Dear Lab Guy,
I am looking for a system that can take a sample dripping from a rod that has been dipped into a reactor and not expose the operator to the dangerous solvent in the media.
Now, the samples are taken by lifting the rod in a ventilated tube with a hole in the side and a 25ml glass bottle is inserted by hand and filled only to a very small part. The bottle gets product on the outside and the ventilation is not enough to protect the operator. If you have an idea for taking a sample, without introducing shear forces on the media, since its a suspension for making gel, I would be very grateful.
My idea right now would require a small (1-2cm2) sample scoop that could be inserted under the lifted sample rod and then enclosed in the same type of bottle that is used today, eliminating the spill on the outside.
Kind regards-
David E
Hi David,
Interesting conundrum, but I’m still missing some pieces to the puzzle.
When you say “dipped into a reactor and not expose the operator to the dangerous solvent in the media”, what kind of danger are we speaking of, and, how far away/how protected does the operator have to be?
When you say “I am looking for a system that can take a sample dripping from a rod”, I could recommend products such as Polystop Dropper Bottles, F11604-0030. The slight suction or capillary action could hold your sample until it is placed into the glass storage bottle.
When you go on to say, “Now, the samples are taken by lifting the rod in a ventilated tube with a hole in the side and a 25ml glass bottle is inserted by hand and filled only to a very small part. The bottle gets product on the outside and the ventilation is not enough to protect the operator”, I am thinking about the Safety Acid/Caustic Sampler, H37801-0000 which opens up and takes a collection.
Similarly, but without contaminating the outside of the bottle, the Sample Thief, F37878-0000 can hold the sample in the tube until it is placed into a sample container, and then the suction can be released, thus allowing the sample to flow into the container.
I can also suggest a porous polyethylene rod, like our Fritware Porous Rods, F13635-0014 that could hold your media until it is placed into a container, and the length holding your sample (say, one inch) could be cut off and fall into the sample container. Other wicking-type solutions would be similar to felt tip markers and diabetes test strips.
So David, these are my ideas for now. If you could give me some more information, I may be able to give better, more specific answers, but I do hope these suggestions helped and perhaps gave you other ideas to solve your sample collection dilemma.
