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Author: Subject: Practice distillation of acetone.
zasx20
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smile.gif posted on 15-5-2011 at 19:22
Practice distillation of acetone.


I took and still used my hot water buffer method(putting the acetone containing vessel into hot water), but this time i used some plastic pipe that doesn't seem to be attacked by the acetone(Last time i used rubber), then that tube attaches to a make-shift cold finger apparatus( a test tube filled with freezer-chilled alcohol{Isopropyl rubbing[excuse the spelling]}) in an old pop bottle, and as it turns out my test tube fit perfectly inside the mouth of the bottle so they will dangle into the container. the tube goes into the bottles side, where the fumes will pass by the cold finger and then the acetone fumes will condense and collect at the bottom. i got it to work using my previous set up, but as i dont have any lab equipment, i have to make do with what i have. i test all of my distillate by dropping some of it onto Styrofoam, and if it begins to melt it, it is near pure. i have only gotten one batch to work thus far and before i continue i would like your opinion. i also plan on distilling the distillate two more times to obtain a more pure product. i also have a problem with the fumes of the acetone, and if you could suggest a way of minimizing the fumes, that would be greatly appreciated

your thoughts opinions and suggestions are appreciated!
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 01:15


You have a nice idea about distillation apparatus. I also have some questions about that.

http://www.nurturecenter.com/images/products/large_1235_mede...

Is PVC tubing like this one very resistant to chemical solvents like acetone and chloroform? I want to distill chloroform using this method if possible.
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 02:03


You may find that PVC tube contains plasticisers like dialkyl phthalates that will leach out and contaminate your solvent.
It may not matter for some purposes but depending on what you are doing you might find that they are annoying or interfere with your experiment.
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 12:36


i think its clear PVC fish tank tubing to be honest, i dont have much real lab ware...
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 12:40


I would imagine chloroform being able to attack PVC! But I'm not sure.
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plante1999
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 14:01


With my experiment Chloroform attak PTFE! witch i was thinking to be impossible but...



I never asked for this.
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cyanureeves
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 14:03


zasx20 i dont understand how the tubing goes into the side of the coke bottle. do you mean down into the bottle along side the test tube? you distilled acetone with additives to get pure acetone?
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 18:44


I put a small hole about half way down the bottle to let it in, i distill nail polish remover into pure acetone so i can practice,and build techniques
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Neil
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 19:12


I've had Trimethyl Borate vapors kill PVC tube. The vapors turned it white/opaque and made it very stiff. Eventually the tube turned a tan color and became brittle enough that it could be snapped. I've also had acetone kill PVC over long exposures at room temperature. The clear blueish soft pipe slowly turns opaque/white and stiffens up, which sounds about right for it losing it's plasticizers as per ScienceSquirrels post.

A piece of clear aquarium PVC pipe in a one use H2S scrubber, for hydrolyzing the sulfide slag off a small silicon thermite, rapidly hardened up/degraded. I'm not sure if it was the H2S or the Clorox.

I once stuck a piece in Muriatic to see what would happen, it degraded similarly. Aquarium PVC sucks, anything other then air and water eventually kill it. :P
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 16-5-2011 at 19:34


yea it is getting soft after just uses... i give it another before i need more, and it did work, i got about 5ml of fairly pure acetone, it ate away at Styrofoam, and i light on fire with little residue left over, but my apparatus wasn't, it ended up refluxing from the bent tube coming out of the heated test tube.... but i now have a low temp reflux idea... i plan on "perfecting" the idea and hopefully getting it to work better
PS- it was strong enough to eat away at the bottle it was in, and brought tiny beads of PVC with... so it works
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[*] posted on 17-5-2011 at 01:40


Maybe then copper pipe could be used instead, maybe it's more resistant?
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 17-5-2011 at 13:09


copper might work, assuming it doesn't react with acetone or water very quickly... any ideas for a non-plastic based apparatus that will work? i have to be able to put holes in it...
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 17-5-2011 at 13:10


and i also need a better cold finger...

[Edited on 17-5-2011 by zasx20]
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[*] posted on 17-5-2011 at 13:49


coke can from aluminum, cork stopper and copper pipe could be a good one
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 17-5-2011 at 17:55


it needs to have a 205mm opening so the tube will fit in, but not fall in
a nail-polish remover container?

[Edited on 18-5-2011 by zasx20]
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[*] posted on 17-5-2011 at 19:16


Quote: Originally posted by zasx20  
it needs to have a 205mm opening so the tube will fit in, but not fall in
a nail-polish remover container?

[Edited on 18-5-2011 by zasx20]


you could use a copper pipe with an old paint stipper bottle


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zasx20
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[*] posted on 18-5-2011 at 03:22


that might work, is this yours or just a photo?
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cyanureeves
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[*] posted on 18-5-2011 at 04:32


#maverick# is that hooch brewing? i got some corn mash fermenting right now but i think it had air leaking in. i used an old paint stripper can like you said with aluminum tubing and red silicone. for sure copper would be better i just did this set up because all the ingredients and bucket were collected from a dumpster. my alcohol was weak because my mash was weak but i noticed that the alcohol came over at just before boiling and after that it was mostly water.i'm going to get ready with copper tubing now. this aluminum tubing worked great for distilling DCM straight from the can like hkparker did on youtube.on that set up you have pictured,will overheating or overboiling affect ethanol production?
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[*] posted on 18-5-2011 at 04:35


Quote: Originally posted by zasx20  
that might work, is this yours or just a photo?

Nope just a photo to illustrate what I meant but I have one out a paint strip can
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zasx20
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[*] posted on 19-5-2011 at 13:05


ok ill look into it
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theflickkk
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[*] posted on 22-5-2011 at 03:20


Hmm I plan to distill acetone based nail polish remover with a glass distillation set-up, using a water bath as a heat source. Is this too harzados to attempt? I've read on wikipedia that a concentration of acetone vapours between 2.5 and 12.5%, the vapours could potentially self-ignite. I do not want to run the risk of having explosions so I'll like to know about the safety issues associated with such an attempt. Is it safe to do the distillation I plan to and what safety precautions should I employ? Thanks!
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Neil
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[*] posted on 23-5-2011 at 13:00


Search the forum archives. Of particular note are posts by Vulture raising the possibility of organic peroxides.
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[*] posted on 23-5-2011 at 19:52


If you have a glass distillation set up with actual glass ware I wouldn't worry about it - but then again I learn a lot of stuff the hard way.

Glass ware ain't that expensive - save up a pay check and wait for someone on this forum to start selling... 100 bux gets you a long ways. 200 gets you all the way :)... in my experience.

don't know about the peroxides though.
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theflickkk
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[*] posted on 25-5-2011 at 05:38


I've read through the posts by vulture regarding the formation of peroxides. I doubt I'll allow the distillation to run to near completion because all I need is a 50ml of acetone from 300ml of nail polish remover. I can't purchase pure acetone that's why I'm doing this.

So if i'm using a glass distillation set up with actual glassware it should be fine? I do have that on hand and i plan to use it.
Thank you
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theflickkk
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[*] posted on 31-5-2011 at 00:11


I just carried out the distillation of nail polish remover. The nail polish remover contained Acetone, water, BHT, D-panthenol and glycerin. From what I gathered, the boiling point of acetone is roughly 56 degrees celsius. However, I noticed that the temperature on the thermometer was a constant 67 degrees celsius. What could have been the cause? Is there any way to remove the contaminant? I do not need the acetone to be incredibly pure, I'm just curious to know why.

Thank you!
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