Chemical Cleaning Systems
Chemical cleaning systems are used in laboratories to purify chemical reagents that will be used to run trace analysis. Being able to detect trace amounts of an element is an important tool in environmental, industrial, and health sciences. In order to know that the particles detected in analysis came from the sample and not the reagents used to run the test, it is critical that the reagents are purified. Purified reagents can be purchased, but it is much less expensive to buy less pure compounds and clean, or purify, them yourself. The chemical cleaning systems work by evaporating the reagent and then distilling it. The top layer of the reagent is heated slowly and gently by the chemical cleaning system so that it will evaporate without boiling, as this can cause the liquid to spray into the distillation tube causing contaminants to end up in the cleaned solution.