Formalin to para-formaldehyde polymerization?

[L42L]

how to do.
acid, base, distill, heat, chill?
thanks bees.

[r2e3]

why would you wanna do that in the first place considering that using them in any useful reaction (to my knowledge) they are the same?

[Rhodium]

Some reactions call for anhydrous conditions, and in those cases paraformaldehyde is the reagent of choice as it contains no water.

[ning]

I read in the merck index that catalytic presence of acid tends to catalyze the polymerization of acetaldehyde, which would probably bee the case for formalin. Maybe one would acidify it and try to boil it down?