N propanol is not more polar than methanol… I don’t know why you’d say that. It should have properties intermediate between ethanol and iso.
I suppose it might be depending on which way you are going. Winterize in n-propanol and LLE to heptane might be a good process
Yep I goofed that up lol. Cheerfully retracted
or what about Propene?
Its more polar than ethanol and takes more energy to evaporate, it would have to be significantly cheaper than our usual solvents to be an attractive alternative.
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Propane is also know as propylene and makes up 30-60% of the “Propane” you get from the gas station. Where I’m at the dominant brand is Blue Rhino and it contains about 50% propene.
I’ve been meaning to deodorize some gas station propane and see if the increased polarity of propene can be successfully negated by a subzero extraction. It could be an econonical solution for folks in remote areas who have to buy tanks of butane shipped.
Different molecule. Propane is C3H8 as opposed to N-Propanol C3H8O. Propene is C3H6…
PropENE is prolly expensive af
Edit: just checked. It is not expensive af and as @ScoobyDoobie mentioned it’s pretty much mixed w propane and sold as propane.
Who knew!
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I know this is silly, but I’m still pursuing a temperature range fix for countertop water dispensers. N-Propanol has a boiling point of 97c and water at 100c. They both boil away and re-condense at nearly the same rate so this is a better match that using ethanol in the machine. Ethanol (evreclear 190 proof) is $75 a gallon here in Oregon, N-Propanol is $42, big savings…
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The separation of propane from propene is one of the most ( I actually think its the most) energy intensive processes in the petrochemical industry. Its essentially treated as a waste stream so naturally its cheap.
This is precisely the reason I wanted to explore the idea, but propylene’s tendency to polymerize had me a little spooked. Could you maybe explain my unfounded fears away?
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Hmm… Just stumbled across this - Oregon removed Butanol, Propanol, and Ethanol from the list of chemicals to be tested. This was in 2016 as a temporary move till their regulations settled. 2017 final regulations left the three off the testing list…
https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/DISEASESCONDITIONS/CHRONICDISEASE/MEDICALMARIJUANAPROGRAM/Documents/rules/333-007-0410-Exhibit-A-eff-05-31-17.pdf
ScoobyDoobie, Actually, I did some testing on Methanol. I got a quote from a local distiller for $5 a gallon. Problem is, minimum order is a 55 gallon poly drum. Can’t quite store that in the shed out back… Here’s the thread on Methanol -
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How does adding an aliphatic carbon make a molecule more polar
If you have a race track near by ask them how they price their methanol by the gallon. I get mine for $6/gal, good folks too.
Idk, I’m going off of dielectric constant as a rough estimate of polarity. Propene has a higher dielectric constant than propane. This trend usually indicates greater degree of polarity or dipole movement.
What about N-Butanol?
Definitely gonna be harder to source locally than methanol. Dielectric constant of butanol or propanol are both lower than ethanol and both are more non polar than ethanol. But both take more energy to evaporate than ethanol or methanol and are likely more expensive per 55gal drum. This greater tendency towards non polarity probably won’t translate to a better option as a solvent. In fact its probably have the opposite effect.
This tendency towards non polarity is only going to mean that lipids will have a greater affinity to dissolve into the more non polar alcohols at any given temperature, which means winterization in these solvents will be less effective.
The main reason to use any alcohol is as a post processing step to remove the waxes. If your solvent has a greater ability to hold waxes, even at low temps then your ability to clean up your extract with that solvent is significantly less than if you used methanol.
What exactly is your intended use if propanol or butanol?
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You should look into using Spirytus Wesoly 192 Proof Vodka. There’s no corn smell. how do you deodorize everclear
Haven’t looked into it yet, but you’ve piqued my interest…
Good info in Wikipedia…
There’s a prior thread on that too
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