Make Diethyl ether

[Sonia1978NYC]

I thought that the video was highly informative but the BEST part is this! (The comments) are funny as HELL! :-D

[9Iamthewalrus]

K, got it. I'm off to las Vegas.

[SaboeMC]

1) What is the length of the condenser?

2) Where did you buy the amber bottles?

[ninjamoonshine7]

exactly how dangerous is it to huff ether fumes?

[DudeRandomsome]

back in the day i would just spray a can of starter fluid into a water bottle then fill the rest up with water then take the half i somehow concluded was the good half. then i would huff it. then i would trade bottles of that dirty ether for weed and pills. primarily adderall.

i'm pretty sure i may have gotten some brain damage.

i'm even more sure huffing gas and toluene knocked my iq down below 100.

i hate my life.

[vmelkon]

So, you've kept this ether until now? It has been 2 years!

[virusmakers]

c4h10oa is the formula

[Grundalizer]

3 neck RBF is like $100

[myst32YT]

@Grundalizer Buy used it is 45$

[watchmefall555]

@Grundalizer Buy it from china its like 35

[purplemutantas]

@Grundalizer I got a 500ml 3 neck RBF new on ebay for $40. It's the alchemy brand from Canada. Look for the seller alchemylab.

[watchmefall555]

Won't the way you have set up your ethanol addition funnel cause the ethanol to instantly boil with the heat from the ether vapors? On another unrelated note, would a vigreux condenser help reduce the amount of water boiled over to only the azeotropic limit?

[myst32YT]

@watchmefall555 First question... yes to some degree.. using a funnel that can add  the ethanol "under" the sulfuric layer would be best. However I did not have such a funnel at the time I made this video. Second question I would say yes... but prob not by much.. The water/ether azeotrope is pretty easy to get to with even a simple distillation setup if you are careful. Note: I try to keep the amount of "stuff" you need to perform the experiment to a min. But if you got it use it. ;-)

[VicariousReality7]

You sound drunk

[98JMA]

If I were to use denatured alcohol, which is contaminated by methanol, would it make a difference?

[DKMdkm123]

Cant you get high off of ether?

[erichizz09]

@DKMdkm123 yes it will make you trip balls but its really not good to do in public. it will make you seem like your drunk as shit and its like really hard to walk and shit. its crazy as fuck though

[derpguyjohn]

@DKMdkm123

So high you won't scream if somebody starts sawing your leg off.

Hence its historical medical use.

[DKMdkm123]

@derpguyjohn so where would i get some of this ether?

[8xngc]

good video- informative, concise and safety was not overlooked. thanks

[Atsuke]

^o^

[eskade1]

What power of water pump for cooling system do you use?

[toothpick93]

can i substitute the Sulfuric Acid with Hydrochloric acid? is is the only acid i have alot off or can easily buy it

[vmelkon]

@toothpick93 hydrochloric acid contains a lot of water. You need something concentrated like 95% or better H2SO4 or perhaps H3PO4. I'm not sure about the H3PO4, I just threw that in.

[Matrix29bear]

Good thing he stoppered that bottle with a plastic cap considering that Ether just loves to dissolve plastics. Heh.

[Aranwu]

would it work better if we add in a drying agent for example, anhydrous sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) or Magnesium sulfate ?

[LasagnaIsGood]

if a dab a little of this stuff on a handkerchief and hold it over someones face would they pass out?

[dougd1015]

Hunter S Thompson got high from the stuff.

"like a drunkard from an old Irish tale"

[LHCb42]

Also, since the acid is catalytic, have you tried using a smaller amount? It also seems that in a scale-up of this reaction, one would not have to scale up the H2SO4 since its concentration in the distilling flask is virtually constant while the ethanol is added, reacts, and ether is distilled.

[myst32YT]

@LHCb42 The acid is a catalyst yes but it's availably is very important for this reaction to work. Since water is also a product the water dilutes the acid thus making is availably to the reactants lower. At some point the reaction slows to a halt due to the build up of water. Thus you need to add a proportional amount of acid to get maximum yield.

[atourdeforce]

@myst32YT I am doing a project in which i have to come up with a process to extract organic narcotics from a hypomellulose binder and i was wondering do you think dichloromethane will work to do a liquid extraction od the compound dissolved in water, or would i need to use something like ether??

[LHCb42]

@myst32YT Where did you get your heating mantle from? I've been trying to find one for a good price to no avail.

[govnance]

I ask that if anyone can let me help. I read a lot on the net that the simple mixing of water and engine starting fluid, witch contains diethyl ether can get pure diethyl ether. For me important is to know if it's just a nonsense or is actually possible in this way extract the ether. Thank you in advance.

