Review: Basic construction of distillation apparatus

1. Evaporation part - where the mixture is made to evaporate by heating.

2. Separation/fractional part - This is where the actual separation of solvent and nonvolatile or less
volatile components takes place.
3. Condensation/cooling part
4. Collection part - where the various condensates are collected.
What is a rotary evaporator?
A rotary evaporator is a specially designed instrument for the evaporationof solvent (singlestage or straight distillation) under vacuum.

Principle of operation of Rotary evaporators

A rotary evaporator is an instrument used to evaporate solvents under vacuum with the use of rotation
and heat.
The vacuum is used to lower the
boiling temperature thus minimising
damage to thermolabile substances.
Rotation is used to distribute the
liquid as a thin film over the flask
surface thus increasing the surface
area for evaporation.
Heat is applied through immersion of
the flask in a water bath. Rotation
leads to more efficient temperature
transfer and reduces bumping and foaming compared with static distillation.
As a result the evaporation rate is regulated by:

heating bath temperature,

size of flask,

vacuum pressure, and

speed of rotation.

The rotovap takes advantage of the low boiling points of solvents by creating an
environment where the solvent will rapidly boil off leaving only your product.

Conditions that are most conducive to boiling are: low air pressure and high
temperature.

(A) Evaporation Flask/Round Bottomed Flask: contains the liquid that is to be

evaporated. It is attached to an axle that rotates the flask.
- The flask is connected to the rotary drive by the vapour duct.
- This creates a thin layer of solvent mixture on the sides of the flask that will
evaporate more quickly.
- the surface area is larger than normal which increases the evaporation rate
significantly.
The level of the liquid in the flask should not exceed 2/3 of the volume
(B) Heating Bath:
- filled with distilled water, which is heated and begins the evaporation
process.
- Distilled water should be used in the heating bath to minimize the scale
build up in the bath which coats the thermistor and heating coils.
It is very difficult to remove and reduces the efficiency of the bath. In
addition, regular
tap water will promote the growth of spectacularly
disgusting algae colonies, particularly during the summer months.
(C) Condenser Coil: As the solvent begins to evaporate, the glass case
surrounding the coil will begin to fill up with vapor. The condenser coil will

help to condense the vapor back into liquid to avoid dangerous pressure
buildups.
(D) Water Hose: Attached to an external water source, the water hose runs
cool water through the condenser coil (D) and keeps it cool enough to allow
the vapor to condense
(E) Vacuum Hose: Connected to an external vacuum pump, the vacuum hose
removes the air from the chamber surrounding the condenser coil (D). The
removal of air pressure by the vacuum hose allows the solvent to evaporate
faster and with less heat required from the heating dish (B).
(F) Pressure Valve: Cuts the chamber surrounding the condenser coil off
from the atmosphere, preventing any air pressure from replacing the air
removed by the vacuum hose (E).
(G) Collection Flask: When the evaporated solvent condenses on the
condenser coil (D), it drips down into the collection flask. Hence, it collects the
solvents from the condenser.

(H) Control Panel: This panel contains the controls for raising and lowering the
round bottomed flask in and out of the heating bath (B), the controls for the
speed of rotation of the flask, and controls for how warm the water in the
heating dish is.
Advantages of the rotary evaporator
- you can carry out single-stage distillation runs quickly and gently.
Rotary evaporators are used for:
- Distillation of solvent
Concentration of solutions and suspensions2
Crystallization or recrystallization3
- Synthesis4 and purifying of fine chemicals
Soxhlet extraction5
- Powder and granules drying
- Recycling of solvent