Anhydrous potassium carbonate

Prepare a mixture of 30 ml, of aniline, 8 g. of o-chloro-benzoic acid, 8 g. of anhydrous potassium carbonate and 0 4 g. of copper oxide in a 500 ml. round-bottomed flask fitted with an air-condenser, and then boil the mixture under reflux for 1 5 hours the mixture tends to foam during the earlier part of the heating owing to the evolution of carbon dioxide, and hence the large flask is used. When the heating has been completed, fit the flask with a steam-distillation head, and stcam-distil the crude product until all the excess of aniline has been removed. The residual solution now contains the potassium. V-phenylanthrani-late add ca. 2 g. of animal charcoal to this solution, boil for about 5 minutes, and filter hot. Add dilute hydrochloric acid (1 1 by volume) to the filtrate until no further precipitation occurs, and then cool in ice-water with stirring. Filter otT the. V-phcnylanthranilic acid at the pump, wash with water, drain and dry. Yield, 9-9 5 g. I he acid may be recrystallised from aqueous ethanol, or methylated spirit, with addition of charcoal if necessary, and is obtained as colourless crystals, m.p. 185-186°. 

Alcohols Anhydrous potassium carbonate anhydrous magnesium or calcium sulphate quicklime. 

Ketones Anhydrous sodium, magnesium or calcium sulphate anhydrous potassium carbonate. 

Higher alcohols. These may be purified by drying with anhydrous potassium carbonate or with anhydrous calcium sulphate, and fractionated after filtration from the desiccant. Bark corks (or ground glass joints) should be used rubber stoppers are slightly attacked. The boiUng points of the fractions to be collected are as follows —... 

Mono-alkyl ethers of ethylene glycol, ROCHjCHjOH. The mono methyl, ethyl and n-butyl ethers are inexpensive and are known as methyl cellosolve, cellosolve, and butyl cellosolve respectively. They are completely miscible with water, and are excellent solvents. The commercial products are purified by drying over anhydrous potassium carbonate or anhydrous calcium sulphate, followed by fractionation after... 

The acetone is refluxed with successive small quantities of potassium permanganate until the violet colour persists. It is then dried with anhydrous potassium carbonate or anhydrous calcium sulphate, filtered from the desiccant, and fractionated precautions are taken to exclude moisture. 

If it is desired to purify an inferior product, 1 litre of it is refiuxed for 6 hours with 85 ml. of acetic anhydride and then distilled through a fractionating column the liquid passing over at 56-57° is collected. The distillate is shaken with 20 g. of anhydrous potassium carbonate for 10 minutes, filtered and redistilled. The resulting methyl acetate has a purity of 99- 9 %. 

Ethyl acetate. Various grades of ethyl acetate are marketed. The anhydrous comjjound, b.p. 76-77°, is of 99 per cent, purity, is inexpensive, and is suitable for most purposes. The 95-98 per cent, grade usually contains some water, ethyl alcohol and acetic acid, and may be ptuified in the following manner. A mixture of 1 litre of the commercial ethyl acetate, 100 ml. of acetic anhydride and 10 drops of concentrated sulphuric acid is refluxed for 4 hours and then fractionated. The distU-late is shaken with 20-30 g. of anhydrous potassium carbonate, filtered and redistilled. The final product has a purity of about 99-7% and boils at 77°/760 mm. 

The chloroform is shaken two or three times with a small volume (say, 5 per cent.) of concentrated sulphuric acid, thoroughly washed with water, dried over anhydrous calcium chloride or anhydrous potassium carbonate, and distilled. 

Use the apparatus detailed in Section 111,20. Dissolve 100 g. (123 ml.) of methyl n-butyl ketone (2-hexanone) (Section 111,152) in 750 ml. of ether and add 150 ml. of water. Introduce 69 g. of clean sodium in the form of wire (or small pieces) as rapidly as possible the reaction must be kept under control and, if necessary, the flask must be cooled in ice or in running water. When all the sodium has reacted, separate the ethereal layer, wash it with 25 ml. of dilute hydrochloric acid (1 1), then with water, dry with anhydrous potassium carbonate or with anhydrous calcium sulphate, and distil through a fractionating column. Collect the fraction of b.p. 136-138°. The yield of methyl n-butyl carbinol (2-hexanol) is 97 g. 

Freshly distilled ethyl formate must be used. Commercial ethyl formate may be purified as follows. Allow the ethyl formate to stand for 1 hour with 16 per cent, of its weight of anhydrous potassium carbonate with occasional shaking. Decant the ester into a dry flask containing a little fresh anhydrous potassium carbonate and allow to stand for a further hour. Filter into a di flask and distil through an efficient fractionating column, and collect the fraction, b.p. 53-54° protect the receiver from atmospheric moisture. 

