Key insights

• Conclusion and Future Plans

  • 🍹 Successfully transformed children's glue into a drinkable alcohol with a surprising ethanol concentration of 68%.
  • Taste test revealed a chemical flavor reminiscent of gasoline, with plans for more ambitious projects.
  • Sponsored by Ground News promoting critical news consumption.

• Final Ethanol Yield and Quality

  • 😅 The experiment aimed to produce ethanol but resulted in a sulfury smell due to residual dimethyl sulfide.
  • Improved yield through scaling up the experiment and multiple distillations.
  • Achieved a nearly drinkable ethanol product with reduced impurities.

• Ethanol Conversion Process

  • 🧪 Successfully distilled and purified acetic acid, confirming its purity with analytical tests.
  • Prepared to convert acetic acid into ethanol using sodium borohydride and methane sulfonic acid.
  • Incorporated argon gas to prevent potential explosions from hydrogen gas.
  • Initial reactions indicated bubbling and temperature fluctuations requiring careful management.

• Refining Sodium Acetate

  • 🧪 Used acetone to clean sodium acetate from impurities, leading to recovery of dry sodium acetate.
  • Repeated washing resulted in a dark red acetone mixture.
  • Converted the cleaned sodium acetate back into acetic acid with sulfuric acid.
  • Encountered impurities in the acetic acid product, requiring further refinement.

• Purification of Acetic Acid

  • 🚀 Successfully separated and purified acetic acid, ultimately converting it to sodium acetate.
  • Conducted a pH test confirming the presence of acetic acid.
  • Heating process aimed to remove volatile organic compounds and water.
  • Formation of two distinct layers indicated impurities.

• Breaking Down Glue for Distillation

  • 🔥 Used a wood chipper to break down glue quickly and efficiently.
  • Transformed glue into acetic acid using a heating mantle in a vacuum setup.
  • Initially collected water vapor before seeing liquid acetic acid form.
  • Concerned about harmful byproducts released during heating.

• Glue Transformation Journey

  • 🍷 The creator attempts to transform children's glue into drinkable alcohol through a complex chemical process, encountering numerous challenges along the way.
  • Exploration of turning children's glue, primarily PVA, into alcohol.
  • Initial challenges include removing water from the glue, leading to a lengthy drying process.
  • Creator's persistence in finding solutions for processing the glue.

Q&A

• What plans does the creator have for future projects? 🚀

  The creator plans to undertake even more ambitious projects, such as exploring methods to turn air into alcohol and other scientific experiments, showcasing continuous innovation and experimentation.

• Are there any safety concerns associated with this experiment? ⚠️

  Yes, there are potential safety concerns, particularly regarding the toxicity of the substances used and produced during the experiment. The creator emphasized caution regarding taste and toxicity of the final product.

• What was the final outcome of the experiment? 🎉

  The creator successfully transformed children's glue into drinkable alcohol, achieving an ethanol concentration of 68%. While the taste was unexpected and somewhat chemical-like, the creator expressed satisfaction with the results and revealed plans for future projects.

• What challenges did the creator face during the ethanol production? 😓

  The initial reaction produced ethanol with a strong sulfury smell due to residual dimethyl sulfide. After scaling up the process and conducting multiple distillations, the creator improved the ethanol yield while reducing impurities.

• What chemical reactions were involved in turning acetic acid into ethanol? 🔬

  To convert acetic acid into ethanol, the creator added sodium borohydride as a reducing agent in the presence of methane sulfonic acid. This reaction produced hydrogen gas and required careful temperature control to prevent foaminess and side product formation.

• How was the sodium acetate converted back into acetic acid? 🧪

  The creator cleaned the sodium acetate using acetone to remove impurities and then converted it back into acetic acid using sulfuric acid. Despite initial success, further refinement was necessary to achieve purity.

• What steps were taken to purify the acetic acid? 🧪

  After a series of reactions, the creator conducted pH tests and used baking soda and distilled water to neutralize the acetic acid, forming sodium acetate. They also employed vacuum pressure to concentrate the acetic acid further, but faced challenges with impurities like benzene.

• What byproducts were produced during the heating process? ⚠️

  While heating the glue to produce acetic acid, the creator observed that it released darker byproducts, likely harmful chemicals along with acetic acid, which required careful monitoring and control.

• How did the creator process the dried glue? 🔥

  The creator used a wood chipper to quickly break down the dried glue into smaller pieces. They then engaged in a vacuum heating process to distill it, aiming to convert it into acetic acid while carefully monitoring the temperature to avoid burning.

• What initial challenges did the creator encounter? 🌧️

  Initially, the creator struggled with removing water from the glue, which led to a lengthy drying process. They experimented with different methods like slicing, using a dehydrator, and a vacuum oven to achieve this.

• What is the main goal of the experiment? 🍷

  The creator aims to transform children's glue, primarily made of PVA, into drinkable alcohol through a complex chemical process, despite facing various challenges throughout.

• 00:00 The creator attempts to transform children's glue into drinkable alcohol through a complex chemical process, encountering numerous challenges along the way. Despite setbacks in drying the glue and breaking it into smaller pieces, they remain determined to see the project through. 🍷
• 07:47 The video details the process of using a wood chipper to efficiently break down glue before distilling it into acetic acid. The speaker describes the setup and steps taken to heat the glue, producing vapors that indicate the breakdown of materials, despite concerns about harmful byproducts. 🔥
• 15:31 After a series of chemical reactions, the creator successfully separated and purified acetic acid, ultimately converting it to sodium acetate, while dealing with unwanted impurities like benzene. 🚀
• 22:51 After letting the sodium acetate cool overnight, the cleanup process began with acetone to remove impurities, leading to the recovery of dry sodium acetate and an attempt to convert it back into pure acetic acid using sulfuric acid. Despite the initial success, impurities were found in the final product, requiring further drying and refinement. 🧪
• 30:20 The speaker successfully distilled and purified acetic acid, confirming its purity through tests, and is now preparing to convert it into ethanol using sodium borohydride and methane sulfonic acid. 🧪
• 37:51 The reaction between sodium borohydride and sodium triacettoxy borohydride, catalyzed by methane sulfonic acid, creates several phases of bubbling and temperature fluctuations. After managing the temperatures and extracting a mixture containing around 5% ethanol, further distillation is required for purification. 🧪
• 45:20 The experiment aimed to produce ethanol but resulted in a sulfury smell due to residual dimethyl sulfide. After scaling up the process and multiple distillations, the ethanol yield improved, and impurities were reduced, leading to a nearly drinkable product. 😅
• 53:12 After a lengthy process, the creator successfully transformed children's glue into a drinkable alcohol with a surprising ethanol concentration of 68%. Though the taste was not as expected, they are happy with the results and shared plans for more ambitious projects. 🍹