crestind
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Inhibiting Foaming During Distillation
I have a very basic distillation kit like the one shown here.
http://www.glasswaresforlab.com/cmtimages/glass_distillation...
How can I prevent foaming during distillation without adding chemicals to the mix? I probably need some sort of 90 degree angled stirring device to
break up the foam or maybe some sort of filter. I know what I need, but I don't know the specific name of the apparatus I'm searching for.
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crazyboy
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Usually I find magnetic stirring works to break up foam, failing that take it easy on the heating. If it just keeps foaming take a look at this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defoamer. Maybe add some silicone oil to the reaction to break the surface tension.
What reaction is this by the way?
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Hexavalent
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In professional labs, special anti-foaming agernts are added to the reaction mix. However, these can be difficult to procure, so, if I'm ever faced
with foam, I try the following:
-Use a vigreux column
-Add a drop of washing up liquid to break surface tensions
-As aforementioned, use magnetic stirring
-Finally, just let the foam go - collect the distillate you get, and then re-distill it again (this time, there is usually no foam or it is minimal).
"Success is going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Winston Churchill
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Bot0nist
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IIRC, baby's anti-gas drops can be used to success if it wont interfear with the reaction/seperation. I believe I read it in one of peach's writeups.
I'm going to hunt for it now.
U.T.F.S.E. and learn the joys of autodidacticism!
Don't judge each day only by the harvest you reap, but also by the seeds you sow.
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crestind
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It's an organic solution with lots of dissolved salts, proteins, sugar, etc. That's why it foams.
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