Well I just got done with one that was pretty exciting. So exciting I'd like to hear your lab mishaps.
Anyways, I was boiling away some remaining methanol, which I figured explained why my 4-methoxyphenol didn't separate with the addition of a conc. salt solution.  It was boiling fine for several minutes, but apparently at some point lost off all the methanol, which caused the bubbles to become extremely stable, and allow for the solution to boil out of the flask and over into the hot oil.

Psshsshh! White death smoke is everywhere. Oil tossed all over the inside of my fumehood, with the heating element on. Yay! I turn off the stove, and go to turn on the fumehood  but people were outside and I didn't want any attention from them asking "wtf happened?" or even worse.. the fire department. So I left it off.


That was nice and scary. I probably lost 50-70% of my product, but it still looks like I have a decent amount in the bottom of the flask, that has solidified.

Anyways, this would be my second, or maybe third horrible experience I've had in the lab.

How about you guys?

PS. I'll add how to avoid what happened to me and some more detail later in the thread. I've got to run

I had a reflux condenser with out any water running through it, and an  tube sucking the gases that formed via an aspirator at the top that was supposed to prevent this but apparently it got clogged or couldn't keep up with the flow and didn't really prevent anything like I thought it would. 

I guess I should have just distilled the stuff, least it would have been directed into a different direction, but the flask I was using is a 19/22 that only fits a reflux, and a claisen adapter I have.

Yeah, I'm going to start using sand or water now I suppose!
Sand just takes so much longer to heat up vs oil. However, it might be the pot I've used for it, It is dented in on the bottom and so it may not actually be getting very much contact with the element.

How much sand do the flasks need to be in? Just sitting on top, or50%+ covered? I guess it probably really doesn't matter.

Caused it to flash boil?

Yeah, that happened to me once as well, when trying to distill some alcohol from yeast and sugar a long time ago.

Oh yes, we've all had some experience with superheated liquids.  When distilling aniline + post reaction mixture, I had a bump so hard, it blew the stopper out of the top and hit the ceiling (10ft).

I've had plenty of accidents in my lab.  If a liquid managed to fill up your condenser to the point where it wont return to the flask, never remove one of the other stoppers to try and equalize the pressure.  It results in a spray of flask contents everywhere hahaha.

I also had iodine crystals lodge themselves all over my face.  A big one went in my eye, and wedged itself deep in my tear duct.  I ended up having to dig it out with a q-tip.  The burn from the I2 still hurts, and it's been two days.

Today, I was venting pure oxygen + a little methanol vapor (not the LEL thankfully).  When showing my friend the power of oxygen + a little ember, the hose actually caught fire, and the white hot jet began shooting up the vinyl hose.  Fortunately, I was quick to flip off the ball valve.

Ha,, a runway but from the addition funnel.. persulfate, methanol(aq) scaling up, filling it up, enough time to heat it up to the magic whoosh number, caught it as just started reacting,, sort of cool seeing it, but quickly my friend, grabbed it, with a cloth, and raced out, with it gushing all over.re:. the prep for the honey, with the said 95% yields under Nitrogen,, but only got 15, and then 20,, NH4 not good,, converted to Na, slightly better I believe,, not the 95% but, not by a long shot...Better ways He feels..

2b

Cost me two weeks and thirty thousand dollars.

Oh my god, I'm sorry about that!
Glad you are ok though, how is it that it detonated? And how is it that it costed you so much?

SO2 is probably the worst gas to get gassed with, well.. besides ammonia, and it might be equal to HCl though.

Yeah, my main problem with SO2 is the taste it leaves in your mouth.

I've gotten burned by anhydrous white fuming nitric (nice scar on my knuckles), had NOx inhalation, ammonia inhalation, and been sprayed in the eye with boiling acetone vapor.

I also once had a beaker full of partially nitrated cellulose auto ignite on me. It was in a fume hood though, and all it did was seriously alarm me.