Drying Acetone...Correctly

[kemist]

every proper chemist using molecular sieves made out of Zeolite

Well good for them...:roll:
Thanks for all the simpleton information fellas, it worked perfectly!!
WS

ZEOLITE IS THE BEST !!! Full stop!
Molecular sieves are good for removing water but also other impurities. One need just choose right size of pores.
Only downside are high regeneration temperature 300-350 degree C which conventional oven won`t hit

But tight kitchen kemist can indeed use Na2SO4, MgSO4, CaSO4 or K2CO3!
All off them are good and are used for drying ketones ,although Caso4 is the most universal one for almost all organic solvents!

Regeneration temperatures(degree Celsius)
CaSO4 190-230 C
MgSO4 200-then until red hot :shock: (probably 800 c)
Na2SO4 150 C
K2CO3 100 C(if is very fine)- up to 158 C

 

[amor_fati]

sorry if i came off a bit dickish, that wasnt my intention...

but I also saw the tek from junk first and only recently found out about the book...its a good book...you can download it on isohunt search for david lee

No worries. Yeah, I just found out a few hours ago that it was finally up. SWIM can't wait!

Also its seems odd that nobody ever mentions the fact that the dried epsom salts as well as acetone will absorb moisture from the air if left out...im not sure of how rapidly they absorb it at this point, but I know they do...

I think it's been mentioned on the forums a few times that acetone will absorb ambient moisture if left for too long, especially if left open. FASA implementation generally always calls for it to be performed in a container that can be sealed. Epsom doesn't seem to absorb it all that fast, but SWIM's always recommended that it be sealed and stored away from moisture.

This is why SWIM would rather use THP, rather than pour it in the can. Pouring it in may dry it for a little while, assuming a proper amount is used and properly mixed, but if left for too long, would require that more is added. One could just pour it through THP several times before every use to ensure that it's dry every time. If gypsum is a better alternative to this, then so be it, but SWIM's certain that it will work well enough either way.

Dry acetone isnt watched, so I dont see why everyone acts like you cant just order the stuff or ask around for it...

It is sometimes used in meth production, so are you really certain that it isn't watched?

 

[GirlsHateMe]

no, im not certain and I just really diddnt think dry acetone was something used in meth...

thanks for the info though on drying, I just was reading about it and found some people coming down really hard on the whole drying with baked epsom thing and I diddnt wanna take that stance totally but just present the obstacles they pointed out that worried me...

If your saying they are a bit overstated then by all means I wont argue to much because I was hoping that was the case...

I guess I was looking for you to point out flaws in their cunning arguments, lol...thanks...

 

[Shakti]

Would it be possible to simply distill acetone to dry it? Or is it like ethanol in that water will come with it and it will never be anhydrous through this method?

 

[SuperRad]

I have some important information to share. Please don't call me an idiot, I suspected that this might happen, but since I wasn't sure I figured it was worth the shot.

I bought a lb of indicating drierite to dry acetone. Ideally, the drierite would cease fading when all the water was absorbed from the acetone.

Firstly, the indication did not work well, none of the drierite turned pink, but rather it got very slightly lighter in color. Then I tried to stir it around to make it get in contact with as much H20 as possible.

That's when I noticed point 2: The cobalt indicator is probably soluble in acetone. The acetone turned completely blue, I didn't bother to trying to filter the acetone through a buchner funnel.

DON'T GET INDICATING CaSO4!

Also this test leads me to believe that whether you use Epsom or Drierite, you need to AGITATE the mix, and probably let it sit to actually dry the acetone, It wasn't until I started stirring that any light spots started to appear in the drierite.

 

[amor_fati]

SWIM's been experimenting with plaster of paris dry-mix, which seems to work, as it can be observed to absorb moisture out of the acetone.

Firstly, SWIM's been using it in basification of DMT-fumarate to lock in the water used in the process. This seems to work well, but SWIM will need a larger amount of fumarate before his results can be conclusive.

Secondly, SWIM's been using it alongside anhydrous epsom in THP to dry acetone, which he used successfully in bufotenine extraction.

 

[caliwa]

i cant get ahydrous acetone anywhere. i dont even know if acetone on its anhydrous form is liquid. anyway im aware that normal acetone can be converted to its anhydrous form. is there a way a mortal can achieve it?

 

[The Day Tripper]

Take epsom salts, bake in an oven at 400F for 1-2 hrs.

Then once they have cooled down, grind them up for maximum surface area to pull the water from the acetone. Make sure to keep in an airtight container as much as possible because they WILL pull the water right out of the air.

Dump salts into your solvent, let it heavily decant or filter well before use to ensure no contamination with salts.

Good luck.

 

[SnozzleBerry]

Check the MSDS...my acetone didn't say anhydrous anywhere, nor did it give a percent so I added anhydrous mgso4 and then out of curiosity checked the MSDS online and discovered it was 99%

 

[caliwa]

hahaha, thats true Snozzle, it could be a possibility. when I asked for ahydrous acetone the guy said: "oh, we dont have any, we just have pure acetone".

thanks for the guidance, day tripper.. i will get some of those epsom salts just in case.

 

[dooby]

I have both CaSO4 and MgSO4... The latter should be rendered anhydrous before use, but I'm not sure about the CaSO4...

Are there differences in texture or appearance which will allow me to determine if my CaSO4 is "dry" enough to be used as a desiccant?

If necessary, could magnesium sulphate or calcium sulphate be dehydrated safely in a microwave and if so, how? Any safety issues to take into account? (e.g. small quantities only?)

Thanks

 

[downwardsfromzero]

at the top of this page...

every proper chemist using molecular sieves made out of Zeolite

Well good for them...:roll:
Thanks for all the simpleton information fellas, it worked perfectly!!
WS

ZEOLITE IS THE BEST !!! Full stop!
Molecular sieves are good for removing water but also other impurities. One need just choose right size of pores.
Only downside are high regeneration temperature 300-350 degree C which conventional oven won`t hit

But tight kitchen kemist can indeed use Na2SO4, MgSO4, CaSO4 or K2CO3!
All off them are good and are used for drying ketones ,although Caso4 is the most universal one for almost all organic solvents!

Regeneration temperatures(degree Celsius)
CaSO4 190-230 C
MgSO4 200-then until red hot :shock: (probably 800 c)
Na2SO4 150 C
K2CO3 100 C(if is very fine)- up to 158 C

Also the wiki: Rendering_Anhydrous_Magnesium_Sulfate

Don't know about the microwave, except it doesn't strike me as that great an idea. Feel free to experiment if you're willing to risk sacrificing your microwave or possibly your face (joke...??)

 

[glorf]

Drierite is a specific product, not just generic CaSO4, it's crushed white gypsum (nearly 100% pure dihydrate) heated to 230-250C for 2-3 hours. heating above 250 or below 170 makes bad product.

the Drierite part of this chart applies only to Drierite that's been dead-burnt...proper activation probably would have been better.

if you store acetone over molecular sieves, it's going to go bad because it causes condensation too. the water content of CuSO4 (from root killer) is self-indicating and this can also give some idea how dry your solvent is. the best agent B2O3 can be made from boric acid.