Combining Solvents

[ducdevil]

hi everyone,

i did an extensive search on this topic and while i found a few references using key words, i didn't get an answer to the question; hope someone can help!

i primarily use Petroleum Ether and while i've been really happy with it, it's super-low boiling point has prevented me from warming the solvent, even a little bit. it actually starts to boil in a relatively warm water bath; the boiling point of the PE is 35c. i have found that anything more than warm solvent takes forever to separate from the base mix. it eventually does but it stretches out the process significantly. when the base mix and solvent are room temp, the layers separate normally.

could i mix some Heptane in with the PE to effectively raise the boiling point a bit? i sm guessing this would be just fine since standard Naphtha is really a mix as well. i know that mixing something like xylene and Naphtha is not a good idea, but what about two solvents which are very similar?

any help would be appreciated! great thanks! :thumb_up:

 

[lysurgeon]

Mixing solvents will not raise the boiling point of the mixture.

The 35C boiling component is pentane. What you could do, if so inclined, is boil off the lower boiling components by distillation, then replace the lost solvent volume with a higher boiling solvent (heptane). Or, you could take the easier route and use heptane exclusively.

 

[ducdevil]

thanks lysurgeon - i appreciate you contributing to the thread.
your response was very helpful and i understand what's going on better.
the Petroleum Ether is obviously itself a mixture; the Pentane in it is the low boil culprit.
i may go back to using Heptane but have grown fond of PE for it's low odor factor.
cheers!