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FASA and aldol condensation in acetone

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Hailstorm

Hailstorm

Established member
Chemical engineer
In the FASA extraction method both citric and fumaric acid are dissolved in acetone at some point. In the FASA freebase-to-fumarate conversion method both DMT and fumaric acid are dissolved in acetone.

Do any chemists here know if the acids and/or DMT create acidic or basic environments and cause an aldol reaction in the acetone? If so, I wonder if that creates any yield or purity issues?
 
Thanks benzyme!

FYI, the reason I asked is that the use of molecular sieves is discouraged for acetone drying as they are slightly basic ( search the web for "acetone and molecular sieves", multiple authors ) .

My assumption is that anything acidic or basic in acetone, including fumaric acid and freebase DMT, will catalyze the self-condensation, contaminating the acetone with byproducts and increasing its water content. I do not know how fast aldol self-condensation goes though - if it takes days or months, then perhaps it is immaterial. Regardless, adding freebase DMT and fumaric acid to acetone together - to keep the solution neutral - suddenly does not seem like a bad idea?
 
Molecular sieves provide a surface for the catalysis as well; this most probably makes a significant difference.

Otherwise, condensation only occurs with stronger acids at higher temperatures.

(I've probably overstated concerns about acetone condensation in the past, tbh.)
 
I too have had concerns about the aldol condensation of acetone. Primarily acetone that was made anhydrous via MgSO4.

So even if aldol condensation did occur, does this actually effect this FASA process? I don't understand the mechanism of action but I feel like acetone with aldol condensation would still work for a lot of uses?
 
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