporation, the concentrator is continuously purged with inert gas to flush out any stray solvent vapor as an additional protection measure.

The purge system is not tied to operation, meaning the concentrator can be operated without a purge when used in low-risk environments. When switching back to highly flammable solvents, the concentrator can be purged before beginning evaporation to flush out any stray solvent vapor and restore the positive pressure gradient.

The Z Purge safety device is available as an option for all Organomation evaporators and extractors. Organomation takes pride in manufacturing long-lasting, reliable benchtop evaporators used in laboratories worldwide. The company’s most popular evaporator, the N-EVAP®, is known for its unmatched versatility. All N-EVAP models include an adjustable sample holder and independent gas control to optimize evaporation to each sample. For applications where uniformity is important, high-capacity parallel concentrators evaporate batches of up to 100 samples at once.