Just wondering... what are the purposes of the washes (Sat. NaCl and sat. NaBicarb) in the benzoquinone wacker? Ol'Dirty know the NaOH removes the solvated quinone so it wont clog up the condensor, but why the others.
Also, In the past ODB has had difficulty seeing the different layers in the sep funnel during these washes. Often he uses a huge flashlight to look through the sep funnel. But what about this...
If you have say a >5L beaker, you could put your DCM/Ketone/wash mixture (~2L) in the beaker. You could then slowly run your water down the sides of the 5L beaker. As the water mixes with the "washed" part, the Ketone/ DCM (~500ml) would stay at the bottom of the flask. You'd be able to see the seperate layers much easier. Just a thought??
Man, I'm so high, I have no idea what's goin' on