Dibromobutane (from 1 4-butanediol). Use 45 g. of redistilled 1 4-butanediol, 6-84 g. of purified red phosphorus and 80 g. (26 ml.) of bromine. Heat the glycol - phosphorus mixture to 100-150° and add the bromine slowly use the apparatus of Fig. Ill, 37, 1. Continue heating at 100-150° for 1 hour after all the bromine has been introduced. Allow to cool, dilute with water, add 100 ml. of ether, and remove the excess of red phosphorus by filtration. Separate the ethereal solution of the dibromide, wash it successively with 10 per cent, sodium thiosulphate solution and water, then dry over anhydrous potassium carbonate. Remove the ether on a water bath and distil the residue under diminished pressure. Collect the 1 4-dibromobutane at 83-84°/12 mm. the yield 3 73 g. 

Trimethylene Di-iodide. Use 76 g. of trimethylene glycol, 27 - 52 g. of pmified red phosphorus and 254 g. of iodine. Lag the arm C (Fig. Ill, 40, ) with asbestos cloth. Stop the heating immediately all the iodine has been transferred to the fiask. Add water to the reaction mixture, decolourise with a httle sodium bisulphite, filter, separate the crude iodide, wash it twice with water, dry with anhydrous potassium carbonate and distU under reduced pressure. B.p. 88-89°/6 mm. Yield 218 g. (a colourless liquid). 

Di-n-amyl ether. Use 50 g. (61 5 ml.) of n-amyl alcohol (b.p. 136-137°) and 7 g. (4 ml.) of concentrated sulphuric acid. The calculated volume of water (5 ml.) is collected when the temperature inside the flask rises to 157° (after 90 minutes). Steam distil the reaction mixture, separate the upper layer of the distillate and dry it with anhydrous potassium carbonate. Distil from a 50 ml. Claisen flask and collect the fractions of boiling point (i) 145-175° (13 g.), (ii) 175-185° (8 g.) and (iii) 185-190° (largely 185-185-5°) (13 g.). Combine fractions (i) and (u), reflux for 1 hour in a small flask with 3 g. of sodium, and distil from the sodium amyloxide and excess of sodium this yields 9 5 g. of fairly pure n-amyl ether (iv). The total yield is therefore 22 - 5 g. A perfectly pure product, b.p. 184 185°, is obtained by further distillation from a Little sodium. 

Place 50 g. of anhydrous calcium chloride and 260 g. (323 ml.) of rectified spirit (95 per cent, ethyl alcohol) in a 1-litre narrow neck bottle, and cool the mixture to 8° or below by immersion in ice water. Introduce slowly 125 g. (155 ml.) of freshly distilled acetaldehyde, b.p. 20-22° (Section 111,65) down the sides of the bottle so that it forms a layer on the alcoholic solution. Close the bottle with a tightly fitting cork and shake vigorously for 3-4 minutes a considerable rise in temperature occurs so that the stopper must be held well down to prevent the volatilisation of the acetaldehyde. Allow the stoppered bottle to stand for 24-30 hours with intermittent shaking. (After 1-2 hours the mixture separates into two layers.) Separate the upper layer ca. 320 g.) and wash it three times with 80 ml. portions of water. Dry for several hours over 6 g. of anhydrous potassium carbonate and fractionate with an efficient column (compare Section 11,17). Collect the fraction, b.p. 101-104°, as pure acetal. The yield is 200 g. 

An alternative method of working up the distillate, which has its advantages when dealing with volatile ketones or when it is suspected that conversion into the ketone is incomplete, is to treat the combined ketones with sodium hydroxide pellets until the mixture is alkaline. Should solids separate, these may be dissolved by the addition of a little water. The ketone is then separated, dried over anhydrous potassium carbonate, and fractionated. 

Mix 200 g. of adipic acid intimately with 10 g. of finely-powdered, crystallised barium hydroxide. Place the mixture in a 1-litre distilling flask, fitted with a thermometer reaching to within 5 mm. of the bottom connect the flask with a condenser and receiver. Heat the mixture gradually in an air bath (1) to 285-295° during about 90 minutes and maintain it at this temperature mitil only a small amount of dry residue remains in the flask this requires a further 2 hours. The temperature must not be allowed to rise above 300°, since at this temperature the adipic acid distils quite rapidly the best working temperature is 290°. The cycZopentanone distils slowly accompanied by a little adipic acid. Separate the ketone from the water in the distillate, and dry it with anhydrous potassium carbonate this treatment simultaneously removes the traces of adipic acid present. Finally distil from a flask of suitable size and collect the cycZopentanone at 128-131°. The yield is 92 g. 

Fit a 750 ml. round-bottomed flask with a fractionating column attached to a condenser set for downward distillation. Place 500 g. of diacetone alcohol (the crude product is quite satisfactory), 01 g. of iodine and a few fragments of porous porcelain in the flask. Distil slowly. with a small free flame (best in an air bath) and collect the following fractions (a) 56-80° (acetone and a little mesityl oxide) (6) 80-126° (two layers, water and mesityl oxide) and (c) 126-131° (mesityl oxide). Whilst fraction (c) is distilling, separate the water from fraction (6), dry with anhydrous potassium carbonate or anhydrous magnesium sulphate, and fractionate from a small flask collect the mesityl oxide at 126-131°. The yield is about 400 g. 

---