jamit
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amyl acetate
I've been given a gallon of amyl acetate recently by a friend, and it smells great - banana odor!
What can I use this solvent for? Can I convert it back to amyl alcohol?
I know there's lots of info on making esters but beyond just making it... or in my case, having it given to me, what other uses are there in home
chemistry? any suggestions?
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Nicodem
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Thread Moved
1-4-2014 at 07:47 |
blogfast25
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Are you sure it is amyl acetate and not isoamyl acetate you have? The latter is known as 'banana oil'. Amyl alcohol is milder in scent, from what I've
read.
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Tsjerk
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You could react it with a NaOH solution, it will react to sodium acetate and the alcohol. Distillation will give a 50% azeotrope with water.
Edit: isoamyl alcohol will give the azeotrope, I don't know about the amyl alcohol. Isoamyl alcohol is only soluble in water with 28 g/l so after
distillation it should separate, the alcohol could then be dried using magnesium sulfate or another salt.
[Edited on 2-4-2014 by Tsjerk]
[Edited on 2-4-2014 by Tsjerk]
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Tsjerk
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Now I think of it, it should even separate before distillation, so you can separate the alcohol from the reaction mixture, and depending on how clean
you want it clean it up one way or another.
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Bert
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Mood: " I think we are all going to die. I think that love is an illusion. We are flawed, my darling".
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It's useful for dissolving nitrocellulose- gives a longer open working time than acetone.
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Zephyr
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If you like fruity scents, you could convert the amyl acetate to amyl nitrite, which is an amber liquid that has the strong smell of pears. Amyl
nitrite is used in cases of fainting or drowning as a resuscitator.
The amyl nitrite decomposes when in contact with a strong base and yields isoamyl alcohol.
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Tsjerk
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Isn't isoamyl nitrite a controlled substance in the US?
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