Rotary evaporators are mainly used for distillation or separation applications often used for medicinal chemistry, pharmaceutical, chromatography, and petrochemical fields. Rotovap systems work by increasing the rate of evaporation of the solvent through the following:
- Reducing the pressure to lower the solvent boiling point.
- Rotating the sample to increase the effective surface area.
- Heating the solution.
- Condensing the evaporated solvent in a cooled glass condenser