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Author: Subject: Purifying Benzyl Alcohol from Mouth Wash
kclo4
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[*] posted on 26-8-2006 at 00:14
Purifying Benzyl Alcohol from Mouth Wash


I am sorry if there is already another thread about this, however I searched and nothing came up.. although it seems like there would be one, anyway's!


I have a bottle of mouth wash that contains Benzyl alcohol, as the first ingredient

The ingredients are: Benzyl alcohol, calcium disodium EDTA, Cetylpyridinium chloride, D&c red no 33. disodium phosphate, flavor, poloxamer 407, polysorbate 80, propylene glycol, sodium benzoate, sodium phosphate,sodium saccharin, sorbitol, water.

Now could the benzyl alcohol simply be distilled?

To me it seems like you could. And you could fairly easily collect the fraction that comes off at 200°C, to 210°C (BP of Benzyl alcohol, 205 °C)

And then you have your Benzyl alcohol, for whatever reason you need it.

I am Planning on trying this soon, but I would like some feed back about what it is I plan to do.

thanks to those who help! :)




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[*] posted on 26-8-2006 at 00:48


If it is an ordinary mouthwash, I would be surprised if it had as much as 1% benzyl alcohol in it. United States Patent 5817295 is for a mouthwash that has 0.001 to 0.1 percent benzyl alcohol.

Ah, water and benzyl alcohol as listed as having an azeotrope boiling at 99.9 C, 91% of the distillate being water. That actually might be co-distilling, but the point is if you fractionate the stuff with [bold]good[/bold] column, the benzyl alcohol will come over in the 95-100 C cut, some of the flavour elements might come over earlier (with water as well), and almost everything else will be left behind.

So set up a fractionating rig, distill slowly until the vapours hit 95 to 99 C, then increase the rate and collect everything until most of the water is gone. If benzyl alcohol is 5% or less, you will have distilled it all out of the remaining gunk.

At that point you've a problem. You could try adding a low boiling solvent and drying agent, like NaSO4 to start with because it grabs a lot of water, Mg or Ca SO4 to finish. The solvent gives the benzyl alcohol someplace to go besides the spaces in the drying agent.

But, again, I doubt there's enough in there to bother with. Easier to do a photo-vapour phase clorination or bromination of toluene, then hydrolyse that. The chloride boils 70 degrees higher than toluene, the bromide 90. Set up a receiving flask in a bath at, say 130 C, with a Vigreux column; shine a mercury vapour or halide lamp on the column. Distill toluene from another flask into the column, and lead in Cl2 or Br2. (overly simplified)
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[*] posted on 26-8-2006 at 01:33


but it is the FIRST ingredaint.. i thought it would be the most common chemical in there!
and water is the last...

well thats just great...
it says it is non-alcohol mouth wash...

i think it would have a lot of it, wouldnt you?




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[*] posted on 26-8-2006 at 01:50


Have you ever tasted benzyl alcohol?

Water will be last as formula are often "X of A, Y of B, water to make 1 L", and it is an inert ingredient.

Try some seaches for "benzyl alcohol" mouthwash patent
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[*] posted on 26-8-2006 at 01:55


Those ingredients are listed alphabetically.
Quite a few of the other ingredients wouldn't dissolve in benzyl alcohol. What would be the point of adding less water than saccharin?
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[*] posted on 26-8-2006 at 11:16


yeah that makes a ton of sence.
dang it!




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[*] posted on 27-8-2006 at 01:19


Just buy it.

www.eyeofnewt.com or something has it.

So does www.lemelange.com
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[*] posted on 27-8-2006 at 01:44


As does photo supply places

http://www.photoformulary.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=2...
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