Organomation

Nitrogen Blowdown vs Rotary Evaporation

Laboratories often need to use evaporation techniques to further concentrate their test samples prior to analysis. Concentration occurs when excess solvent is converted into a vapor, leaving behind either a solid or liquid solute. There are countless evaporation methods available, so how do you know which one is best for your application?

This video will explain both nitrogen blowdown and rotary evaporation – two widely used evaporation methods. We will explain how each method accelerates the concentration process, and when each is recommended.

Let’s begin with nitrogen blowdown evaporation.

If we look at a sample under ambient conditions with no external forces, we’ll notice that the solvent molecules move around very slowly. Because of this, only some are able to be vaporized and separated from the sample. The high pressure right above the surface of the sample also causes many of these molecules to return back to the sample. These factors lead to a very slow evaporation rate.

The nitrogen blowdown method decreases the vapor pressure above the sample by applying a steady stream of nitrogen gas on the solvent’s surface.

The nitrogen gas can also cool the sample slightly, which decreases the energy of the molecules, slowing down their movement and ability to vaporize.

To counteract this, a form of heat is added to the sample which causes the molecules to re-energize and speed back up. The heat can be in the form of a water bath, or a dry block.

The sample is now in an optimal environment for concentration. The combination of heat and nitrogen blowdown allows the molecules to quickly vaporize and be whisked away from the sample.

Now, let’s compare that to rotary evaporation.

We’ll start with a large liquid sample in a round flask which will be hooked up to a rotary evaporator unit.

This flask will sit in a heated water bath causing the solvent molecules to speed up, and vaporize at an accelerated rate.

The flask will also rotate while in the water bath, increasing the surface area of the solvent, and allowing more solvent molecules to escape.

The vaporized solvent molecules will travel up towards a chilled condenser, where they’ll begin to condense and drip down into a receiving flask. This is where all the excess solvent will collect, leaving behind a concentrated sample in the rotating flask.

Some rotary evaporators also include a vacuum pump which can be connected to the condenser. This vacuum pump is meant to decrease the pressure inside the rotating flask, causing the solvent to evaporate at a lower-than-normal temperature. The combination of heat, rotation, and decreased pressure creates an ideal environment for efficient evaporation.

So when are each of these methods recommended for use?

Nitrogen blowdown is ideal when evaporating a high number of samples. Some nitrogen evaporators can accommodate batches of up to 100 samples.

This method is also meant for small volume samples. Samples larger than 100 mL will have a prolonged evaporation time.

The precision of nitrogen blowdown also makes it a great option for those who are looking to evaporate to complete dryness, or would like to stop it at a specific endpoint.

Rotary evaporation is ideal when working with a very small number of samples. Since these units can only handle one sample at a time, they would not be an ideal choice for evaporating large batches.

This method is also meant to handle large volume samples. Most rotary evaporators can handle sample volumes up to 2 L.

Lastly, rotary evaporation is great for evaporating solvents with high boiling points. The use of a vacuum pump for reduced pressure lowers the boiling point of the solvent, allowing them to be evaporated with minimal heat.

Each concentration method is designed for different applications, so it’s important to know which one will best meet your needs. If you have any questions on either of these methods, or need help identifying which is right for you, feel free to contact us at sales@organomation.com.

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Sources:

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Nitrogen Blowdown vs Rotary Evaporation

Efficient Sample Concentration at Ambient Temperatures

Many analytical techniques require the evaporation of organic solvents at ambient temperatures during the sample preparation process. Whether your samples are small or heat sensitive, Organomation’s unheated MULTIVAP is the perfect solution.

Organomation has been manufacturing sample concentration equipment since 1959, and the unheated MULTIVAP is one of our newest product offerings. These units are ideal for those evaporating batches of identical samples.

The evaporation process is initiated by a gentle stream of nitrogen being blown onto the solvent’s surface, protecting the integrity of all sample types.

With capacities ranging from 9 large beakers up to 100 small vials, you’re sure to find one that will meet your sample throughput needs.

Our 9, 30, 48, and 80 position models will all come with an anodized aluminum block to hold your test tubes, unlike our 64 and 100 position models which will come with a stainless steel rack.

Both are custom drilled to your specific tube size to ensure your samples are held securely. If more than one tube size will be used, additional sample holders can be purchased.

Due to their small footprint, these units are perfect for labs with limited benchtop or fume hood space. The largest unit only requires slightly over one square foot of space.

The gas delivery needles are connected to one manifold, allowing the user to start or stop gas flow to all positions with a single switch.

The manifold also has individual toggle switches that control the gas flow to each row. Shutting off all unused rows can help conserve nitrogen gas, while making the whole operation more economical.

Each MULTIVAP unit is manufactured by hand in the US with only the highest-quality materials. Each unit is carefully inspected and tested by our skilled production team.

