Hexabromobenzene
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Polypropylene equipment
As my experiments have shown, polypropylene is an excellent material capable of with temperatures up to 120 degrees (it may deform slightly if thin
plastic is used).
Hydrolysis of starch with hot hydrochloric acid, hydrolysis of PET with alkali at 100 degrees and other experiments were carried out in polypropylene
containers
However, polypropylene has its drawbacks. Poor thermal conductivity. It cannot be heated on a stove or fire. Only an oven or a water bath
Polypropylene is also poorly resistant to non-polar solvents. It should be noted that non-polar solvents such as toluene DO NOT DISSOLVE
polypropylene. It only REVERSIBLY absorbs them in them, losing strength and becoming soft. Only at a temperature close to the melting point, solvents
such as xylene or kerosene begin to dissolve it.
If you use polypropylene periodically, it will have time to desorb the solvent. It also takes time to penetrate deep into the plastic. Days and weeks
Also concentrated oxidizers can damage this plastic, but only concentrated ones
You can weld polypropylene with a regular electric soldering iron making vessels for your needs.
Of course, many organic reactions require a temperature of 150 and above. But you can use a glass jar with polypropylene pipes. Even if they absorb
the solvent and become soft, this is not critical because significant strength is not required. Polypropylene is proposed to be used in syntheses
where it is impossible to use stainless steel due to the presence of acids. In any case, the water in your reaction mass will not heat up
significantly above 100. Pure solvents such as toluene can be distilled in stainless steel.
I think that using polypropylene pipes and glass jars, the following syntheses can be carried out: Synthesis of chlorobutane (chloroethane) from
butanol (ethanol) and hydrochloric acid, synthesis of diethyl ether, synthesis of ethyl acetate, butyl acetate (higher boiling ethers do not require
distillation, only distillation of water
You can also weld a separatory funnel from transparent plastic. Since it is used at room temperature, it will be resistant to everything
These are all developments if you need affordable equipment for distillation and gas collection. If you do not need distillation, a regular glass jar
in a water or sand bath is enough for you.
[Edited on 29-7-2025 by Hexabromobenzene]
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shadowflare
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yeah a lot of people seem to underestimate how useful/good common plastics are. hdpe and pp are cheap and incredibly resilient materials; they are
also easy to work. i almost never see them chosen outside of turbo ghetto builds despite this. ptfe is obviously better for some applications but
honestly most of the time you just don't need it and won't even notice a difference.
ive been chewing on the idea of making a distiller entirely out of pp for years, most of the plastic roadside litter stateside is pp, pet, or ps by my
anecdotal observation so it would be a great source of clean water for homeless/disaster victims. in theory it can handle boiling water, i've boiled
water to bone dry several times in microwave, but in order to boil water at a appreciable rate you can't just light a fire underneath. i could just
use a magnetron but that seems like cheating to me. my best idea thus far involves putting a heating element inside separate from the boiler walls but
that seems like cheating too, just not as much.
hdpe is also a really good and abundant polymer; ive used it quite extensively as well. it can survive boiling water to an extent, and has excellent
chemical resistance at room temp too. its heavier and mechanically weaker compared to pp though.
even less resilient polymers like ps have their uses. i have several pieces of equipment made from it like one of my washing stations. i tend not to
throw anything that can be made useful away, no income and all, so i'm more than a little biased 
the best source of pp ive found outside of buying it happens to be fast food cups; its usually high quality clear pp with few impurities and light
wear  if you're having trouble determining what type of plastic something is
sometimes you can just contact the manufacturer or distributor. for a example maruchan ramen has no labeling but contacting them through their website
listings reveals that they use pp. can save you a lot of time testing stuff yourself.
you may not care about safety procedures but safety procedures care about you
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Hexabromobenzene
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High density polyethylene has the best thermal conductivity among polymers(0.5 from glass) and can be used for heat exchanger for distillation
There is another interesting material. High molecular mass HDPE. I have bottle from this. It is much durable than common HDPE and feels even more
thermal conductivity
Due to higher molecular mass i expect higher softening temperature and better resist the effects of solvents
[Edited on 30-7-2025 by Hexabromobenzene]
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Hexabromobenzene
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Quote: Originally posted by shadowflare  |
ive been chewing on the idea of making a distiller entirely out of pp for years, most of the plastic roadside litter stateside is pp, pet, or ps by my
anecdotal observation so it would be a great source of clean water for homeless/disaster victims. in theory it can handle boiling water, i've boiled
water to bone dry several times in microwave, but in order to boil water at a appreciable rate you can't just light a fire underneath. i could just
use a magnetron but that seems like cheating to me. my best idea thus far involves putting a heating element inside separate from the boiler walls but
that seems like cheating too, just not as much.
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It is possible to make a polypropylene distiller. Even a rectification column. But you need a heating element resistant to the environment. If you
make ethanol, this is not a problem. But if you use acid solutions, it will not be easy to find a resistant heater.
Also use polyethylene cooler due to its more thermal conductivity
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shadowflare
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actually, its the opposite. thermal conductivity is a material's ability to transfer heat in other words kinetic energy. there are several factors
involved however generally speaking increased molecular weight will decrease conductivity. i'm sure there are exceptions out there, of course. that
being said, a increased density increases thermal mass; so if the contact is brief it should feel like its drawing more heat because the
temperature difference remains relatively large.
that being said uhmw hdpe isn't that much lower than regular hdpe, but it is more rare and expensive so i wouldn't use it personally. when it comes
to condensers thermal conductivity isn't such a big deal if you increase the surface area and use a contraflow exchanger. what matters when condensing
a liquid isn't the rate per m/2 its the rate overall; but higher conductivity does allow for smaller/simpler setups.
you may not care about safety procedures but safety procedures care about you
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shadowflare
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*laughs in 12 year old ptfe plumbing tape*
yeah, wrapping steel wire in plumbing tape should do the trick, if you don't have suitable resistive wire people throw out bricked smart toasters left
and right here in the states, dunno about other places but that's probably the easiest source here.
i think you can buy ptfe tape for basically nothing too, but i usually don't go to stores unless its to apply for work so my info is severely out of
date. when i was like 12 i remember seeing ptfe tape being sold for a dollar. i think it'll be adjacent to plumbing stuff, its commonly used on pipe
threads. beware of thermal decomposition products and leeching, definitely not food grade give it a few runs before you even think of using the output
for consumption.
forgot to mention, you need to get the wire hot in order to melt/bond the tape. also rough up the surface a bit to at least promote a little adhesion,
the stuff is used in nonstick pans for a reason. there will be fumes.
[Edited on 30-7-2025 by shadowflare]
you may not care about safety procedures but safety procedures care about you
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Hexabromobenzene
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Yes, you are right. Reference data does not show a significant increase or decrease in thermal conductivity of high molecular weight polyethylene.
I have a bottle of this plastic available and I want to conduct experiments. It is really hard. Does not look like plastic at all. More like metal. At
the same time, it is quite thin, so it is good for a cooler.
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shadowflare
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ive heard it more often described as ceramic, similar to what you get from removing all the lignin and such from softwood then compressing it into a
thin tile.
you may not care about safety procedures but safety procedures care about you
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