sciencesanity
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Any solid methods for distilling directly from the can for Industrial grade solvents?
To my surprise I really cannot find any information on this, in large part I assume because the word 'can' is often filtered in search engines, but
still, I figured I'd come across something. My idea was to find a flanged pipe or fitting that could be screwed into the lid to make a compression
seal and then just use the/a copper pipe to aircool the distillate. Actually I did come across a post or guide of some sort of someone doing just
that, though I can't find it now. However in searching the local hardware stores I have not found anything, nor online for that matter.
Even better would be a fitting that screws directly onto the can itself, though I do not expect to find such a convenience in the wild as I cannot
even find a simple flange to work and thus I've given up and come to seek out advice. If it is not clear why one would want to can distill as opposed
to using glasswear the main reason is that often times solvents will be mixed with nasty emulsifying agents such as with many common paint strippers
and it's a huge pita to get that crud off of your glasswear after the fact, the only way to do so in fact is to waste more solvent to clean it which
largely defeats the purpose.
Right now my target in particular is Dichloromethane. My idea was if I could find an appropriate fitting to set the can outside in a 5 gallon bucket
and simply pour boiling water into it to boil of the low BP solvents, replacing the water as necessary. It should work out perfectly well if only I
can find a suitable adaptor. Does anyone have any ideas or have done something similar?
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Praxichys
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If the can has a metal cap, just solder some copper tube to it. You could also use a compression fitting or epoxy (like JB Weld).
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MolecularWorld
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@sciencesanity: This video appears to be exactly what you're talking about.
I think this is what he used for a condenser.
[Edited on 7-12-2015 by MolecularWorld]
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Sulaiman
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In the video the DCM (b.p. 39.6 C) seems to be condensing nicely,
maybe it was quite cool when the video was made ?
Depending on your ambient temperature, water or ice-water cooling may be worthwhile ?
[Edited on 7-12-2015 by Sulaiman]
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sciencesanity
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Well it is pretty chilly outside right now so I think with a reasonable length of pipe, especially a good conductor like copper, I would not need any
kind of cooling beyond passive air cooling, I figured it would actually be perfect this time of year to do it even. I definitely would not do so
without additional cooling in the spring or summer, in the summer here I bet with some patience I wouldn't even need to heat the can if it is sitting
in the sun for that matter. This will of course be done outside, I would not attempt such a thing inside, at least without a fume hood. Anyway thanks
for the tips guys, I think first I might just try to solder a pipe directly onto the lid, which is metal, I assume aluminium. I'm not sure how well
solder would bond copper and aluminium, but it won't hurt to try. Epoxy is another good idea I had not considered and I will go that route if all else
fails. It seems in the video he did not make any kind of seal which is hardly dangerous outside, but I'd prefer not to unnecessarily evaporate
solvents into the environment if at all avoidable.
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Magpie
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Here's a method I used when distilling phosphorus:
1. Take a 1/2" copper pipe and solder a threaded male NPT end on it.
2. Drill a hole in the can cap just big enough to accept the threaded end of the pipe.
3. Using 2 hex washers with NPT threads, sandwich the can cap between the 2 washers and screw them down tight to give a compression seal.
Rubber washers could be added to give a better seal if your temperature is low enough, which it certainly would be with dichloromethane.
The single most important condition for a successful synthesis is good mixing - Nicodem
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