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What is the most readily available non-polar solvent?
| Q: |
What is the most popular and readily available non-polar solvent that people use with morning glory seeds? Toluene is illegal in many areas, chloroform is hard to get if not also illegal, and so on. I'm curious what non-polar solvents are available for purchase without too many problem.
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| A: |
This question is difficult to answer because of differences in local laws and chemical availability from one place to another. Alkanes like butane, pentane, and hexane are "too" non-polar for the extraction compared to toluene and chloroform. Dichloromethane (DCM) and ethyl acetate (EtOAc) are both reasonable alternatives, but if chloroform and toluene are illegal, obtaining these solvents may prove even more difficult.
Diethyl ether is another possibility, as it is contained in "starting fluid" but it's extremely volatile and explodes readily. One of the contributors to this answer lost his eye lashes, parts of his eyebrows, and all of his hair (not to mention the painful but fortunately quickly healed burns to his face) when he used a relatively small amount of diethyl ether to get a small fire lit (kerosene refused to remain lit). Diethyl ether obtained from starting fluid isn't considered an attractive solvent for other reasons as well, mainly that it contains oily impurities that will remain in the finished product.
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Categories:
[ Extraction ]
[ Morning Glory ]
[ Chemistry ]
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