A rotary evaporator is used to distill solvents in order to partially or fully concentrate a solution. The operating principle of a rotary evaporator is based on simple distillation under vacuum.
The solution is placed in rotation inside a flask for three key reasons:
To prevent the formation of large boiling bubbles
To increase the surface area in contact with air
To avoid the solution being drawn into the vacuum system thanks to centrifugal force
The pressure is then reduced, most often using a vacuum pump. Depending on the solvent to be removed, the solution may also be heated to compensate for the endothermic nature of the evaporation process.
Sku Pr_329587
Sku Pr_323857
