Lab Notes - Successful glassware protection for sodium production - August 18th

No neodymium magnets will survive this reaction, they tend to demagnetize well below 100C so it’s impossible to use them at 200C+. I bought an inexpensive stir bar set which must have used them since they would almost instantly stop working when added to an in-progress sodium reaction mixture.

Larry B

Now that you have devise a method to massively produce sodium metal cheaper as can be attested to by ebay's increased sellers soon after your first discovery; I was wondering do you think that sodium batteries from solid sodium will soon compete with lithium batteries in the electric vehicle industry..

Donald W

A better stirr bar, maybe…? Insert cheap neodymium magnets from e-bay tightly packed in a glass rod (no rattling allowed!!!), and flame seal the ends. Too fragile maybe (..?), but now that the glass is better protected from the sodium hydroxide and water, it may be could be worth trying.

Ragnar Elstad

A question for you all: I'm looking for an aquarium air bubbler that resists most chemicals, acids, etc. Porous fritted glass kind of. Fritted glass filter types is not porous/open enough. Does anyone know where this can be found on e-bay? PS! Buying from USA is too expensive, they are priced out on shipping over there.

Ragnar Elstad

Congratulations from me too! But I also have some questions (sorry for my English by the way, also I'm a dyslectic): 1 - Why don't you use a stainless kettle with some home made cork/air blockage for the reaction? I know about filming an such. But nice for doing the reaction the first time at least. 2 - Is it possible to do this reaction in a another alcohol f.ex. glycerol? 3 - And at least. You showed us how to make a simple electrolysis box (witch I made ;-) ) for some years ago. Why not rather show how to make a sodium cell, and use electrolysis? And that solution to put in sodium in the start reaction for drying, is a simple but ingenious solution! ;-) And when I saw it, my first thought was of course! :-)

Alf-Marius Dahl Bysveen

thanks!

NurdRage

originally when the glassware was being destroyed the risk was there although very low. Now that i've found a way not to destroy the glassware the risk is essentially zero.

NurdRage

Congratulations. Great to see some success after so much effort.

Patrick Sweetman

I got to admit boiling solvents in lye when their is a potential to destroy the glass or put a crack into it may cause the glass to explode. How high is that risk? Maybe shielding your self from it. I had a distiller flask explode once--- not a pretty sight but I was properly shilded it is scary NurdRage please be careful.

Daniel Blake Shoemaker

it's actually on the list of things to do. i figured i would first pin down the main sodium production reaction. Although now that i have, i might revisit alcohol production methods.

NurdRage

Have you thought about using cetyl alcohol for making grignard reagents? It is a very long chain primary unbranched alcohol. It could easily be oxidized to a carboxylic acid, estifified with its self, then reacted with a cetyl grignard reagent <a href="https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cetyl-Alcohol-for-various-uses-2-OZ/262513343130?hash=item3d1f03ba9a:g:wjsAAOSw-3FZLf6v" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cetyl-Alcohol-for-various-uses-2-OZ/262513343130?hash=item3d1f03ba9a:g:wjsAAOSw-3FZLf6v</a>