L42L (Stranger)
05-13-04 05:28
No 506768
       Formalin to para-formaldehyde polymerization?     

how to do.
acid, base, distill, heat, chill?
thanks bees. 		 
 
 
 
    r2e3
(Stranger)
05-19-04 03:38
No 508094
       wt?     

why would you wanna do that in the first place considering that using them in any useful reaction (to my knowledge) they are the same??????? 		 
 
 
 
    Rhodium
(Chief Bee)
05-19-04 04:42
No 508117
       Not all reactions are the same     

Some reactions call for anhydrous conditions, and in those cases paraformaldehyde is the reagent of choice as it contains no water.
The Hive - Clandestine Chemists Without Borders 		 
 
 
 
    ning
(acetaminophanatic)
05-19-04 16:21
No 508206
       Like oxalic-acid eschweiler-clarke reactions...     

I read in the merck index that catalytic presence of acid tends to catalyze the polymerization of acetaldehyde, which would probably bee the case for formalin. Maybe one would acidify it and try to boil it down?
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