In many laboratories, whether biological or chemistry, vacuum filtration is required for sample processing.
Laboratory filtration apparatus forms an important segment of the laboratory equipment sector. That is why it is very necessary to know how to set up a proper vacuum filtration in biological or chemistry laboratories. It so happens that in many colleges and universities, the training provided is very minimal and there are instances of many major and minor accidents if the proper procedures are not followed. We provide a simple guideline on how to properly set up vacuum filtration.
Vacuum Filtration
Setting up a proper vacuum filtration is to choose the right type of apparatus. It is advisable to use a thick walled tubing to stand up to vacuum. It is also important to have some vacuum guard. These trap moisture inside them as they are well designed filters. These filters are important to protect the vacuum line. Moreover, no moisture should enter the tube. The right type of glassware should also be selected. Due to vacuum conditions, glassware needs to be specifically designed for it. That is why, the glass is thicker than other types of glassware used in the laboratory and there is also a side arm in which you can connect the tubing to them.
After selecting the appropriate apparatus, you find a 17 inch long tube or slightly longer tube. Connect this tube to the vacuum line at one end. At the other end, the vacuum guard should be fixed.
Take another piece of tube of length approx. 10 inch and connect this to the other end of the vacuum guard. Now the vacuum tubing should be connected to the side arm of the flask.
This is the most simple method of vacuum filtration set up. In this set up, a funnel of appropriate size and a filter adapter can be placed on top of the flask for vacuum filtration. It is important to clamp down the flask while the filtration process is going on so as to avoid tipping.
