beerwiz
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OTC Ethyl Acetate - Non acetone nail polish remover
I needed ethyl acetate to do some TLC tests so I turned to the non-acetone nail polish remover that you can get anywhere. It is mostly ethyl acetate,
an alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol), a pink dye, and perfume (among other things depending on manufacturer).
The one I used contained ethyl acetate, isopropanol, pink dye, and perfume.
After distilling it at 80C, the receving flask had the ethyl acetate and isopropanol azeotrope. I then did a distilled water wash 2 times using the
same volume of the azeotrope. I believe the alcohol went into the water layer. I then did a brine wash with kosher salt using same volume 1:1. After
separating the layers, I used anhydrous MgSO4 and stirred for 10 mins. The MgSO4 was allowed to settle and the ethyl acetate was decanted.
Any tips/opinions on this method? Is this sufficiently pure ethyl acetate to use as an eluent for TLC checks?
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smaerd
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If you want to use it for TLC, test to see if it has any traces by TLC  . If it
doesn't then it should be okay but if you're rf's do not match literature values, it could be solvent impurities.
I too have done this distillation until I found "MEK Substitute" being sold at all the hard-ware stores (it's largely ethylacetate).
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macckone
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Do a tlc run without a test substance, if you only get the front then it is good enough. If you get multiple lines then it needs further
purification.
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beerwiz
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MEK substitute is no longer sold in the big box stores, they have reverted to selling the original MEK.
How would you test the ethyl acetate purity by TLC? Just put in a fresh TLC plate and use the ethyl acetate as eluent? Visualize with what... I2 or
UV? Will this show the isopropanol as an impurity (another front line)?
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violet sin
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they also don't sell ethyl acetate in california as a substitute for MEK (where I reside). though you can occasionally find a bottle of Klean strip
MEK substitute on a shelf, marked clearly at the bottom "not intended for use or sale in california"... lol. it's the only ingredient on the label,
but that doesn't mean it's 100%
well, I stand corrected...
http://www.kleanstrip.com/uploads/documents/GME71SUB_SDS-163...
" 141-78-6 Acetic acid, ethyl ester {Ethyl acetate} 100.0 % AH5425000 "
though it is now on the discontinued section of the list of MSDS's provided on the Klean strip website. so I guess buy it as you find it if it's
something you use. I bought a quart some time back, but I haven't used any. just hate to see them start filling the shelves with crap substitutes in
case you actually need the stuff to thin something as directed.
---------------
side note, the "sunnyside xylene/toluene substitute" seemed a bit nuts, then again I don't know a whole hell of a lot about organic chem :
http://sunnysidecorp.com/info_sheets/Zero%20Voc%20Xylene%20T...
contains acetone and Parachlorobenzotrifluoride, wiki for the later: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parachlorobenzotrifluoride, " The material itself is considered to have negligible VOCs and is increasingly used as
a Xylene replacement in cleaners, thinners and other aromatic hydrocarbon blends "
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binbin
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Find some shitty whiskey that gives you a headache. I'm sure it's mostly ethyl acetate and acetone. 
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