I have an old "Waters 501 HPLC Pump" - I wanted to know what solvents this system is compatible with? I don't want to use it for LC, I want to use it as a pump for some organic chemistry flow reactions. Any ideas or a good website/reference?
I assume it can be used for normal phase, so organic solvents should be ok, but I really wanted to know about toluene.
Thanks
Would certainly depend if you have tubing that are stainless steel or those polymeric (plastic) ones, which may not resist toluene !
May be only halogenated solvent should be avoided depending on the tube..........other solvents may be ok i think.
It should be fine for toluene as this is used for both normal phase and gel permeation chromatography. The components of the pump are stainless steel and rubies for the check valve with a sapphire piston. I forget what materials are used in the check valve seats and pump seals.
Remember to filter whatever is going to be run through the pump since the check valves are spring-loaded. If something gets stuck between the check valve and the valve seat, the spring tends to hold it in place preventing it from being washed away.
I've used dichloromethane and toluene with both PEEK and PTFE tubing; the most common tubing you'll find (1/16" OD tubing) that will fit that pump is PEEK.
We used toluene in an old 501; worked fine. Really quite an inert and rugged pump. Didn't have high pressure capabilities but it was bulletproof.
Thanks all, The pump is working great. I have one last question. I Have it set up to flow thru a photoreactor. One thing that i'm noticing is i'm getting a lot of bubbles coming out of the pump. No bubbles are being sucked in from the solvent reservoir, but air bubbles are coming out. any thoughts?
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