Jackson
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Registered: 22-5-2018
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Mood:  Happy about new glassware
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Proper scrubbing for a glove box
Im trying to make a glove box because right now my parents have obvious concerns about safety while doing chemisty. My question is about the air
exiting the box. I want to try and scrub the air from most contaminates such as SO2 NO2 Cl2 and organic solvents. How should I go about this. What I
was thinking was running the air through a cold trap to remove the organics and then bubbling through an acid, then through a base, and finally
passing it through a filter. Is this a viable way to do this? Am i over complicating it? Am I not taking everthing into account?
I plan to use stainless steel tubing. Would it be ok to use or should I change it for something like PVC or PTFE?
Thanks,
Jackson
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Sulaiman
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I would treat the glovebox as a second line of defence,
the first being to keep all waste products contained within the glassware.
It is easier to use scrubbers for low-volume high-concentration gasses
- before they escape the glassware.
This would allow airflow to dilute any escaped gasses to acceptable levels
and be piped a safe distance away.
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macckone
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Sulaiman is correct.
Generally glove boxes are sealed systems.
They either require complete removal of oxygen or contain things you don't want escaping at all like nerve agents or viruses.
A better solution might be a gloved fume hood where all gasses are exiting the building.
Fume hood exhaust scrubbers in professional settings are generally treated filters. So there is an acid filter before the fan consisting of a sodium
carbonate and activated charcoal impregnated material. The material is flame retardant and can withstand a good amount of heat. The filters are
about $200 each.
A professional fume hood also contains a halon or carbon dioxide system in case of fire. Obviously some types of fires won't go out with halon or
carbon dioxide but they make other extinguishing systems for that kind of work.
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Jackson
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Really i just need to have some sort of filter so my parents let me do chemistry. They are generally afraid of chemicals and will not let me do
chemistry unless its something like baking soda and vinegar or i use some sort of containment.
I really meant something like a gloved fume hood.
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walruslover69
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i'm not recommending that you do this, but..... if you your parents don't know anything about chemistry you could probably just make something that
looks fancy and doesn't have to be functional and just give them some BS.
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macckone
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Build a wooden box that is big enough for your equipment.
Get a plexiglass sheet that can be split to cover the front.
use a saw to create two grooves for the plexiglass.
Fix one sheet in the upper part in the groove.
Then make the other one a sliding sheet.
Take a plenum fan and a section of flexible plenum.
Put the plenum fan attached to the box.
Route the flexible plenum out a window.
In an ideal world the plenum fan is explosion resistant.
if you really want a glove box.
cut two holes in the plexiglass that slides and attach gloves.
You can coat the interior with gasoline resistant epoxy paint.
Which will also resist flames and most chemicals.
You may also want to install a light bulb (not florescent) inside the box.
If the switch is outside the box, it is pretty explosion resistant by default.
Ideally the box is 4 ft high x 4 ft wide x 3 ft deep.
I would go for more width over height or depth.
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CharlieA
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I like maccone's description of a simple fume hood. Instead of plexiglass, I would substitute clear polycarbonate (more shatter resistant). I bought
some at a big box store.
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macckone
Dispenser of practical lab wisdom
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plexiglass is cheaper and looks better.
polycarbonate is better if you expect things to go boom but costs 50 to 100% more.
laminated glass with a polycarbonate center is the best but also the most expensive.
PS. laminated glass would also require counter weights as it is heavy.
[Edited on 10-10-2018 by macckone]
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