MichiganMadScientist
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Got TONS of Pet. Ether. What to do with it?
Hi There:
I recently chanced upon a large stash of so-called "Petroleum Ether," which to the slightly educated on this board, is known to not actually be ether
at all.
Which is regrettable, since I literally have 17 gallons of it. I knew it wasn't ether when I took it, but it was free, so I took it anyways.
My question is: What the heck is it useful for in the context of a chem lab? The only time I've ever personally used the stuff as a solvent for Thin
Layer Chromatography. I've done some preliminary digging, and I understand it to be a useful as a generic nonpolar solvent............but does anyone
else have any idea for other lab uses?
Thanks. 
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Pyro
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in Belgium it is known as ''Wasbenzine'' and ''vlekkenwater''
I is used as paint thinner, cleaning surfaces before painting and removing grease stains from clothes. If you lived here we' buy it from you, living
on a boat we go through close to 25L every painting/varnishing season.
use it around the house, its great for washing your hands if you get grease or God forbid diesel on them.
as for chem uses... a general solvent perhaps?
[Edited on 13-10-2013 by Pyro]
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BromicAcid
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There are several petroleum ether grades. Look at the boiling point range of yours. For some reason it is not susceptible to electrostatic issues
the same as pentane, hexanes, etc. so often those will be substituted on scaleup at a 1:1 ratio for petroleum ether.
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kristofvagyok
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Would be good to know that what is the boiling point of it.
It is a good solvent for recrystallizations, I have made a few larger crown ethers in the recent future where the only solvent what worked really well
for recrystallizing the crowns was petroleumether. Also if you are out of gasoline, it could be a good alternative if you are enough brave
I have a blog where I post my pictures from my work: http://labphoto.tumblr.com/
-Pictures from chemistry, check it out(:
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chemrox
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Some nice photos of miscellaneous lab distractions. Why are you asking for $? What project?
"When you let the dumbasses vote you end up with populism followed by autocracy and getting back is a bitch." Plato (sort of)
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UnintentionalChaos
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I think you're referring to the link in kristofvagyok's signature which has absolutely nothing to do with this thread...
Department of Redundancy Department - Now with paperwork!
'In organic synthesis, we call decomposition products "crap", however this is not a IUPAC approved nomenclature.' -Nicodem
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Pyro
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He's probably drunk or his account is being used by somebody else...
''Also if you are out of gasoline, it could be a good alternative if you are enough brave'' what do you mean? I don't really see a problem with mixing
it with your gas
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kristofvagyok
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Quote: Originally posted by Pyro  |
''Also if you are out of gasoline, it could be a good alternative if you are enough brave'' what do you mean? I don't really see a problem with mixing
it with your gas |
Depends on the boiling point, the 80-120 °C range will do it, but the 40 °C boiling point petrolether could cause serious problems if used in high
percent.
I have a blog where I post my pictures from my work: http://labphoto.tumblr.com/
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MichiganMadScientist
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Hmmmmmm.....okay....
Well, yes...I'm aware that it's used as a paint thinner (that's actually how I obtained it. Someone I know had a ton of it lying around for use as a
paint thinner).
I figured it could be used as a recrystallization solvent for certain compounds, but I was hoping (wishing, perhaps) to hear that it perhaps contained
specific stuff that could be distilled, etc..
As far as what the boiling point of my stuff is; I'm unsure. I'll have to find out.
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bfesser
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Your understanding of imperial units is a little lacking.
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kmno4
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| Quote: | | Got TONS of [put whatever name]. What to do with it? |
This is one of the most stupid questions in this forum.
Equally good users can create topics "let's talk about wheather" or "what to do with free time".
It is evidence of (complete) lack of chemical knowledge and lazyness, with attempt to trolling.
I wonder, why moderators tolerate this one and similar topics.
Do you really want to bring the level of SM forum to the bottom ?
As far as I can see - you are successful.
Слава Україні !
Героям слава !
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*FWOOSH*
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Personally I don't think it's useless. It creates food for thought and topics for discussion. It can get you to look at everyday substances in ways
you wouldn't have before, especially ones that you simply don't associate with any particular lab use. The beautiful thing about chemistry is that we
will never know every possible application of every substance out there, there's always something else you can do with it.
Nobody's forcing you to read this, if you don't want to know about it just don't click.
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