[StinkMeister]

How can I make a gallon of Mercaptan - the stuff used to odorize natural gas? 

I'm not a chemist, and I don't have access to a lab or any local suppliers of components.  It needs to be a liquid and have a long pot life.  I would like the odor to be somewhat close to "industry-standard".

I'm trying to odorize natural gas that I take directly from a gas well.  I have a wick-type device to place in the gas flow, but I cannot find a reasonably-priced source of a small amount of odorant.

I appreciate your help.

[rjb]

Stinkmeister,

Sounds like an interesting project! Sadly, both methane thiol and butane thiol are pretty expensive and may be difficult to get hold of in the quantities that you require. Although 'homebrew' manufacture of thiols could be done, I wouldn't bother, you're better off considering an alternative odorant. One option may be dimethylsulphide, which is used in some odorising plants as a back-up to mercaptans as it tends to be a little more stable and does not lose its smell as rapidly as mercaptans. The negative is that humans are not quite as sensitive to DMS as mercaptans (Threshold of detection 0.025-0.1ppm) and the smell (described as a bit like garlic) is not familiar. In terms of cost, even at high purity >99% its cheap... 5 litres for around £114 and it would no doubt be cheaper still in the US...

Kind Regards

R