Quick question for the scientific types.
When getting ready for a trip I left the cap off my 95% ethanol (I keep it in a small-mouth Nalgene bottle). It sat open for around four hours. Is it adversely affected from the evaporation?
Thanks,
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Alcohol evaporation question
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It's totally fine. If the other 5% is water, your purity will be slightly diminished, but unless the total quantity drop was large, the effect will be negligible. If the other 5% is methanol, your purity is actually slightly increased.
I concur with Cosmic Osmo. And I sat through rather a lot of chemical engineering classes on distillation while at UC Berkeley.
Thanks guys,
OK, I won't worry about it. (And yes it is 5% water, not methanol. I don't like burning that stuff.)
"engineering classes on distillation"
The rest of us were more into the testing process.
–B.G.–
>"engineering classes on distillation"
>The rest of us were more into the testing process.
Ah, but you need to frame that in a billable way. You were the QA/QC inspector.
I don't think evaporation is much of an issue, but unsealed or poorly sealed ethanol will absorb moisture from the air, diluting its concentration over time.
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