[Fresco]

Hi guys,

I have to do a basic hydrolysis reaction of wool.  I'll probably wind up doing it in my kitchen.

I have to work with 840ML of 30% hydrogen peroxide dissolved into 7900 ml water, however. 
I was just wondering if boiling that amount of hydrogen peroxide could lead to dangerous fumes being released, or perhaps even a possibility of flammable  explosions happening??

Link: http://www.faqs.org/patents/app/20120219667

Here is the exact reaction.  The starting material I'm using that needs to be hydrolyzed is sheep wool:

1. Mix 7900 ml water, 840 ml of 30% (w/w) hydrogen peroxide and heat to 90° C.

2. add 2 kg of `squeezed dry` (typically 35% solids, 65% water) feather (direct from chicken processor) and bring heat back up to 90° C.

3. hold at 90° C. for 90 mins, pH typically 3.6 at end of this and feather softened.

4. cool to 60° C. then add 100 g of 20% (w/w) caustic (NaOH) but keep pH <7.5 then heat back up to 90° C.

5. Hold at 90° C. for 40 mins, add more caustic if pH <5.9, add 3-6 g caustic to bring pH to 6.1. If it foams, stop adding caustic and reduce stirring. Total caustic addition (including 100 g in step 4) is typically 115-120 g (20% (w/w) solution).

6. Remove heat source and allow to cool, filter through 1 mm screen.

7. Add 10% (w/w) sodium sulphite solution until there is no residual hydrogen peroxide. Typically 3.5 kg is required. Allow 5 minutes of stirring between addition of sodium sulphite solution and assessment of residual hydrogen peroxide level.

8. Cool to 30° C. then separate high molecular weight proteins (above 1 kDa) from low molecular weight proteins, peptides and salts using dialysis tubing or ultrafiltration. The retentate conductivity should be typically 1.5 mS at a concentration typically of 5% total solids.

9. Dry and mill to a powder.

Typical yield 79%

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Any help is appreciated, thanks very much

[Hunter2]

I think you should cook in your kitchen and dont do chemical experiments. The Mixture contains almost 100 ml/l Peroxide, this can decompose especially after adding Hydroxide. This is nothing to do in a kitchen.

[Fresco]

I think you should cook in your kitchen and dont do chemical experiments. The Mixture contains almost 100 ml/l Peroxide, this can decompose especially after adding Hydroxide. This is nothing to do in a kitchen

I was afraid you were going to say that.

Now I'll have to find a chemist in Toronto to do it for me. 
Anyone know of a good chemist for hire in the greater Toronto area??

[Zyklonb]

If you're careful nothing will go wrong. This forum discourages home chemists and increases chemophobia all the time. They don't want you to hurt yourself, but there's practically nothing that can go wrong here. Most of the members here don't actually do chemistry.
Aparantly some don't even know cooking is a chemical reaction. What you described is making about a 3% solution of hydrogen peroxide in 97% water. That's what you buy at a drug store to soak on wounds! I'm appalled they consider this unsafe.
Go ahead and do this, I promise you from years of experience nothing could go wrong.     I guess they're afraid you might add a catalyst and it will get luke-warm.
They also fail to realize that the peroxide is used in the chemical reaction, long before the base is added.

[curiouscat]

In this recipe where is the wool?   

[Borek]

This forum discourages home chemists and increases chemophobia all the time.

That's simply not true.

If you're careful nothing will go wrong.

I agree with you that concentration of hydrogen peroxide involved (after dilution) is quite low, and that the risk is minimal. Still, doing such things in a kitchen is rather poor choice of place - in principle. Kitchen is a kitchen, lab where you do chemistry is a lab. Mixing these things is asking for troubles.

[curiouscat]

I agree with you that concentration of hydrogen peroxide involved (after dilution) is quite low, and that the risk is minimal. Still, doing such things in a kitchen is rather poor choice of place - in principle. Kitchen is a kitchen, lab where you do chemistry is a lab. Mixing these things is asking for troubles.

+1

The experiment described here sounds innocuous enough. But doing it in the kitchen sounds unwise. Accidentally drinking any of those won't be pleasant.

And, that's not far fetched. I've known several anecdotal scary stories of people taking a gulp of nasty stuff just because it happened to be lying in the wrong place & wrong bottle.

[DrCMS]

If you read the patent the stuff Fresco wants to make is for human consumption so I'd be wary on offering advice.

[billnotgatez]

Since it appears that the thread may be violating the forum rule

Due to their potential health hazards, we will also not help you prepare your own medicines or cosmetics.

I am locking the post for now - and will sort this out

@Fresco if you want to plea you case you can do so by using the link
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