Making Chloroform

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Also don't repeat this at home.

#chemistry
#experiment

[thebamplayer]

"Please don't do it at home."
Fine, I'll have to do it at school.

[Edge]

When pouring commit to the pour it will reduce the liquid spillage…

[kingfrog]

Thanks for the tip. Now I won't look suspicious for buying chloroform every 3rd Thursday every month in the afternoon.

[yyyyyk]

I never knew chloroform is carcinogenic.
Thanks for sharing this knowledge with us.

[platinumsky]

First, you need to either read the concentration of bleach on the bottle (since it depends on the product, anywhere from 10-30%+) or measure it in a known reaction, and from there use an amount of acetone perhaps 5% below stoichiometric amounts since bleach can be separated from the chloroform more easily than any remaining acetone.

IMPORTANT EDIT!!!
As another commenter pointed out, this reaction must be carefully controlled, using slow mixing and constant temperature regulation, such as using an ice bath, due to its exothermic nature (meaning it releases heat). If not properly managed, the increased temperature can significantly raise the risk of producing hazardous byproducts, including phosgene gas. Phosgene is a highly toxic chemical that was historically used as a chemical warfare agent and can cause severe lung damage even at low concentrations. To minimize this risk, it is essential to keep the reaction temperature as low as possible and avoid conditions that could lead to overheating. Thank you to Ozobe for the reminder below.

You should use something like a brewing airlock on your mixing vessel to eliminate air while allowing outgassing since chloroform is naturally unstable on its own and breaks down in an oxidizing environment.

Next, allow this mixture to rest overnight for the reaction to complete, if you use sufficient acetone (but again, not too much), the mixture should be mostly clear. Decant into another container for distilling.

Distill the decanted mixture twice, once for contaminants and again for the pure chloroform itself, use a controlled atmosphere to avoid breaking down under the higher heat due to the aforementioned oxidizing issues.

lastly, use an opaque glass bottle to store the mixture to eliminate uv breakdown, use 0.5-1.5% ethyl alcohol by volume to stabilize against breaking down, and ideally inject a nitrogen atmosphere into the bottle to eliminate the oxygen. this mix will potentially have a usable shelf life of up to 5 years. You could stabilize with amylene, but then your shelf life would likely only be a few months.

Chloroform, aka trichloromethane, makes a pretty solid cleaning agent and degreaser while avoiding the dangers of flammability that some other similar cleaners have. That being said, it is immensely dangerous to use and to make and has been misused in multiple crimes (though it does NOT have the "knockout" effect that movies usually portray). Be responsible and safe.

[Rockzilla]

When working with aqueous solutions a small amount of an oil at the rim of the bottle will prevent it from having adhesion with the rim and trickling down the side

Pour the bottle sideways to prevent spilling.

[Jonodrew]

If you had turned your big gallon carboy the opposite way - handle at the bottom you avoid an airlock and burping / sloshing pour. Also you need an ice bath it should never boil - also add a little pure ethanol to avoid formation of poisonous phosgene byproducts - has to be distilled really before - and yes they realised after years of use it causes kidney failure 😮😮😮😮

[jessehickman]

My wife said yes to the proposal so I haven’t needed to make any

[DeepakKrishna]

Can we use Ethanol instead of Acetone??

[vaniceek]

May I ask where can I buy these great looking glass bottles for storing chemicals?

[nightstar]

that's hard to watch as a lab technician

[EddieTheH]

How much phosgene do you reckon came off that when it boiled?

[tayday]

Okay everybody, let's give this a try and report back here 🍿😅☠️

[Salt_and_Peroxide]

Toto som robil doma už veľa krát ver mi je to v poriadku len to nenechaj na slnku pre 3 dní

[ballplaya]

" For a while now, I've been wanting to make chloroform " 😳😭😭😭

[Yakjiru]

Don't make it at home. Maybe give the warning at the beginning?

[cilliancrean]

I love ur videos I used to watch Nile red but he barely posts and his videos are hardly exiting anymore but you are easily the best chemistry channel on YouTube

[leothecrafter]

You lost a lot, all of that turbidity means there are still small droplets of chloroform in there

[kronk]

So how do you test if you have chloroform?🤔🤔