Sciencemadness Discussion Board

Distilation Setup Question Bump Trap

gtchemen - 22-11-2011 at 19:02

So in a vacuum distilation setup what
Distiling RBF has a bump trap ( used for rotary mantles)
i was assumeing when distiling and the vac is on and off. i have stuff flying over and wanted to slow or prevent it with something..

Do you think this serves a good purpose? i know its useually used in rotavaps but what if.....
whats your opinion?
cost doesnt matter btw...

fledarmus - 23-11-2011 at 05:19

I've never seen a rotovap-type bump trap used in a normal distillation setup, but except for the additional glassware that would need to be heated, I don't see how it would hurt. Usually efficient stirring or boiling stones and not filling the pot too full can take care of bumping problems, and for the stubborn systems, a short fractionating column or U-shaped addition fitting is sufficient.

I have used extra bulbs in bulb-to-bulb distillation systems to serve as a bump trap, but that is mainly because I can't use a stirrer in that type of system.

A valve to isolate your distillation system from your vacuum system and to break the vacuum in each system is important, however, to keep from bumping the system when you turn the vacuum on and off. Is that what you meant by stuff flying over?