sourcing toluene and/or Xylene in Auz?

[halfkast]

These two solvents are a bastard to find in australia because of emission crap. But the thing is I need a >90% aromatic to remove certain adulterants, probably PEGS from sudagak pills (I think) that won't let you alcohol extract and won't let you a/b.

So my options are toluene, xylene and tetrachlorethylene as a distant last resort.

Solvent/oil company plus bs story
dry cleaning supplies company plus bs story


Those are the options I have that I know of, which would I have the least trouble with in australia?

a PM would be awesome, don't know what to do to solve problem, or whether I can solve it without xyl/tol or what.


thanks

[pHarmacist]

Let acetone react with H2SO4, it gives 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, and can be used for various things, solvent if you like...

3(CH3)2-C=O ---H2SO4---> 3H2O + 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene


1-2-3 ACiD

[Starkas]

In Victoria (not sure about other states), Xylene can be bought off the shelf of hardware stores.  Go to a hardware store or specialist paint store & you should have no problem getting it.

Otherwise Toluene & Xylene can be bought with no problems from a chem supplier.  SWIM buy's Toluene in 20L drums anonymously with cash and hasn't had a problem at all doing so.  He's never needed to give a BS story, these are very common chem's.

[halfkast]

pHarmacist I like that a lot, thanks. 3,5-dimethyl-amphetamine sounds nice too, for later maybe.  I couldn't see it in Pihkal, ill look around the Hive.

3(CH3)2-C=O, I'm trying to work out how much acetone this is though, so I must have a fair way to go. Actually I think you mean just 3 CH3COCH3, yes? but the - sign, is that just there so it doesn't look like there's 2 C and O atoms per mole?
So 3(CH3)2-C=O, 174.237g +  98.079g of H2SO4?
Any other details on the reaction?

My brain is dying I think.

Starkas I'm in melbourne too, and you caught me I haven't asked explicitly for it at hardware or specialty paint stores but I have emailed them with no response. Do you mean it's off the shelfs without the need to distill it out?

Awesome, I want toluene for the benzaldehyde synthesis later too.

Alright I'm more optimistic about this now, thanks all for help youve been great.

[pHarmacist]

I ment 3 mol of it, if you just think for a while, acetone has 3 carbon atoms, trimethyl-benzene has 6 C (ring) + 3 Me groups sticking outt, total of 9 carbons, 9/3=3, 3 mol acetone is needed to give the desired compound.

I'm not familliar with the practical procedure, but why not try it out yourself and tell us about it, experiment around, chemicals used are not expensive, and not hard to get.
1-2-3 ACiD

[halfkast]

thanks for the chem help.

well, no harder than xylene and toluene.

HCl is easier to find than sulfuric here luckily, drain cleaner is made of sodium hydroxide in australia. but i was sure I saw some sulfuric acid based ones I shouldve grabbed them. stupid.

What about MgO2 with a bit of heat as an oxidising agent?

anyway H2SO4 will pop up, just interested.

[pHarmacist]

in case you don't find h2so4 -conc- just buy battery acid, and boil it untill you see white fumes escaping, now it's concentrated, h2o has boiled away...
1-2-3 ACiD

[quantum]

what sort of temp are we looking at to boil the water
out of electrolite ?
is it higher than water on its own.
does this need to be done under vacuum and what sort of
fumes are we talking about

thanx for any help in advanced

e3500 console login: root
bash-2.05#

[pHarmacist]

just heat until a white fog manifests above the surface... BP of H2SO4 is 280°C so don't worrie, it won't come along with H2O, density is 1.84 g/cm³, just put a known volume on a scale and you'll know what you got after the evaporation of H2O, and how much..  the closer to 1.84 g/cm3 the better
1-2-3 ACiD

[halfkast]

MgO2. I meant MnO2.

pHarmacist Thanks a lot...

I should be able to acquire it. I think phosphoric anhydride can be used to concentrate it by dehydration too, CAS-number: 1314-56-3, but I haven't got that far...

Once I was emptying the distilled water out of those coolant holes in a car battery down my bath tub and began detecting H2S hehehe. No idea why the H2SO4 was in there. Lucky the window was open, I left the water running on low and left the room. Threw in the towel that day, first time I have played with strongish H2SO4.

Anyway ill attempt this awwesome r&d aromatic solvent when I have time and will tell you how it goes.

[Chewbacca]

Chewbacca obtained his toluene from a "glue remover" product containing 60% toluene, and 40% polymer goop. $16 for 1L of this substance, so $16 for 600ml toluene. Pretty crap by US standards but would bee useful if you only needed a small amount of toluene in AUS

[urushibara]

There is a big name supplier in oz named after the olde school word for aussie soldiers in australian slang - they have shellite, toluene, xylene and 100% (apparently) IPA

[jemma_jamerson]

that may bee the best advice as they have where urshy mentions in 1 litre bottles.

another petrol head ala super cheap auto type shop has a 20 litre drum of the methyl benzine ketone for 50 bucks

here some hot off the press thought promotion for the loverly solvent (carcnogenic) in question...

benzene + acetone - MnIIIacetate -> P2P
BENZENE from toluene or benzylalcohol or benzoic acid

written by a worthy now ghost thanks to fuck heads here at the hive

[jemma_jamerson]

or pm me if you still cant find it

[abolt]

It's hard enough to find stuff in Oz as it is, NO FUCKING SOURCES!

[jemma_jamerson]

i know you maniac  

i didnt give out a source, i know what your thinking that car place editing....

you want ya go,  

[halfkast]

Well thank you for digging up this post of mine, it's quite nice isn't it? A bit nieve maybee but I have little to hide really.

This is totally off topic, but thats because I don't require these things anymore. =)

pHarmicists aromatic solvent synth would be fun to try, it could be used to remove PEG and you could ignore VEs advice like I would (toluene too) and use it in the STE method.