We take pride in our products, which is why each unheated MULTIVAP comes with a one year standard warranty and lifetime customer support.

For more information on our unheated MULTIVAP product line, please contact us at
sales@organomation.com, or call 978-838-7300.

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Efficient Sample Concentration at Ambient Temperatures

Organomation’s N-EVAP design has been around since the 1950s and continues to be popular sample evaporation solution in labs throughout the world.

The 34 position nitrogen evaporator provides one of the highest sample capacities in our N-EVAP product line, paired with easy-to-use digital controls.

It utilizes a unique spring assisted sample holder, a feature exclusive to the N-EVAP concentrators. This design allows multiple tube sizes to be held in the unit at once, so there’s no need to purchase additional racks like other competing units.

It’s able to accommodate tubes with an outside diameter between 10 to 30 mm, making it an ideal solution for labs who are working with multiple methods at once.

The entire manifold and sample holder move as a complete unit, so you can easily move it up and down, or rotate it to access each sample from the front.

The combination of nitrogen blowdown technology and a heated water bath creates a gentle environment to protect your sample’s integrity, while rapidly evaporating off excessive solvent.

The adjustable flow meter gives the user full control of the amount of nitrogen being delivered to the entire manifold assembly.

There are also individual needle valves at each sample position that can precisely control the gas flow to each test tube. Gas flow can even be shut off at unused sample positions to conserve nitrogen.

These valves can also be raised and lowered individually to accommodate a variety of tube heights.

The temperature of the water bath can be precisely controlled by using the side digital control box. The cartridge heater system allows the water bath to reach up to 90 °C.

The control box also includes a timer feature, which allows the heat and gas flow to be turned either on or off after a specified time period.

As an additional safety measure, the instrument includes an internal pressure regulator which automatically limits the maximum PSI of the instrument. The user can easily monitor and adjust the instrument’s input pressure from the gauge on the top of the control box.

The 34 position N-EVAP is ideal for labs who require a high capacity solution for evaporating a variety of sample sizes. With proper maintenance and care, you can expect your N-EVAP to last you upwards of 30 years. Feel confident in your sample concentration with Organomation’s N-EVAP evaporator.

For more information on the 34 position N-EVAP, please reach out to our team at sales@organomation.com or call 978-838-7300.

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 34 Position N-EVAP Sample Concentrator Demonstration

How Does Nitrogen Evaporation Work?

Nitrogen evaporation is a common step in sample preparation that is used by many types of laboratories. It’s meant to remove excess solvent from test samples prior to chromatography, mass spectrometry, or other analytical techniques.

It is used in a variety of industries, including environmental testing, food & beverage, toxicology, pharmaceutical, and medical. Although nitrogen blowdown evaporation can be performed by hand, laboratories will often use a nitrogen evaporator to make the process more efficient.

A lab technician will begin by placing their test samples into a nitrogen evaporator.

They will then be lowered into a heated water bath which is set a to a few degrees lower than the boiling point of the solvent you’re working with. Some nitrogen evaporators utilize a dry block instead of a water bath for the heat source.

The gas delivery needles are then positioned to be just above the surface of the solvent. The gentle stream of nitrogen should create a dimple on top of the sample.

The samples will remain in this position until they are concentrated down to the desired level.

So how does this process actually work, and how does it cause faster evaporation rates? Let’s take a look at the physics behind it.

By introducing a stream of nitrogen gas being blown on the sample, this decreases the vapor pressure just above the surface of the sample. This prevents any vapor from returning back to the solvent, while allowing more vapor to dissipate.

However, the nitrogen gas can also cool the sample slightly, which decreases the energy of the molecules, slowing down their movement and ability to vaporize.

By introducing a form of heat to the sample, it causes the molecules to re-energize and speed back up.

The sample is now in an optimal environment for concentration. The combination of heat and nitrogen blowdown allows the molecules to quickly vaporize and be whisked away from the sample.

The entire process is efficient, yet gentle to prevent any damage to your sensitive samples. On average, it takes just 25 minutes to safely concentrate down a 10 mL sample of methylene chloride using nitrogen blowdown.

For more information on blowdown technology and how it can be used, check out our past video titled “What is Nitrogen Blowdown Evaporation”.

For any additional questions on the glassware installation, please reach out to our sales team at sales@organomation.com.

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Link to video "What Is Nitrogen Blowdown Evaporation": https://youtu.be/e9dbWmoWwSw

How Does Nitrogen Evaporation Work?

How to Install Corning Glassware in a ROT-X-TRACT-LC

Our ROT-X-TRACT-LC extractor is designed to accommodate up to 8 sets of Corning Accelerated One-Step glassware.

This video will explain how to assemble each glassware set, and how to install it into the extractor unit.

