PlatinumCal99
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Ethyl Formate
Does anyone here know a good place in North America to get ethyl formate? I tried google and found nothing 
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Sauron
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Make your own.
Formic acid + ethanol + a little conc H2SO4 catalyst.
The ethyl formate is rather low boiling so you need cold condenser and chilled receiver.
Vogel and/or Org.Syn. will have detailed procedures.
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PlatinumCal99
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I was thinking of doing that, but grain alcohol is not sold here and besides I'm over 3 years too young to buy alcohol. So I figured it might just be
easier to get the ethyl formate :\
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chemrox
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Can't you buy denatured alcohol at the hardware store? You'd get a little Me formate in the wash but so what?
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not_important
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Formic acid is strong enough that no additional catalyst is needed. Given its low boiling point, an excess of formic acid could be used, the mixture
refluxed for awhile, and the ethyl formate fractionally distilled off (BP 54 C). It's rather flammable, with a wide explosive range, so chilled
receiver, no flames, non-sparking heater that doesn't get visibly glowing.
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Sauron
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Don't you have any friends who are old enough to buy alcohol> Have then buy 100 proof vodka, then fractionate it to 95% and away you do.
80 proof vodka, same method, just an extra distillation step likely.
If you can get Everclear or Diesel brand 95% neutral spirits then no distillation required.
151 proof Bacardi rum also a very good source, it's 75% ethanol right out of the bottle and a couple od simple (non fractional) distillation will get
you to the azeotrope.
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PlatinumCal99
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Wow, I didn't know ethyl formate was so dangerous. I read on wikipedia that it was responsible for giving raspberries their flavor so I didn't think
it would be explosive... I'm starting to think twice about even bothering with it. I read an MSDS for it and they said no hot plates which may
generate sparks. Does anyone know how dangerous it is to store this or for how long, and when I work with it (if I do) that it should be done outside?
I have some THF already which is the most dangerous chemical I have, and I keep it in a dark place (only 1.5 months old).
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not_important
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It's the vapour mixed with air or oxygen that's explosive, just as propane of butane are. The explosive limits, the minimum and maximum percent of the
combustible material in air that will explode if ignited varies from substance to substance, the wider the range the worse the problem. The ignition
temperature is also important. It's not explosive in the sense of dynamite or TNT, it needs to be mixed with air first.
Remember that most aromas are made by substances in concentrations under 1% in air, which puts them below the limits of explosion and flammability.
The difficulty is in preparing the pure compound, one you have it you can dissolve it in glycerol or propylene glycol to give a 5 to 10 percent
solution, which will be safer to handle.
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Sauron
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Methyl formate, even lower boiling is worse in this regard.
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bio2
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Ethyl Formate has similar volatility to acetone and is not difficult to store.
I have some of the 95% binary azeotrope with water in HDPE bottles for 2 years now and it is just fine.
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Sauron
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Naturally, the lower alkyl formates need to be recognized as volatile and flammable, and normal precautions taken. But they are not as inherently
hazardous as ether, THF, etc either in terms of volatility or formation of fuel-air mixtures, and they lack the pesky peroxide hazard of ether and THF
and dioxane etc. And there are worse ethers. Try di-isopropyl ether sometime.
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