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Specialty Chemistry Forums => Citizen Chemist => Topic started by: constant thinker on December 01, 2005, 08:47:12 PM

Title: Acetone Synthesis
Post by: constant thinker on December 01, 2005, 08:47:12 PM
This stems off of
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=5979

So you can make acetone from isopropyl alcohol. This would liberate water. I'm going to try this.

Basically from this post it's:
C3H8O1 + H2O2 -> 2 H2O + C3H6O1

Correct anything if it's wrong please. :)
I'm going to try this as soon as I get a chance to go to the store. How will I able to detect acetone. Isopropanol is flammable also. Smelling isn't a prefered option.


Would this be considered a Dehydration Reaction?
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: limpet chicken on December 01, 2005, 09:52:49 PM
I would use much stronger peroxide, although STRICTLY avoid adding any peroxide with acid in it (OTC stuff has phosphoric acid mixed in with it over here)

Acid would catalyse formation of dimeric or trimeric acetone peroxide, which is unstable in the extreme and likely to explode with great violence.

You can detect acetone by its smell, which is quite different to that of propanol or isopropanol.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Mitch on December 02, 2005, 12:40:19 AM
You can buy acetone. Why synthesize it?
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: constant thinker on December 02, 2005, 05:11:48 PM
It's more fun to synthesise. I already have acetone in my house. It goes by the name of Nail Polish remover. Not pure I know.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Borek on December 02, 2005, 06:10:38 PM
I already have acetone in my house. It goes by the name of Nail Polish remover.
It could be acetone, it could be not - depends. There are polish nail removers acetone free.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: constant thinker on December 02, 2005, 10:01:46 PM
Yes I know. I already checked the bottle on multiple occasions.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Jessica on December 03, 2005, 04:52:49 AM
I Could be wrong here, but I see to remember reading somewhere that electrolysis of citric acid soln will create acetone also, although how you extract it afterwards wasn`t mentioned.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: limpet chicken on December 03, 2005, 07:47:45 PM
Never trust OTC solvents, ALWAYS make sure to do an evaporation test before use, and distill over a drying agent into a storage container.

OTC solvents are so often full of s#*$, I was recently sold a bottle of "pure acetone" OTC from the  local pharmacy, and it, on sitting with anhydrous MgSO4, lost around 10% of its weight, which was f&#^$*@ water >:(
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Alberto_Kravina on December 04, 2005, 04:05:13 AM
You are completely right limpet chicken!
Some months ago I bought "pure" ethanol to make the reaction of metallic sodium with ethanol, and it lost about 4% of it's weight with anhydrous Sodium sulfate (commercial concentrated ethanol has a concentration of about 96%, but the label on the bottle said 100%!), mabye the guys in the pharmacy confused it .  >:( >:(Fortunately I made this water test BEFORE I made the reaction with sodium.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: billnotgatez on December 04, 2005, 05:21:43 AM
Alberto_Kravina –
How did you remove the water so as to continue with your experiments?
Regards,
Bill
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: limpet chicken on December 04, 2005, 02:00:27 PM
Alberto, that could have been really nasty, (and really expensive to boot!), if you were trying to make alkoxides via Na metal and EtOH, but jesus christ, throwing a lump of sodium into hydrous alcohol, thats a recipe for a crispy fried face :o


I have read, however, that is is perfectly practical to prepare group I alkoxides through adding the anhydrous hydroxide of the metal to the relevant anhydrous alcohol, the alkoxide layer being able to be siphoned off, it works, I use that method to prepare NaOMe, which I use to clean out my glass hash pipe, it burns the resin right off, no matter how baked on, from months of use that it may be ;D

Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Alberto_Kravina on December 04, 2005, 02:05:02 PM
I didn't make the reaction with sodium with the ethanol with the 96% EtOH, I bought a new bottle of "pure" ethanol
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Beatles on December 04, 2005, 02:06:36 PM
Is it possible to create acetone in oxidizing 2-propanol with KMnO4?
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Alberto_Kravina on December 04, 2005, 02:07:57 PM
Yes I think this is possible because potassium permanganate is a strong oxidizing agent.  :)
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: billnotgatez on December 04, 2005, 02:28:05 PM
 Alberto_Kravina –
How did you pure ethanol or was it denatured?
Regards,
Bill
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: limpet chicken on December 04, 2005, 02:33:24 PM
KMnO4 will oxidise alcohols to ketones if done CAREFULLY, in dilute concentration, both chemicals being prechilled to as near as 0 degrees as is possible.


Otherwise, if heated or concentrated, it will take the alcohol straight to the carboxylic acid in my experience.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: constant thinker on December 04, 2005, 09:53:25 PM
Do not mix hydrogen peroxide with organic acids!!! That is a very dangerous thing to do.~Mitch
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: limpet chicken on December 05, 2005, 11:33:52 AM
Mitch, what about in creation of peracids? that is a perfectly valid reason for the peroxidation of an organic acid, to make peracetic/performic acid for epoxidation of propenylbenzenes/allylbenzenes.

And for oxidising organics there are cases, when dilute peroxide (I'm talking from 3% to 10% solution) can be very good as a selective oxidant for complex alcohols to ketones.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: Alberto_Kravina on December 06, 2005, 08:46:18 AM
Alberto_Kravina –
How did you pure ethanol or was it denatured?
Regards,
Bill

It wasn´t denaturated! I think that you can´t use denaturated EtOH to make this reaction bacause maybe the substance used to denaturate EtOH (I think that it is Pyridine but I´m not sure) can interfer in the reaction.
Title: Re:Acetone Synthesis
Post by: jdurg on December 13, 2005, 01:31:35 PM
Many times methanol is added to anhydrous ethanol in order to denature it.  This is because the chemistry of methanol and ethanol are so similar that any reactions involving the ethanol won't be altered too severely by the methanol.  However, the presence of the methanol makes the ethanol unsuitable for drinking.  In addition, it's a bit difficult separating the methanol from the ethanol.