Abstract
THE usual forms of absorbents for aldehydes, such as ammonia and bisulphite solutions, cannot readily be used in vacuum systems because they are liquid and volatile. A very convenient absorbent may be made by suspending on 25–52 mesh powdered firebrick (‘Fossalsil’) 25 per cent by weight of a mull of sodium bisulphite in ethylene glycol. We have repeatedly used this powder packed in 10 cm. of a 15 mm. internal diameter tube to absorb the butyraldehyde remaining in a mixture after a photolysis. Subsequent analysis of the reaction products indicates that less than 0.3 µmole out of the initial 500 µmoles remains unabsorbed after the vapour has been passed three times through the packed tube. Acetone is not similarly absorbed.
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KERR, J., TROTMAN-DICKENSON, A. Absorbents for Aldehydes and Olefins. Nature 182, 466 (1958). https://doi.org/10.1038/182466a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/182466a0
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