Acetone 1 (honey + chalk = acetone)

My longest chain to date:

• Honey + Water + Yeast = Mead
• Mead + Acetobacter = Vinegar
• Vinegar + Chalk = Calcium Acetate
• Dry distilling Calcium Acetate = Acetone

Acetone could be used to thin or strip paints, but I think the most likely use is as a recoverable solvent to extract oils from seeds. That would indeed be a labor boon.

Notes:

1. My original vinegar was made from mead, and thus contained a variety of compounds beyond simple acetic acid. I distilled it, and got a very clear product.
2. It takes a surprisingly large amount of chalk to slake a relatively small amount of vinegar.
3. The drying step is by far the longest part. I used a glass pie pan in a 200ºF oven. It took hours.

Procedure:

1. Add chalk to vinegar until fizzing stops
2. Add 10% more chalk than you have already added
3. Add 100% more water by volume
4. Filter the mixture to remove undissolved chalk, leaving a calcium acetate solution
5. Place solution in a shallow bowl and apply gentle heat. (Over 160ºC would break down the acetate)
6. Collect the calcium acetate
7. Dry distill the calcium acetate producing acetone.

Results:

• The calcium acetate came out a little dusky rather than totally white.
• The distilled acetone came out light brown, but smell and application to styrofoam confirm acetone was present
• Much of the solid remained unchanged

Caveats:

Acetone is a List II Substance