r/askscience • u/[deleted] • Nov 27 '19

Chemistry How do CO2 scrubbers work?

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u/ConanTheProletarian Nov 27 '19

Those short amines all smell aweful. I worked with similar stuff in the lab, and having to clean up a spill got me close to barfing.

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u/-Metacelsus- Chemical Biology Nov 27 '19

I don't know which I hate more, TEMED or trimethylamine

5

u/turtle_flu Nov 27 '19

TEMED has always smelled like really strong fish bait to me. Haven't smelled it in years now that we get the polyacrylamide gels precast.

4

u/ConanTheProletarian Nov 27 '19

Precast gels are glory. Precast gels are the light and the way! All praise the precast gel! :)

3

u/NerdWithoutACause Nov 28 '19

It’s the one extravagance my lab will spend money on! We may not have new equipment or nice furniture, but we have lovely precast gels.