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Chemistry Forums for Students => Organic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: foxthreefour on May 21, 2018, 07:29:37 PM

Title: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: foxthreefour on May 21, 2018, 07:29:37 PM

Hi, I have a fair amount of Copper Hydroxide and Iron Hydroxide sludge to filter from aqueous solutions across multiple reactions. What would be the maximum micron size I could use to filter it effectively as it blocks up filters like nothing else.

Thanks.

Title: Re: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: Arkcon on May 21, 2018, 09:42:14 PM

It depends on your reaction, but these are likely very fine precipitates.  Just about any filter: filter paper, glass wool, whatever is going to clog sooner or later.

If you have access to a centrifuge, you can make the best pellet possible, and decant.

I have to assume, you have some water-soluble synthesized organic in the aqueous phase, and you can't spare even a drop of loss?  Because that just comes with the territory of these sorts of precipitates, you have to accept some loss.  There are other things you can do, if you think about what you really need.

Title: Re: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: rolnor on May 22, 2018, 04:24:39 AM

Celite?

Title: Re: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: foxthreefour on May 24, 2018, 05:09:55 PM

Quote from: Arkcon on May 21, 2018, 09:42:14 PM

It depends on your reaction, but these are likely very fine precipitates.  Just about any filter: filter paper, glass wool, whatever is going to clog sooner or later.

If you have access to a centrifuge, you can make the best pellet possible, and decant.

I have to assume, you have some water-soluble synthesized organic in the aqueous phase, and you can't spare even a drop of loss?  Because that just comes with the territory of these sorts of precipitates, you have to accept some loss.  There are other things you can do, if you think about what you really need.

Thank you.

A drop of loss won't be the end of the world, but it seems decanting is going to be the best way. Was just wondering if there was something extremely simple I was overlooking.

Title: Re: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: Babcock_Hall on May 24, 2018, 05:26:31 PM

Is centrifugation is out of the question?

Title: Re: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: foxthreefour on May 28, 2018, 07:35:37 PM

Quote from: Babcock_Hall on May 24, 2018, 05:26:31 PM

Is centrifugation is out of the question?

No, but to scale up in future it may be.

Title: Re: Filter size for transition metal hydroxide sludge.
Post by: Arkcon on May 29, 2018, 10:06:04 AM

For molecular biology purposes, large capacity centrifuges are well-used in university laboratories.  So that's something you can look into if you need more capacity for a short time.  For industrial purposes, tangential flow filtration is also a well-known process, and you can even find them for very small laboratory scales.