Sciencemadness Discussion Board

DCM from varnish remover

modgod - 22-2-2012 at 12:17

I have an old bottle of varnish remover, from before DCM was banned. Been sitting in the shed for years, I have never gotten round to dealing with it.

I finally decant this stripper in to another container only to find that it has turned brown, the original container has been degraded considerably, some bubbling and small leaks have occurred

Is the DCM at all salvageable, I'm not 100% sure what metal the original container was composed off, but it has definitely been broken down considerably by the DCM.

I'm up for a challenge, could the DCM still be distilled with all the contaminants in it? I'm thinking I could dilute with methanol, filter the majority of the metal particles out, then distill.

any input welcome

thanks

modgod - 23-2-2012 at 10:19

63 views and no suggestions - come on guys

I'm sure dilution then boiling/condensing of the DCM would be ok wouldnt it?

boiling point is 40 degrees centigrade

Bot0nist - 23-2-2012 at 10:22

DCM is easy as hell to isolate with fractional distillation. Dilute the cleaner with water if it's thick and viscous, then heat with a hot water bath until condensate comes over at around 40C. What's the problem? Check out myst's video on YouTube if you need a visual. It is a straight forward fractional distillation.

[Edited on 23-2-2012 by Bot0nist]

neptunium - 23-2-2012 at 11:29

Quote: Originally posted by modgod  
I have an old bottle of varnish remover, from before DCM was banned.


wait what?? where do you live?
i can still find a paint stripper with high DCM at home depot...US

UnintentionalChaos - 23-2-2012 at 15:48

Quote: Originally posted by neptunium  
Quote: Originally posted by modgod  
I have an old bottle of varnish remover, from before DCM was banned.


wait what?? where do you live?
i can still find a paint stripper with high DCM at home depot...US


I'd guess the EU, where it has been banned for a while now.

Pulverulescent - 23-2-2012 at 16:25

I can still get it and I'm in the EU!
Pricey though!

P

entropy51 - 23-2-2012 at 16:41

Quote: Originally posted by modgod  
63 views and no suggestions - come on guys

I'm sure dilution then boiling/condensing of the DCM would be ok wouldnt it?

boiling point is 40 degrees centigrade
Instead of whining perhaps you should UTFSE.
Quote: Originally posted by entropy51  
My prep for DCM from paint stripper is to distill the mess to get rid of anything insoluble. Don't distill to dryness or the flask will be hell to clean. Wash the MeOH out of the distillate with a couple of water washes. Dry the DMC on MgSO4, then distill.
There are other posts in that thread and in other threads here.

neptunium - 23-2-2012 at 17:56

i think chem myst on you tube has a neat way to distil it off its container ... the residue left after distillation is a real pain to clean up..

hey Entropy how are you?