Hello everyone, wanted to chat, and study how bad DCM is?
Talking about its vapors.
How good of an idea would it be to work in appartement with respirator and open windows? (and fan near window\balcony)
How long do you think DCM can stay in appartement? (really interesting)
Some folks do 3D paintings and use DCM, not even scared of it. (i for sure do, coz it’s cancerous and it’s scary)
What are your thought on DCM?
(Also just to be sure…
If we purge DCM, with vacuum, and it goes thru cold-trap with isoprop and dry ice…
Will ALL dcm be catched?)
I’m almost sure cold-trap will catch all DCM if done right…
This one pulled me out of retirement. No, DCM would not be wise to use outside of a fume hood or in a residence. A cold trap will not reliably condense 100% of DCM vapor. It’s extremely volatile, and it would be naive to think it will be handled in such a way that none ever is spilled or otherwise allowed to evaporate into the open air. It’s a carcinogen, it can be absorbed through the skin, and it can cause abnormal heart rhythms/heart attack/cardiac arrest especially in people with a predisposition. Unless you have your pump exhausted routed through a thermal oxidizer, you’re gonna get some exposure and pass it along to the innocent residents of your building.
Good ventilation and a makeshift hood is plenty
Since dcm is nonflammable you can use any fan
A Lagan kitchen fume hood from ikea some hose and some plywood will make a decent fume hood second hand sliding window frame if you want to go fancy
Dcm is heavy so drops to the floor so take that in account when building your hood
I have worked with washing machine cardboard boxes for this
Don t over complicate things like it s cyanide
As for vacuum hoses use hdpe drip system Waterhose black colored
DCM is annoying to work with due to material compatibility; everything within the processing system needs to be PTFE, stainless, glass, or another specifically compatible material. A lot of common seal and hose materials will degrade or swell pretty quickly, and even the vapor can damage incompatible tubing quickly. Transfers are generally best done via positive displacement because DCM is so volatile. Vacuum transfers; even with decent cold traps, can generate a ridiculous amount of vapor.
It is one of my favorite solvents because it is not flammable under normal handling conditions, so it can be somewhat more forgiving from an ignition risk standpoint than other solvents. however it is far from benign; Its toxicity and vapor exposure hazards are significant, and safe handling is very dependent on good ventilation, containment, and compatible equipment.
keep strong oxidizers away from DCM; Depending on the oxidizer, temperature, and process conditions you can get violent reactions or decomposition. Thermally decomposed and partially oxidized chlorinated solvents can generate extremely nasty products, things like hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, chlorine decomp products, and even potentially phosgene.
It also has a very low boiling point so it is relatively easy for an exothermic reaction to exceed the system’s ability to remove heat. Once the solvent starts boiling aggressively, vapor generation increases extremely fast. In an open or properly vented system that may show up as violent reflux. solvent loss, or gassing out a room. in closed system it can generate alot of pressure qucikly that can pop fittings out of glass reactors, or worse..
all that said, I wouldn’t call DCM inherently “bad”; it is an extremely useful solvent, but it is one where equipment compatibility, vapor control, temperature control, and process design matter a lot more than people sometimes realize.
Btw… If we make DIY kitchen hood, connect it to building vent, and suck DCM vapours, and vacuum pump outlet with those “pipes”, then no DCM in my apartment…
will it be dangerous for other people living in the building? other apartment-condo?
Or would it be way better to make hood go to the balcony (and make so it only goes out, leak-proof)
can be done if we swap glass section in door - for plastic, make a hole for vent, and then tape it goood
Every 3D print-head I’ve met was terrified (or extremely respectful) of DCM, as the cancer-causing caustic molecule it is. I haven’t used the stuff extensively, as I have safer alternatives in most avenues of work, but I would be very careful pumping caustics into communal utilities and infrastructure. Death is permanent.
Dude you are making a fuzz out of nothing dcm is no mothersmilk fact
But you are making a fuzz over a what 1 liter volume experiment ?
I have been working verrry intensively with dcm
Over the past 8 years together with acetone nitril and yes there has always been a lot of ventilation present and ALWAYS wearing a good face mask with fresh cassettes
They need changing every few days if stored properly
Shit we use dcm to mop the floors in one facility that has ceramic tilling
Yust use common sense and you ll be fine
Merriam didn’t have a pH definition for acidic, but if we’re getting nitpicky: DCM is corrosive, not acidic, as it’s a non-aqueous solution. I don’t really see why the CBD->THC conversion matters here; I’m not saying it’s an ineffective solvent.
I am saying it’s very irresponsible to pipe this chemical and its vapors into a residential building in which you have no way to verify it’s making it outside safely and not into someone’s sleeping room via a crack, or any of the other worldly possibilities. Whether or not the concentration is dangerous is also not verifiable, and a stupidly unethical, unscientific way to do things… unless you also like pumping rats full of makeup prototypes…
None of which apply or are feasible doing bootleg chem in a communal apartment building.
I am sorry I took this caustic as basic like caustic soda is
Yes it s a very corrosive solvent reason I recommended hdpe hose since it s cheap and dcm resistant ( technical dcm is transported in hdpe bins)
They are saying that it’s fucked up that he was even considering exposing other people in a residential setting to these risks without their knowledge or consent to make his drugs.