P.S. If anyone knows how to get ether somewhere else or buy the finished product or something similar let me know, thanks again.

[pyropakman]

Sorry for all the questions, but I have two now: the difference between an addition funnel and sep funnel is the ground glass joint, right? Pressure equalizer?

Also, how many mL saturated NaCl would you suggest adding if we don't get two layers to form post-distillation?

[myst32YT]

@pyropakman Correct on the ground glass joint.. the Pressure equalize addition funnel has a glass tube running from the glass joint to the top of the funnel. It releases any pressure to the top of the funnel.... thus your drip rate remains constant.

You can add NaCl directly to the sep if you like until it is saturated. If the mixture is saturated and does not form 2 layers... then you don't have any ether.

[pyropakman]

If we want even boiling, could we instead use boiling chips?

[myst32YT]

@pyropakman yes that will be fine...

[rrkss]

very nice synthesis. I think your temperature is a little bit on the high side though. I always run the reaction between 135 - 145 degrees. Just like you I like to use my mantle to distill the product and replace the sand with normal boiling chips. The calcium chloride complexes with the ether and if you distill the purified ether from calcium chloride, you can remove the ethanol from the ether for grignards.

[rrkss]

@rrkss I meant to say that the calcium chloride complexes with the ethanol allowing you to seperate it from the ether.

[bfesser]

I'm surprised and a little worried to see the electrical box inside your fume hood. You might want to consider moving it outside the hood--especially if you're distilling diethyl ether. Even resistivity in the wires or contacts causing them to heat up could ignite it.

[DoktorKlawonn]

Very nice and clean procedure, good commenting. 300 ml of ether is quite an amount.

[hkparker]

Great explanation, looks like Ill have to be making more ether so I can attempt your upcoming videos. For super dry purification, is distillation with sodium metal an option?

[myst32YT]

@hkparker It needs to be really close to dry before using sodium... no need to distill.. any sodium hydroxide that forms will fall to the bottom. Just decant the super dry ether. If you distill it you would likely reintroduce water as it is difficult to remove all the water from the glass wear.

[hkparker]

@myst32YT cool, ill be working on that

[Matrix29bear]

@hkparker - "Great explanation, looks like Ill have to be making more ether so I can attempt your upcoming videos. For super dry purification, is distillation with sodium metal an option?"

Do you enjoy FIRE, burning, screaming wildly, running around in random frenzied circles with your arms flailing as your flesh and hair flames into bright colors? Go ahead, don't let me stop you. Improve the genepool by removing foolish genes from it.

[hkparker]

@Matrix29bear You are the foolish one!!! It is recommended that ether is dried by distillation over Na as it is non reactive, so long as it is not distilled to dryness to avoid ether peroxide. Were talking about removing small amounts of water, after its dried with CaCl2. Google: "Solvent drying"...

[coolliger]

great video

[ytmachx]

Great video. Good explanation.

[Peterditaa]

as long as you dont have a SiO2 catalyst, you will not get any ethylene at all.

Have you noticed a slight peppermintish smell while performing this synthesis? if so, you yielded a sideproduct of the ether synthesis: Diethyl sulfate. Very volatile chemical that forms when temperature is too high or too much ethanol is in contact with sulfuric acid (thats why in other synthesis guides ive seen they add the ethanol dropwise while destilling).

[myst32YT]

@Peterditaa Interesting... just got done reading about this after you posted it... No I did not smell any peppermint smells... but I watch this reaction like a hawk constantly adjusting the temp. I am also adding the ethanol drop wise.. though I did not do a good job in showing it. Thanks for posting this... learn something new everyday and I am always taken back by how knowledgeable my viewing audience is.

[allmyenemies]

How can i prevent ether peroxides? You mean add NaOH to the ether and storing in this solution NaOH/Ethyl Ether ?

Very compliments, your videos are always at the top :)

[myst32YT]

@allmyenemies You can store over sodium sulfite or sodium/potassium hydroxide. Siencemadness org has an thread called "Very old Ethyl Ether" you can read for other ways to store and destroy peroxides.

[Chaoschemiker]

Be careful storing ether in a refrigerator! Even "laboratory-refrigerators" aren't always "explosion protected", there are still ignition sources like the lamp of the door, any temperature-sensors, or even due to static discharge while open the door. Better to store in a surely "ex-protected" refrigerator, or in any cool and dark corner in the house.

[myst32YT]

@Chaoschemiker Thanks!! good advice!!

[sgtsysop]

I use everclear in my shop heater, 12 ml burns for an hour in the right conditions.