JMiller

trying to basify and oil that is pH 7. Dumped straight into a 35% NaOH sol., mixed very well, extracted with DCM, distilled off DCM, but result was a paltry pH 7.8. Am I missing something here? If I dissolve in solvent such as MeOH or IPA first will this help in the basifying process? thanks!

actually, it doesn't really matter if the solution is a bit acidic, so that answers that. I seems that I still need to learn to think a step or two ahead. final question (now that you're being so helpful!): I'm using the DCM for extractions. knowing that drying the DCM with a drying agent will not completely remove the 98:2 H20 azeotrope that was formed, will this "impurity" affect the extraction process?

I'm washing with a 10% HCl solution, just wanted to make sure I'm not overdoing it. and for these washes, what is the ideal ratio of product/solution? thanks again for your help.

thanks tartaglia, I'll give that a try!

Hello Everyone. I'm trying to remove the ammonium hydroxide (BP 37.7) residues from some DCM (B.P. 40) that I have sitting around. The question is whether these two form an azeotrope - I've searched everywhere and found almost nothing on this - and whether there is some other process I should consider before going to the ol' vigreaux. any help would be greatly appreciated! cheers Jeff

thank you all very much for your replies, they helped a lot. this is a great forum btw, love it!

Hello! Does anyone know if Acetone and Ethanol form an azeotrope? I have a 60/40% Acetone/Ethanol solution that I am trying to separate through fractional distillation. However, the first product comes over at 60-61C, even though Acetone's BP is 56.53, and Ethanol's is 78.4. Tried it a couple of times, making sure everything was 100% on each run, with same result, worried that I am NOT getting very clean acetone. Having said that, I have found NO info about whether the two form an azeotrope on any charts. Any advice? thanks for your help! Jeff