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

Vinegar 1

I took 300mL of mead and separated it from the rest. Placed it in an open 1 gallon glass jug and shook vigorously to oxygenate
Day 2-4: Shaken vigorously daily and left in necked open bottle.
Day 5: decanted into and out of a beaker to measure the volume (listed as 300mL above)
Day 14: Still smells of alcohol rather than acetic acid. Shook again to oxygenate.
Day 16: A little mold on surface. Shook the entire bottle (mixing mold into the alcohol) to oxygenate.
Day 28: The scent has become considerably more vinegar-y.

I am reminded of some old pieces of pottery my grandmother kept: large, cylindrical glazed containers with 5-8 gallon capacities, with no lids whatsoever. She called them vinegar jars, and I'm left wondering if they didn't lack ceramic lids because they were meant to be covered with cheesecloth, allowing oxygen in but (perhaps) not mold. I'll have to look into that.