kclo4 - 28-1-2005 at 21:38
Does any one know of one? I know methyl chloroform is but were to get it
Synopsis - 28-1-2005 at 21:44
The chlorinated solvents, for instance. Both dichloromethane and chloroform aren't flammable (tetrachloromethane also isn't flammable, but
well, it's highly carcinogenic).
Dichloromethane can be distilled out of paint remover.
Chris The Great - 29-1-2005 at 00:13
Really? I was informed that chloroform was very flammable. Only one way to tell I guess.....
Ok, googling for an MSDS says no. Cool, didn't know that.
Distilled water is another nonflammable solvent, obviously, but I'm assuming you're wanting to know about more 'exotic' or less
reactive solvents.
Chloroform is made by mixing hypochlorites with acetone. I tried it with 5.25% bleach and 99% acetone, took about half a minute for the reaction to
start, then it completed in about 5 seconds, using stiochometric quantities (~2L bleach, 18mL acetone). Slight warming occured as the micture turned
cloudy from teeny chloroform droplets. For 2 litres of bleach I got maybe 15mL of (heavily contaiminated) chloroform.
If you where going to use it as a solvent, you would need to distill it. I didn't because I don't have anything to distill such a solvent
and only tried the reaction out of curiosity.
If you plan on making reasonable amounts of it I would suggest getting solid pool bleach (calcium hypochlorite), liquifying it with water, and putting
lots of ice in it and adding acetone slowly to avoid the reaction from heating up to much. When calculating the correct amount, keep in mind that the
solid bleach is the tetrahydrate, or Ca(OCl)2.4H2O, or so I've heard. Correct me if I'm wrong.
Another option is concentrated pool bleach (10% NaOCl), though you'll probably get more chloroform for your money using the solid stuff.
Chloroform is non-soluble (0.7g in 100g water) and will settle in a puddle on the bottom.
The resulting product needs to be distilled as it will have lots of dissolved stuff from the reaction, and will need to be stabilized by adding a few
drops of methanol.
It also smells great, it's my favorite smelling solvent. 
The waste water
from the reaction also smells good too.
Synopsis - 29-1-2005 at 10:13
Calcium hypochlorite (solid bleach) is usually sold as a mixture of Ca(OCl)2, CaCl2, Ca(OH)2 as well as other mixed salts (like carbonates,
bicarbonates) and hydrates. The actual chlorine content will always be written on the container (like 25% w/w) and this is what you should refer to
when calculating the amount you need.
The best way to find out how much chlorine there is in the stuff you have is to titrate it before using it. This way you know the real amount of
active oxidant in there.
BromicAcid - 29-1-2005 at 18:40
Tetrachloroethylene is also over the counter, I've found brake cleaners that are 95% tetrachloroethylene and 5%Carbon Dioxide as propellent. Non
flammable suff although you can burn it if you keep a torch on it. Do you mean totally non-flammable or just something that won't make a
spontaneously flammable cloud, mineral oil won't usually catch fire at reasonable temperatures but it will catch. Then of course there are
things you won't be able to get or maybe would be very difficult to use, liquid SO2, chlorine, bromine, aluminum chloride, they're non
flammable but they definately have obsticles to overcome to their use.
JohnWW - 30-1-2005 at 13:33
Of course, there is CCl4. 1,1,1-trichloroethane, commonly used by commercial dry-cleaners, while not completely non-flammable, is only flammable with
some difficulty.