Hey everyone,
Haven’t been able to find an example of this so turning to the forum! Has anyone used/seen the use of a glass jacketed reactor outfitted with a distillation system for ethanol recovery after winterization of CO2 crude? See link below for a set up by Chemglass. I’ve been assessing the ecochyll units and I believe I can configure a similar product at a fraction of the cost using this rig.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!
The major difference of the ecochyll systems is the condenser design which uses metals better heat transfer properties and increased cooling efficiency over glass. This chemglass usnit is using glass, exactly what ecochyll says separates their system from the rest. So how is this even close to a ecochyll?
Are you wanting to winterize your material then send the filtrate into this reactor to distill off the ethanol? If so that should work. Still not even close to what the ecochyll says it can handle but it could work. One glaring issue for me is the price.
20L Distillation kit: $12,847.45
50L Reactor: $19,665.00
Touch-science chillers: 2 @ $5500
Heater: $2000
Total= just get a bunch of Chinese 20L setups. Winterize using cheap CLS spool, filter plates, and positive pressure into a poly drum that your feed lines into your rotos suck from.
I think this has a pretty big advantage over a rotavap though, namely that you can run hot oil above 100C without any concern about making a mess.
I turn my roto all the way to 145C no problem
Similar in that you’re not dealing with massive round bottom flasks associated with multiple roto-vaps. I like that configuration from an operability perspective. The chiller differentiation is exactly the feedback I was looking for. Wondering if this can get similar recovery rates to ecochyll claims…ie. 50L at 3-4GPH. At $50K all in, that would be a good solution.
The main reason I’m even looking into alternative methods is because I want to avoid having multiple 20L rotovaps. Willing to pay a bit of a premium upfront to reduce operator headcount and intervention.
And then you turn them upside down and pour out of them after cleaning the oil off the outside? That just seems like a sketchy operation to me with much risk of cross contamination.
The oil doesnt reach the neck so u just have to prevent it from reaching it when pouring.
I have a rounded scrapper that is the same shape as the flask. I lower the bath, scrape it, use 4 paper towels to wipe it down, replace my gloves, put on insulated gloves and pour
I doubt this setup would get you in the 3-4GPH evaporation range but I could be wrong and I see what you are saying about the multiple rotos. the condensing surface area of this particular seems to small for 3-4GPH again I could be wrong, and in this case would love to be! If you are willing to invest in automation Id go the German made Hei-VAP Industrial rout with their Distimatic Automatic Module. You can operate the unit 24/7, it has a 3 year warranty, is GMP certified, is the safest option you will find (the system is enclosed by shielding), and the ability to tightly control vapor pressure, temp, vacuum and more is absurd! With the right settings you can get 100L/8hrs and by running it 24/7 on auto pilot even better numbers. Im sure @Sidco_Cat can shed more light on the unit and all of its benefits. Total investment for automation module and 20L is around $130K
WTF! Dude that’s a killer deal how’d you land that!?
Im a farmer I find great deals on equipment for a living 
You can make a very beefy version of this on the cheap if you go all stainless. It would definitely not take long before it beats rotavaps in value and much more durable.
Just customize your reactor so you can break vac as little as possible. Unlike a rotovap - you can actually put 20l in a 20l reactor. Never bumped over on me and if it did it would have to go up the dispenser. Way better than a rotovap but you still want higher efficiencies than what they can offer.
