Hello Debbie,

I would suggest simply wrapping the column with aluminum foil. You would be surprised how well foil does on keeping columns insulated. You can also use cheesecloth between the glass and the foil. I have done this several times on distillations and it worked fine. Just make sure the system is setup before you start the heating process.

If done correctly, a heat gun should not be necessary. Just make sure your glass joints are treated with a small amount of Krytox grease. Silicon grease can be sued, but Krytox is more impervious to DMSO, and comes off easily with treatment of EtOAc.

Cheers!

-George

**************************************************************
George D. McCallion, CHMT
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Collegeville, PA 19426

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‰??If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail"
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> On Sep 30, 2015, at 4:00 PM, Debbie M. Decker wrote:
>
> Hi:
>
> My newest researcher will be using a column purification system to purify his suite of solvents for organic synthesis. One of those is DMSO. It freezes at about room temperature. He wishes to use a heating tape to keep it gooey enough to go through the column. Here‰??s what he‰??s proposing to use: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1WyMYFX&d=BQIFaQ&c=lb62iw4YL4RFalcE2hQUQealT9-RXrryqt9KZX2qu2s&r=meWM1Buqv4IQ27AlK1OJRjcQl09S1Zta6YXKalY_Io0&m=fhoYJduk2-4Rx6ckvjCrMn5wXTtdpvs7QpSqTeOfc_Q&s=h12j6caRQGgpvn-oqPtUASE8rLLyUwN1lh9qu0rndfc&e=
>
> I‰??m inclined to say go ahead, so long as he installs this column at the end of the rack and in proximity to the least flammable of the other solvents. I‰??m also wondering if he should just have it on at low temperature all the time or wait until they have a problem and then thaw it using a heat gun. I don‰??t like the heat gun idea, particularly, but there are also risks associated with having something heating all the time.
>
> What do ya‰??ll think?
>
> Thanks,
> Debbie
>
> Debbie M. Decker, CCHO, ACS Fellow
> Chair, Division of Chemical Health and Safety
> University of California, Davis
> (530)754-7964
> (530)304-6728
> dmdecker**At_Symbol_Here**ucdavis.edu
>
> Birkett's hypothesis: "Any chemical reaction
> that proceeds smoothly under normal conditions,
> can proceed violently in the presence of an idiot."

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