122 



WILEY AND SCHREIBER— SYNTHETIC ALCOHOL. 



[April 



from (/) to prevent the condensation of aldehyde as much as pos- 

 sible. However, the solutions soon became dark and the mercury 

 was reduced to the metallic state where strong acid was used. The 

 gas was run through three conversion flasks with the idea that the 

 yield of aldehyde w^ould be greater. The gas was now treated in 

 various ways, sometimes washed through cold water (g) and some- 

 times through ammonia or sodium bisulfite. The latter ways were 

 abandoned as the aldehyde in a solution of am- 

 monia or bisulfite is resinified on standing. At- 

 tempts to reduce the aqueous aldehyde by means 

 of sodium amalgam were unsuccessful as our 

 method of manipulation was faulty, and not ac- 

 cording to the one devised by Wurtz.^ 



The reduction of pure acetaldehyde (Kahl- 

 baum) by passing it over palladium (precipi- 

 tated on asbestos) together with hydrogen was 

 tried but without success. Various tempera- 

 tures from 20° to 400° C. were used in these ex- 

 periments. Acetic acid- and zinc were not tried 

 as the evolution of hydrogen is slow and acetal- 

 dehyde is very volatile. Acetaldehyde was 

 diluted and attempts made to reduce it by sul- 

 furic acid and zinc but without success as the 

 evolution of hydrogen is slow and the process 

 was not carried on long enough. Apparatus No. 

 3, a Jones reductor, was now erected consisting of 

 a piece of combustion tubing (b) five feet long 

 encased in a large gas pipe (a) by means of rub- 

 ber stoppers and cold water circulated between 

 the two. A separatory funnel (c) was attached 

 to the top of the combustion tubing by means of a rubber tube and 

 a small perforated platinum disk formed the bottom of the tube 

 which was extended beyond the disk by a three inch piece of the 

 same glass tubing (d) to allow the insertion of a rubber stopper 

 carrying a glass stopcock so that the reductor could be regulated 



^ Wnrtz, Liehigs-Annalcn, 123, p. 140. 

 ^Berichfe, 16, 1717 Krafft. 



