Industrial and Laboratory Methods to Prepare Toluene

As a chemical distributor in Florida, some of our clients use toluene. Toluene is a clear, sweet-smelling liquid occurring naturally in pine oil. It is referred to as an aromatic hydrocarbon – a hydrocarbon with alternating double- and single-bonded rings. Toluene is used as a solvent and as a feed stock, a selected naphtha fraction. In the past, toluene (C6H5CH3) was manufactured primarily by distilling coke from coal. Recently dozens of new methods have been tested and proven worthy. While many approaches are specific to a manufacturer, others are utilized worldwide. Each process includes the final step of separating the isomers of benzene, xylene, and toluene via distillation or solvent extraction.

• Fractional distillation - Crude oil consists of several components of different sizes, weights and boiling temperatures. To separate the components, use varied boiling points.

• Azeotropic distillation – an azeotrope is two or more liquids that cannot be separated by simple distillation. Currently, two processes for separating toluene involve using an aqueous solution of methyl ethyl ketone and water, or using methanol.

• Extractive distillation – A non-volatile substance is added to the components being separated to create an appreciable concentration of components.

• Solvent extraction – A solvent with a high selectivity for aromatics that works in a reasonable temperature range, such as sulfur dioxide or aqueous diethylene glycol, works in a two-phase system to release toluene.

• Reformation of naphtha in the presence of a catalyst (catalytic reforming method) - A mixture abundant in aromatic hydrocarbons is superheated and a catalyst is added, thereby dehydrogenizing the mixture. Light hydrocarbon gases are released and toluene is extracted from the center of the core.

• Steam cracking of liquid hydrocarbons – Steam cracking occurs when larger hydrocarbons are broken down into smaller components. Naphtha, or flammable hydrocarbon molecules, contains copious amounts of aromatic compounds. Both pyrolysis gasoline and toluene are derived from steam cracking naphtha.

• Friedel-Crafts reaction – Methyl chloride and anhydrous aluminum chloride react; benzene is added as the raw material to produce toluene.

• Wurtz-Frittig reaction – Bromebenzene and methyl bromide react in the presence of sodium metal in a dry ether solution to produce toluene.

• Decarboxilation reaction – Soda lime and sodium toluate are heated in a decarboxylation reaction.

• Distillation of cresol and zinc dust – Cresol, distilled in the presence of zinc, produces toluene.

Toluene is a useful solvent in a variety of applications, including as a fuel additive to increase octane ratings, manufacturing cosmetics, as a solvent in cleaning agents and adhesives, manufacturing dyes in inks, and manufacturing polymers for plastic bottles and polyurethane. With its myriad uses and forms of manufacture, toluene will surely be a chemical used for years to come. Contact your chemical distributor in Florida Bell Chem today to find how easy it is for your company to order toluene.

Seven Benefits of Orange Oil

Orange oil is a natural component of the orange’s peel, or external layer. By pressing orange peels between two heavy stainless steel sheets, the oil is extracted and ready to assist in an array of aromatic uses.  The following is a short list of orange oil’s many benefits.

Orange oil contains linalool known for its soothing and calming effect on the human body.  This places it firmly in the category of a strong aromatherapy agent. It is often used as a massage oil as well and a few drops rubbed onto the temples relieves headaches.

Acne and aging are both assuaged with orange oil. Apply it on cracked or dry skin for a smoother appearance, or you can enhance your skin’s beauty with a few drops rubbed into the face twice a day.

Chances are you have used orange oil to clean many surfaces in your house. You probably bought the product because the orange oil made every surface smell fantastic. Its fragrance is only half the story, however. Orange oil’s antiseptic properties make it ideal as a disinfecting agent.

Digestive issues such as distention and indigestion are eased with a topical application of orange oil on the abdomen. Just a couple of drops and a few minutes later, many symptoms completely disappear.

Add a few drops of orange oil to a natural oil, such as olive or sunflower oil, and it becomes an insect repellent. By mixing different essential oils together, such as orange, cinnamon, and citronella oil, different families of insects will be repelled.

You can also use orange oil in potpourri to give any area a fresh smell and to keep the insects at bay. Dab a small amount on your skin for a light fragrance sure to stimulate your senses. While working with food that may be prone to salmonella, spritz orange oil on the cutting surface. Orange oil inhibits the multiplication of salmonella bacteria, giving you peace of mind and your food a savory flavor.

