Hey everyone i am going to be performing the extraction of anti-oxidant and anti microbial compounds from chicken of the woods mushroom, and from my
research ethyl acetate seems to be the ideal solvent for such and extraction.
Now, the issue is of purity of the ethyl acetate. I am weary of buying the chemical online because of the risk of possible purity issues/toxins. I
could synthesize it myself via the reaction of ethanol, acetic acid, and sulfuric acid. The only problem with this is i dont know where to get
sulfuric acid that would be "food safe". Also if anyone had the complete chemical formula for this reaction that would be greatly appreciated.
Any recommendations are appreciated.ElectroWin - 22-7-2013 at 16:59
perhaps you could ignore whether the H2SO4 is food-safe, if you distill the product?
i have a bottle of 96% H2SO4 (drain cleaner), that has, i am told, alkyl pyridines added for corrosion inhibition; i am also told that i can heat it
with H2O2 to destroy those additives, if desired. i have not attempted this however.
[Edited on 2013-7-23 by ElectroWin]ParadoxChem126 - 22-7-2013 at 17:00
I have a video on making ethyl acetate. Reagent ACS grade 98% sulfuric acid should be suitable. The procedure is also written on my website.
[Edited on 23-7-2013 by ParadoxChem126]nimbus8 - 22-7-2013 at 17:24
Thanks paradox, and sulfuric acid is truly a catalyst in this reaction so i dont have to worry about any possible side products, and distillation
completely separates the ethyl acetate and the sulfuric acid?Hockeydemon - 22-7-2013 at 17:25
You can purchase M.E.K substitute from any hardware store. The MSDS says it is 100% ethyl acetate, and you can do a simple distillation if you are
worried about the MSDS accuracy. ParadoxChem126 - 22-7-2013 at 21:07
Quote:
sulfuric acid is truly a catalyst in this reaction so i dont have to worry about any possible side products
The H2SO4 might react with the ethanol slightly to make a small amount of diethyl ether, however, this should not be a problem
for the mushroom extraction.
Quote:
distillation completely separates the ethyl acetate and the sulfuric acid
Any residual sulfuric/acetic acid is removed in the sodium carbonate wash.ParadoxChem126 - 22-7-2013 at 21:09
You can purchase M.E.K substitute from any hardware store.
None of my local hardware stores have it. I suppose it depends on your location.nimbus8 - 23-7-2013 at 03:27
Hey paradox are you sure there's no side reactions contamination to worry about? Because Na2SO4 is formed and is in the presence of ethanol, sulfuric
acid, ethyl acetate, ether, water, and sodium carbonate.
After the sep funnel bottom layer is released you are hopefully left with no side reactions leftovers and, ethanol, ethyl acetate, and ether. I am
unsure of the reaction of ethanol and calcium chloride(if there is any).
I know I am over analyzing the synth a bit, but its to ensure safety.ParadoxChem126 - 23-7-2013 at 08:34
There should not be any significant side products. The sodium sulfate forms in the neutralization of any left over sulfuric acid and it is removed
when you drain off the aqueous layer. Calcium chloride forms complexes with simple primary alcohols, such as ethanol. When you distill the product one
last time, you will be left with pure ethyl acetate containing trace amounts of ethanol and ether.Rich_Insane - 25-7-2013 at 13:17
You can get technical grade EtOAc cheaply online -- it's not a "watched" chemical if you're worried about that. Ethyl acetate is relatively easy to
distill (BP ~77oC). The major impurities in EtOAc are probably just acetic acid and ethanol. The acetic acid has a boiling point around 118oC (much
higher than that of EtOAc). The ethanol will be hard to separate (BP is around 78), but there shouldn't be a lot -- and ethanol itself is pretty much
food grade.
You could synthesize your own, but you would still have to distill your product anyways.
