Controlled atmosphere oven

Abstract

An oven for heating a distillable material in a preselected gas atmosphere. The oven comprises an inner heating chamber adapted to receive a spherical gravity lid, the heating chamber being connected to and in communication with a gas exhaust tube having a condensate trap at the termination thereof. The inner heating chamber is also in communication with and surrounded by an outer gas flow chamber, the outer gas flow chamber having a plurality of heater elements therein. The gas exhaust tube is surrounded by an ante chamber which is in communication with the outer chamber. The heater elements are continuously monitored by a programmable controller and a thermocouple in communication therewith. During oven operation, a purge gas is introduced to the ante chamber and flows therefrom into the outer gas flow chamber around the heater elements and into the top of the inner heating chamber. The lighter purge gas initially displaces the denser oxygen within the inner heating chamber and urges it outward through the gas exhaust tube and an exhaust chimney connected thereto. During the heating phase, the preselected purge gas continuously purges the inner heating chamber of volatile gas from the heated distillable material. As the denser material gas is urged outward through the gas exhaust tube by the warm purge gas, the cool purge gas entering the ante chamber causes the material gas within the exhaust tube to condense therein and be collected in the condensate trap.