Chemical Forums
Chemistry Forums for Students => Organic Chemistry Forum => Topic started by: Rayq on May 31, 2016, 07:29:55 AM
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i am required to obtain a very pure ester. so i carry out synthesis, isolation and the distillation. during distillation, i will be distillating alcohol and ester. in my case, i used 1-butanol and ethanoic acid to produce butyl acetate. butanol has a lower boiling point thus it will condense first. this will contaminate the condenser with butanol and thus the ester that i will obtain will not be pure. can i wash away the butanol using water just like in isolation or is there any other way to obtain a pure ester.
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Boiling points data(From Chemspider):
Butyl acetate 124-126 °C
1-Butanol 117-118 °C
Ethanoic acid 118 °C
Butyl acetate has the highest boiling point among the three chemicals in your mixture. So you can just heat your mixture in the distillation set-up until all 1-butanol and ethanoic acid boils and be separated out from the mixture.
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You can stop the distillation, and switch vessels. There also exists a type of glassware known as a cow or pig -- basically a receiving flask with mini flasks that you rotate into position at a time point of your choosing.
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Are you following a standard protocol? Can you think of a protocol that would remove the ethanoic acid prior to distillation? Why don't you look up the miscibility of butanol and water?