Take 2 white silicone water tubes and connect them on the barbs on a condenser. Secure with zip ties to ensure they don’t pop off during use.

Place the Y-Cup into the bottom half of the plastic coupler. Place a hydrophobic membrane and membrane screen on top of the Y-Cup.

Then take the top half of the plastic coupler, and put it over the lower lip on the extractor.

You can then screw each half off the plastic coupler back together. Make sure the lower portion of the Y-Cup is in line with the upper arm of the extractor.

Connect the concentrator tube to the bottom of the inline KD, and secure with a metal clip.

Place the rigid PTFE sleeve into the top of the inline KD.

Connect the Snyder column to the top of the KD, and secure in place with a blue clip.

Connect the top of the Snyder column to the upper side of the extractor and secure in place using the ball clamp.

Take the Teflon valve and remove the split nut. Slide the split nut over the lower end of the Y-Cup.

Then slide the blunt-end of the Teflon valve onto the Y-Cup as far as it will go. Screw the split nuts back together.

Place the 1/4” tube between the Snyder column and valve. Secure in place with the red screw caps.

You now have one position of glassware assembled. Repeat these steps until all glassware positions are complete.

First, attach all the clamps on the lower clamp holder. Make sure the flat side of the clamp is facing up, and insert it into the holder. Tighten each set screw with an Allen key.

Then, attach all the clamps on the upper clamp holder. Make sure each clamp is facing the correct way, with one prong on the left, and two prongs on the right. Tighten each set screw with an Allen key.

Take one of the condensers that now has two water tubes attached to it. Place it into one of the upper clamps.

Take the upper water tube and connect it to the top of the manifold, then take the lower water tube and connect it to the bottom of the manifold.

Repeat this until all the condensers are installed.

Take an assembled glassware set and begin by inserting the concentrator tube into the bath at a slight angle.

Once the concentrator tube is fully inserted into the bath, you can bring the glassware in towards the center of the unit.

Make sure the Snyder column stays to the left of the clamp, while the membrane cup lines up with the center of the clamp.

Push the Snyder column into the metal clip until it is held securely.

Then, push down on the entire glassware set until the membrane cup is seated securely into the lower clamp.

Repeat this until all the glassware sets are installed.

Move each condenser from the clamps to the top of each extractor body. These clamps are meant to hold the condensers while the unit is not in use.

Your ROT-X-TRACT-LC is now officially ready to meet all your extraction needs.

For any additional questions on the glassware installation, please reach out to our sales team at sales@organomation.com.

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How to Install Corning Glassware in a ROT-X-TRACT-LC

What is Corning Accelerated One-Step Extraction?

Corning Accelerated One-Step Extraction is an equivalent to the traditional continuous liquid-liquid extraction system.

However, Corning’s technology allows it to be a much more efficient process.

This method only requires 100 mL of an organic solvent compared to the 500 mL needed for the traditional continuous liquid-liquid method. The extraction time is also between 4-6 hours, unlike traditional methods which can take up to 18 hours.

Less material and less time make Corning’s technology a more cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative for those extracting drinking water or other clean water samples.

So how does the Corning One-Step Extraction process work?

You’ll start out with your aqueous sample in the extractor body, and your organic solvent in the solvent reservoir. Methylene chloride is most common, but any solvent heavier than water is sufficient.

The reservoir is placed inside a heated water bath, which causes the solvent to heat up and create solvent vapor. This vapor begins to travel up the Snyder column and into the condenser.

The chilled condenser causes the vapor to condense, and drip onto the aqueous sample using multiple drip points.

As the organic solvent travels through the water sample, it collects any analytes of interest.

At the bottom of the extractor body, there is a hydrophobic membrane. This membrane allows the solvent and analyte to pass through, while holding the water sample in place.

After the solvent passes through, it returns to the solvent reservoir and concentrator tube where the whole process will repeat over and over.

Once your extraction is complete, simply turn the stopcock below the extractor body to prevent any more solvent from entering the concentrator tube.

You are now left with a concentrated solution of your organic solvent and the analyte of interest.

If necessary, you can further concentrate your sample by transferring the tube to a nitrogen evaporator. This will gently evaporate off any excess solvent that may hinder your final analysis.

Typically, Corning extraction systems only allow you to work with one sample at a time. In order to further accelerate the extraction process, Organomation designed the ROT-X-TRACT-LC.

The ROT-X-TRACT-LC is an extractor that is able to hold 8 Corning One-Step apparatuses at once. They are put into a compact circular formation, which allows the unit to maintain a small footprint.

You can now extract up to 8 samples at once, with just one water supply line in, and one drain line out.

The ROT-X-TRACT-LC is designed to increase the efficiency of the extraction process, allowing labs to exceed their goals and be more productive.

For more information on the Corning One-Step technology, please visit the Organomation website, or contact our sales team.

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