MEK in Oz

[BlackBmw1]

can anyone tell me Priming Fluid for uPVC pipe fittings and it RED in colour and its a ovent for cement use with type P or type N what ever that means it has 1000ml/L MEK Methyl Ethyl Ketone in a 500ml the fuid is in RED color smells like Petrolume to me anyway or acetone ..can this be used in straight E extraction on ,,,reason for asking also same bottle same writing and everything but in blue colour and more gluey can nyone elaborate for me pls .

[NaXen]

This is MEK, but there is a dye in it. if you evap. a few drops you will see that it leaves a gummy residue, which would probably fuckup the extraction... you can probably take out the coloring by distilling it with a decent condenser, leaving the coloring gum behind (cant say for sure since ive never done this..) 

another note: MEK should smell more like acetone than petrol., but STRONGER, it should really kick your ass if you take a big breath of it

[BlackBmw1]

[ApprenticeCook]

just checking
Wait for the thud as the bee hits the floor......

For that disto you would want to use a really cold condenser and ice bath for the distillate flask, then several dreshel bottles to wash out that stench...
Think if you do it under aspirator vacuum it will pull the smell through the bottles and what doesnt get cleaned would get washed down the drain....
The smell if it released from the disto set would be bad.... and the consequences.... well.... lets hope you have a good ventillation system or a well designed fume hood....

-AC

[NaXen]

i overlooked that point.... looking at it now, it would be (near) impossible to contain the explosive (and intoxicating ) fumes with any type of "ghettoware" a dist. of this type would indeed require some hardcore cooling and 'fume containment'...thanks for pointing that out, AC. you may very well have prevented a very BAD situation.
...better search for some MEK without the dye, ive seen it sold for similar purposes (try a different brand?) in big 1L tins for industrial use, i would imagine... or just substitute acetone, if im not mistaken it has similar but milder properties (ketone group?)

[Shane_Warne]

i overlooked that point.... looking at it now, it would be (near) impossible to contain the explosive (and intoxicating) fumes with any type of "ghettoware" a dist. of this type would indeed require some hardcore cooling and 'fume containment'...

Not really.
Try a train of condenser flasks, by leading the tubing of the boiling flask to a two hole stoppered flask (or jar), then on to a second, and even 3rd. All ice cooled.

Having water in the 2nd or 3rd for more agressive (?) condensation is fine as a final measure, because the first can act as a suck-back protection mechanism.

[p2e3r4f5e6c7t8]

Helloo Black my fellow OZ bee, Try looking a little harder around at diffrent brands, Swim knows of the MEK in witch you speak of and its crap
So just look a little harder because it is out there without the redshit in it.
Watch out for them 500ml bottles

[BlackBmw1]

thanks for that info,, but i think if i go try a few  places, i may find it i had it lying around the house thought id ask..But i really didn't want to jeopardise my birthday today got to much fun waiting in store for me as for what im told from a close friend ..i thought i had read somewhere that acetone might have similar carraristics but dont do exactly the same thing something about it dissolves with Mek but not with acetone something in them lines ..correct me if im wrong i just had a brief recall of a read up i thought i had read ..or i could be thinking of something else ...i think it was one of VE post anyway i better get cracking if i want to start having - fun ..got a couple of long days in front of me and probably need help ...Cheers
 

[p2e3r4f5e6c7t8]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Blackbmw
If swim was dreaming about using MEK for washing his psudo then that would bee swip's choice aswell, But he has been known to use acetone when he has no MEK around.
Psuedo is only very slightly souluble in acetone, But if it is properly dried it should be fine, Just save your washes untill the final yield has been calculated and gooo from there.
Thats mmy rambling for swip, Anyway hope ya have fun and happy birthday again mate

[ApprenticeCook]

The disto of things like MEK and MeNO2 have the ability to go nasty if the correct precautions for the material are not taken into account....

For the MEK disto (as it was said above) can be done with a vacuum (to be able to disto with a lower heat requirement, hence lower possible fire risk) pulling through an ice cooled condenser (maybe two in series) then into a flask with acetone/dry ice bath and vacuum lines running through the dry ice bath (to paritally/fully condense any vapours which make it through) into a few wash bottles then through an activated carbon filter....

If you use an aspirator vacuum for this it would be better as after the filter whatever makes it through would be dumped into the water and down the drain...

Never done it myself but that sounds like a nice safe way to do it... but im with whats been said already, its out there, without the dye, just look at different brands, its out there.

-AC

[quantum]

[ApprenticeCook]

[abolt]

[quantum]

[ambi]

Just so all you guys know, the mek, that you talk of, 1000g/l, is eminately usefull,
Atmospheric distillation removes the red, so just relax,
Just use a decent copndensor,.

ambi

[ApprenticeCook]

We didnt say the disto wouldnt work, but what we were pondering about is how to best manage the irritation and highly flammable nature of MEK, especially the vapours from partially condensed distillate.....
Then the thread got thrown into people talking about straight MEK without the dye and whatever....

Either way is fine, if you are good at disto with such materials as MEK just go buy whatever and distill it out, otherwise look around as it is availible, but not everywhere these days....
Best idea would be to distill it anyway from the source, as handyman products labeled MEK are not necessarily of any reliable purity...

-AC

[ambi]

Distillation is rigourous, open flames would not be a good idea, again, its kinda like that of ethanol, or acetone boiling,.
Someones textbook also showed no noticable problems where found distilling  with 30cm tightly packed glass shard fraction column, dye will stay behind with little fractionating,.

Swim personally finds Ph-CH3 a little scary,.

ambi

[ApprenticeCook]

open flames would not be a good idea
No, dont think they would.... unless you like to be fried, in a non drug induced way....
Hot plate or better yet heating mantle..... easy electric power....

its kinda like that of ethanol, or acetone boiling
Yeah, but increase the hazard factor and flooding smell values ten fold....

The dye will stay behind regardless of the use of a fractioning column or not.... as long as efficient stirring and slow, even heating is used.

Swim personally finds Ph-CH3 a little scary
What has toluene got to do with this question?

Do you actually know what your talking about? your post lacks formation of clear thought...
-AC