https://preview.redd.it/aw8u0kmcpuxc1.jpg?width=2268&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1ea4fd2de09c087e656d0f5cf961343aab5b8642

She mixed corn starch, water, and purple food coloring together. After leaving it sit for a day, the excess water separated to the top. But instead of staying purple, the water was blue and the cornstarch portion pink.

Im in the UK and only have access to 12% H2O2 but would like to purify it a bit. I don't need something excessive or even past 30% but only something to make a permanganate rocket engine or nice elephant toothpaste. I mostly just enjoy scientific demonstrations so nothing really dangerous or high-end. Would a drying agent such as anhydrous MgSO4 work or something else. Thanks in advanve

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There has to be a reasonable method to convert the top compound into the lower example. Simple curiosity is all.

Looking to make some basic ethanol extracts of bioactive plants (eg Melissa, Valeriana and Salvia offìcinalis; pelagronium, nepeta, nicotina) for human consumption and use as reagents.

Does anyone have a reliable vendor for food grade ethanol of >90% purity besides liquid essences and the local polish shop.

Preferably cheap as I'd be very happy to crystallise like a kilogram of valeric acid or linalool but to do so would require copious amounts of ethanol - I have plenty of everything else, solvent is sadly the rate limiting factor.

Cheers, and happy chemistry-ing everyone!

I saw this video about making a flammable gel from eggshells vinegar and alcohol and I am wondering if I could get more detailed instructions for it https://youtube.com/shorts/R7h-a5y5Mz8?si=_4KL6Tcj7ON1u54-

the scale is practically new and i don’t have a nist certification as i bought it from a friend thinking i could find a use to it but unfortunately not lol, but if you have any other questions feel free to pm me.

prices are negotiable as well.

Just finished today this new sample for my collection, it's an ampule of dilute cobalt (II) nitrate that i made and sealed a while back and finally encased it in resin so i can put it on display without having to worry about it breaking. The resin job wasn't really perfect especially on the backside but overall i'm satisfied with the result and as a cobalt connoisseur i'm happy to beeing able to see my beautiful Co2+ red colour everyday

How do you isolate potassium from potassium gluconate?

As above, what projects would you recommend to a beginner that are accessible without being too basic or boring?

Ive so far grown some copper sulfate crystals and distilled limonene from oranges.

I wanted to get vanillin from ligninsulfonate, but said chemical seems expensive and hard to get in germany.

Anything similar that has extractions and/or organic reactions?

I have:

-hotplate -heating mantle -distillation setup -liebig and dimroth condensers -Some round bottom flasks -various flasks and beakers -separation funnel -gravity filtration equipment -pH paper -Plastic containers -a questionable fumehood -lab stands

-Ethanol -Sodium Hydroxide -HCl -Acetone -Copper Sulfate -Distilled water -3% h2o2

And safety stuff such as coat, goggles labcoat, sand, fire extinguisher, sand and a fire blanket as well as the aforementioned weak fumehood

What is a good source for good quality glassware (other than amazon)? Things like erlenmeyer flasks with 24/40 joints.

So I'm trying to follow NileRed's video on extracting elemental iodine from betadyne (iodine povidone)

https://youtu.be/FNf8PSda7iI?si=jgxnoeClWvsJqsuY

I followed all the steps, albeit without a stirring hotplate and with cruddy coffee filters. Everything seemed fine until I added the peroxide, at which point it turned into a fluffy brown suspension.

https://imgur.com/a/UlXMk82

I'm wondering if I botched the whole thing or if it can be recovered (possibly by redoing the acid-base conversion from the beginning)?

My understanding of chemistry is very basic, so I am not sure if I am interpreting this right.

So in the first step here Potassium Hydroxide is used. Could this just be substituted for NaOH? Im guessing the hydroxide is the part actually doing the work?

Then second is an oxidation. So one could use any sufficiently strong oxidizing agent? Like would hydrogen peroxide be applicable?

I've watched the videos on YouTube https://www.bealsscience.com/post/2017/11/07/fire-gel-fuel-made-from-egg-shells-and-vinegar about making fire gel from egg shells. I did it on a smaller scale made enough for a tea light candle sized amount. Burned it worked well. But was left with white residue in the burn dish.

I've tried to look up what this would be but all the stuff I've found on line stop at it burns and not what is left after the burn

I am sure there is much better chemists out there then me

What's left in my burn dish?

So I went: cotton plug, mystic white pool filter sand, 1 tablespoon of food grade diatomaceous earth, and a light coating of sand atop all with acetone as the eluent. But even with this amount of solid phase the column is soooooo slooow.

Will this work for separating polar products or am I doomed to purchase some big boy silica gel?

So here's my setup.. I've never done this extraction before - first time with the soxhlet. Mostly doing it for the crystalization results. 25g of ground peppercorns. Hoping for at least 1g of piperine and I'll consider it a success.

Im new to home chemistry. As a jumping off point I did a distillation of limonene from orange peels, but ended up with some burned orange gunk in my round bottom flask.

I am not quite able to get rid of it all, as pure soap and water didn’t cut it.

Some HCl and in a later attempt, an acetone/ethanol mixture managed to remove a significant amount of the dirt, but there are still a few resiliant last specs left.

I lack a brush that would be able to reach the stained areas. Where do I get one, are there specialized ones for this very purpose?

Do you have any simple equipment or chemicals that could allow me to get my flask all clean again?

Has anyone ever tried to make chloroform directly from methanol by reacting methanol with hydrochloric acid to give chloromethane, and then mixing it with chlorine and subjecting it to UV light e.g from a torch to make chloroform along with dichloromethane and tetrachloromethane?

What is your home set up like? Do you have vent hoods, stir bars and plates, a hot plate?

I want to make a home lab someday but Im not sure how to start. Would a beginner chemistry set be enough?