I'm interested in extracting Benzoyl Peroxide from some acne cream and then converting this to benzoic acid.

 

Active Ingredient: Benzoyl Peroxide (10%)

Inactive Ingredients: Aluminum hydroxide gel, bentontite, carbomer-940, dimethicone, glycerly sterate SE, isopropyl myristate, methylparaben, PEG-12, potassium hydroxide, propylene glycol, propylparaben, and purified water

 

Would acetone be an appropiate solvent? (AP!?)

 

Assuming I can extract some relativity pure benzoyl peroxide, how can I convert this to benzoic acid?

 

I've read that hydrolysis of benzoyl peroxide will slowly yield benzoic acid. So if I let some BP sit in water for a long enough period of time, this would work? I've also read that benzoyl peroxide can be destroyed with an alkali iodide and HCl. What do you suggest?

Theory: Extract benzoyl peroxide from the acne cream with acetone. Soak in water so that benzoyl peroxide (slowly?) undergoes hydrolysis to form benzoic acid. Strongly heat benzoic acid to perform decarboxylation and distill benzene.

 

What I Did: I took a gram of the acne cream and used acetone to extract the 10% benzoyl peroxide from it. I boiled the acetone using a WATER BATH and as soon as I saw the BP start to precipitate, I added water. Benzoyl peroxide is not soluble in water and I didn't want to have dry crystals because it can explode when dry. After the acetone boiled off, a white solid floated to the top of the water. I thought this would be some benzoic acid-benzoyl peroxide mix? Apparently it wasn't though because both compounds have a density of about 1.3 g/cm^3 which means that they should sink in water. Anyways, I heated the white solid under a flame and a slightly yellowish liquid formed that quickly boiled. The vapors smelled and gave me a bit of a headache. I have never worked with benzene. I just wish I knew what it smelled like so I could identify it.

 

My understanding of the mechanisms of organic chemistry is very limited. Is it possible that I made benzene?

 

Thanks in advance.

the best way I can describe benzene as a smell is a bit like car exhaust when you can smell a hint of something like fuel in it, a sort of burning petrol smell with a hint of burning moth balls, but I`m sure that`s an entirely subjective experience and others may differ.

 

do you have a Home-Brew shop around you, a place where the sell kits and equipment for making your own wine or beer?

if you can find one, go in and get yourself some sodium benzoate tablets (they`re used as a preservative). from there it`s really easy to make Benzoic acid, you only need to dissolve these tablets in some water and add an acid, the benzoic acid falls out of solution instantly

Benzene, Toluene and Xylene all smell like model paint thinners. It's a VERY distinctive smell and the Testors corporation will forever be associated with that odor in my mind.