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!Random - 16-5-2011 at 01:15
You have a nice idea about distillation apparatus. I also have some questions about that.
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.ScienceSquirrel - 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.zasx20 - 16-5-2011 at 12:36
i think its clear PVC fish tank tubing to be honest, i dont have much real lab ware...Jor - 16-5-2011 at 12:40
I would imagine chloroform being able to attack PVC! But I'm not sure.plante1999 - 16-5-2011 at 14:01
With my experiment Chloroform attak PTFE! witch i was thinking to be impossible but...cyanureeves - 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?zasx20 - 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 techniquesNeil - 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. zasx20 - 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 worksRandom - 17-5-2011 at 01:40
Maybe then copper pipe could be used instead, maybe it's more resistant? zasx20 - 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...zasx20 - 17-5-2011 at 13:10
and i also need a better cold finger...
[Edited on 17-5-2011 by zasx20]Random - 17-5-2011 at 13:49
coke can from aluminum, cork stopper and copper pipe could be a good onezasx20 - 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]#maverick# - 17-5-2011 at 19:16
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
zasx20 - 18-5-2011 at 03:22
that might work, is this yours or just a photo?cyanureeves - 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?#maverick# - 18-5-2011 at 04:35
Nope just a photo to illustrate what I meant but I have one out a paint strip canzasx20 - 19-5-2011 at 13:05
ok ill look into ittheflickkk - 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!Neil - 23-5-2011 at 13:00
Search the forum archives. Of particular note are posts by Vulture raising the possibility of organic peroxides. GreenD - 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.theflickkk - 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 theflickkk - 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!mr.crow - 31-5-2011 at 11:13
Congrats on getting it to work
10 degrees is a big difference. Maybe your thermometer sucks or is in the wrong place. Hold it in a boiling tea kettle and it should be exactly 100
deg. Try distilling it again and see if the purity improves.
He said it has BHT so therefore no peroxides. I doubt it would be a problem with normal acetone. Still never distill to dryness, etc.theflickkk - 1-6-2011 at 19:29
Hmm when the thermometer was placed in a pot of boiling water, the temperature was roughly 103 degrees celsius. I did another distillation of some
other variety of nail polish remover and the temperature recorded was 63 degrees celsius. The composition was not listed for this particular nail
polish remover and it definitely does not smell like acetone. It smells like pvc solvent cement actually ._. any guesses on what it could be? thanks!zasx20 - 13-6-2011 at 07:09
what was the thing about "be careful of organic peroxides"? as in Acetone Peroxide? or what?Random - 13-6-2011 at 13:06
Ketones form organic peroxides in the air? I thought only ethers can do that.
... in my experience.