Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware CO N T E N T S Glass: The Invisible Container . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Glass Technical Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 PYREX® Glassware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 PYREXPLUS® Glassware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ....

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware PYREX glassware comes in a wide variety of laboratory shapes, sizes and degrees of accuracy — a design to meet every experimental need. From the 16th century to today, chemical researchers have used glass containers for a very basic reason: the glass container is transparent, almost invisible and so its contents and reactions within it are clearly visible. But because chemists must heat, cool and mix chemical substances, ordinary glass is not adequate for laboratory work. A chemistry laboratory requires special heat and chemically resistant glass....

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware Table 2. Chemical Composition of VYCOR Code 7913 Glass Corning® products are made from different glass compositions which are sold under a variety of brand names. The following information summarizes some of the properties of these glasses. PYREX® Glassware Most PYREX glassware is made from Code No. 7740 PYREX borosilicate glass, the most widely known of Corning’s family of low expansion Type 1, Class A borosilicate glasses (ASTM E438 Standard Specification for Glasses in Laboratory Apparatus). It comes closest to being the ideal glass for most laboratory...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware S U G G E ST I O N S F O R S A F E U S E O F P Y R E X ® G L A S SWA R E PYREX glassware has proven itself to be tough and reliable during over 90 years of demanding use in the laboratory environment. The PYREX name is associated with high quality, corrosion and thermally resistant laboratory glassware throughout the world. Corning® products are designed and produced with safety in mind, but it’s very important to remember that most glassware products are designed for specific applications. Be sure you have the right piece of glassware for the use...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware Do not heat glassware that is etched, cracked, chipped, nicked, or scratched. It is more prone to break. When using electrically heated hot plates be sure to check the wiring and the connector plug for wear. If signs of wear appear, have the plug and/or wire replaced immediately. Do not use the hot plate until it is repaired. A frayed wire or damaged plug can cause a severe electrical shock. Glassware with thick walls, such as bottles and jars, should not be heated over a direct flame or comparable heat source. We suggest the use of our 16790 VYCOR...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware Fill glassware only half full with liquids to be sterilized. Take into account the volume of liquid to be autoclaved. A 2L flask containing 1L of liquid takes much longer to sterilize than four 500 mL flasks each containing 250 mL of liquid. Do a test run when autoclaving larger volumes of liquid to make sure the liquid has reached 121ºC. Suspend an autoclave thermometer (with a thin wire) in the middle of the liquid filled container to record the highest temperature reached. Then check its reading after the autoclave run is finished, if the temperature...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware If a ground joint sticks, the following procedure will generally free it. Immerse the joint in a glass container of freshly poured carbonated liquid (soda). You will be able to see the liquid penetrate between the ground surfaces. When the surfaces are wet (allow 5 to 10 minutes submersion) remove the joint and rinse with tap water. Wipe away excess water. Then gently warm the wall of the outer joint by rotating it for 15 to 20 seconds over a low Bunsen burner flame. (Be sure that 50% of the inner surface is wet before inserting the joint in the...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware Your attention to a few details regarding the use and care of this product will maximize product life and will provide you with a safer laboratory vessel. Q Do not place PYREXPLUS® glassware over direct heat or open flame. Do not expose to dry heat above 110°C (230°F). PYREXPLUS separatory funnels Do not autoclave above have a protective PVC coating 121°C (250°F). for better gripping and to reduce spills. Do not continuously expose PYREXPLUS glassware to temperatures above 80°C. Do not refrigerate below -20°C (-4°F). Do not remove the protective...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware Should the coating appear clouded due to dissolved moisture, simply let dry overnight at room temperature or briefly heat to 110°C (230°F). Labeling and Marking Use water-based markers for temporary marking or labeling of the PYREXPLUS® glassware coating. Solvent-based markers, dyes and stains cannot be removed from the coating. Note: A slight “plastic” odor may be detected when handling PYREXPLUS glassware. This is due to additives in the plastic coating which are responsible for its superior performance. The odor is normal and will not affect the...

Care and Safe Handling of Laboratory Glassware Operating Pressures Fritted glassware is designed primarily for vacuum filtration or for gas flow at relatively low pressures. If used for pressure work, the MAXIMUM differential on the disc should not exceed 15 pounds per square inch. Care should be taken when preparing sample solutions to avoid trapping air. If dissolved air is present, the flow rate may be reduced by up to 50%. Thermal Limitations The resistance to thermal shock of fritted glassware is less than that of solid PYREX® glassware. Therefore, fritted glassware should not be subjected...