Sciencemadness Discussion Board

PTFE Raschig Rings at Affordable Prices

Sauron - 20-6-2008 at 06:18

I recently reported here on a commercial source for ceramic burl saddles in 6mm at a relatively low cost, about $100 for 1250 pcs (c.1 liter volume). Do the sums, that is about 8 cents per piece.

6mm is too large for small colums.

So I obtained quotes from a local PTFE tubing manufacturer for a variety of sizes from 3 mm to 6 mm OD all with 0.5 mm wall and cut to same length as OD. I asked for qty 5000 each.

I was quoted between 4 and 6 US cents per piece.

This includes the material.

So if anyone wants some of this at my cost, please let me know.

3 mm OD x 3 mm long, 2 mm ID
4 mm OD x 4 mm long, 3 mm ID
5 mm OD x 5 mm long, 4 mm ID
6 mm OD x 6 mm long, 5 mm ID

This tubing is extruded from Dupont PTFE resin. They also make 1mm wall which is even stiffer.

I will sell this by volume and will only have a good estimate of pcs per L or pcs per 200 ml, after measuring actual product However that will not affect the unit cost (per piece) which will remain in the 4 to 6 US cents range.

[Edited on 20-6-2008 by Sauron]

-jeffB - 20-6-2008 at 09:46

Forgive me if this is trivial or obvious, but how much difference does wettability of the rings make? Should PTFE rings perform better or worse than ceramic or glass, where the vapor/liquid in question "sticks" better to one than the other?

Phosphor-ing - 20-6-2008 at 12:09

@Sauron which size would be the best for a 19/22 jointed column? I would be interested in enough of that size to fill a 30cm column.

Magpie - 20-6-2008 at 12:15

I also have a 19/22 column but it would have a working length of only about 18cm. I've calculated 32ml of rings would fill it. So I'm thinking I should get 100mL while I'm at it.

The column ID appears to be ~15mm. What size ring would you recommend for that ID?

Sauron - 20-6-2008 at 13:40

For such small columns I think the 3mm rings make sense.

Those are 3mm OD, 3mm long and 2mm ID. '

These are about 4 cents each, compared to 10 cents from Chemglass and 40 cents from Aldrich.

I will pack them same as Chemglass, in 200 ml and 1 liter volumes. When I have a better idea of what that means in terms of number of pieces for any given size I will post here.

Glass raschiga this small are not available and neither are ceramic saddles AFAIK.

MagicJigPipe - 20-6-2008 at 14:10

This sounds like a pretty good deal and I would love to have some for my 24/40 300mm column, but what about international shipping costs? Wouldn't that be at least $20?

Sauron - 20-6-2008 at 21:06

Nah. These things are very light and I have friends travelling to the US all the time who can bring them in and mail them on domestically.

Not a big deal. They are essentially little plastic beads. Declared that way, it's a snore.