Be sure to keep orange oil in the pantry, the spice rack, your first-aid kit, and the cosmetics drawer. No matter where you use orange oil, you know its natural formula will enhance the senses also while inhibiting bacterial growth. From our headquarters in Longwood, Florida, we provide prompt delivery of hundreds of stock items on our own fleet of trucks. We also have the ability to ship large volumes of bulk chemicals from our own location, as well as our suppliers’ terminals. Please call 407-339-BELL, and we will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Five Healthy Benefits of Honey

Recently, honey has been touted as a new health miracle with benefits both external as a salve and internal as a cough suppressant or digestive aid. However, the human body’s positive reactions to honey are far from a modern wonder: documents thousands of years old describe honey’s medicinal properties in many different cultures around the world.  Below are only five of the myriad uses for honey.

Many individuals suffering from acid reflux or GERD (gastroesophageal reflux) find relief when they ingest honey. It seems honey’s thick viscosity coats the esophagus and stomach, alleviating hydrochloric acid’s overwhelming presence in the stomach lining. By coating the inside of the stomach, less acid is able to seep past the esophageal sphincter and into the throat, thereby relieving symptoms of reflux.

A long touted remedy for allergies is honey. Because bees gather pollen from plants closely associated with many environmental allergens, a small dose of honey stimulates white blood cells to form antibodies to those specific types of pollen. The body’s defensive mechanisms quell allergic rhinitis because of the antibodies formed with the introduction of honey containing those same respiratory stimulants.

My grandmother often dosed me with a tablespoon of honey when she heard me cough.  Science is backing her home remedy. Honey quells coughs because of its viscosity, and it also has the power to calm inflamed membranes in the respiratory system.

Although infants should not ingest honey, young children experiencing gastroenteritis found their symptoms shortened when they ingested honey. Honey can also be substituted for glucose in an oral electrolyte solution with good results.

The topical application of honey seems rather sticky but has been found to be effective in treating a multitude of skin situations, from cellulitis to skin ulcers. A key antimicrobial peptide in honey, bee defensin-1, destroys harmful bacteria and may even prevent infections from forming. Honey even outranks oral antibiotics in treating specific infections in some cases.

Stock up on honey for your first-aid kit as well as your kitchen cabinet. With its wide range of uses, you and your family will benefit from its applications.  Best of all, honey tastes great so your children will complain far less when you tell them to eat honey for their upset stomach.

At Bell Chem, we are happy to provide our clients the highest quality products with exceptional service. We stock many highly-specialized botanical and nutritional chemicals, as well as hard to find technical grade chemicals and custom compounds. For more information, contact us today.

Bell Chem Sponsors Central Florida Community Arts Christmas Concert

December 15, 2014 — Longwood, Fla. — Bell Chem, a full-line independent chemical distributor in Orlando, sponsored this year’s Central Florida Community Arts’ Christmas concert. The annual holiday concert provided an evening of enjoyment for families at Northland, A Church Distributed on December 11 and 12, 2014 in Longwood, Fla.

The concert featured a voice choir of 300 and 100-member orchestra that transported the audience back in time during the big-band and swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, which is the period where Christmas music found its sound.

“We are proud to sponsor the Central Florida Community Arts Concert,” says John Cervo, president of Bell Chem. “This year’s concert was one to remember and offered a great opportunity for families to enjoy the spirit of Christmas.”

To learn more about Bell Chem and the chemical products they offer, please visit http://www.bellchem.com or call 407-339-2355.

About Bell Chem

Founded in 1992, Bell Chem is an independent chemical distributor located in Longwood, Fla. On top of a full line of industrial and water treatment chemicals, Bell Chem offers a diverse blend of food, pharmaceutical and personal-care raw materials, as well as technical-grade and sanitation chemicals and custom compounds. Bell Chem’s vision is to provide high-quality chemical products with a “just-in-time” inventory approach to provide customers with the very best service in the industry.

Learning About Lubricant-Free Chains

When I was growing up, I was taught to properly maintain my bicycle. One of the requirements of maintenance was to ensure the chain was not corroded, did not rub more than necessary, and had the correct amount of oil. The amount of oil was tricky for me, and most of the time I was faced with the quandary of applying too much oil and risking grit and road grime from building up on the chain, or neglecting to add enough with the result of the chain grinding the gears, causing both to wear more quickly than normal.

Nearly every industry utilizes chains for most of its assembly line processes. Much like the chain on my bicycle, industrial chains are maintained by people who strive to maintain them to the best of their abilities. However, the same conundrum of too much or too little oil perseveres. Too little oil causes the chains, bearings, and other equipment to wear much more rapidly than expected. Too much oil invites contamination from airborne particles, which may spray oil in droplets across the surface of the product being manufactured. This latter predicament is extremely detrimental when the material is fabric or technology hardware, for instance.

To address this problem, sanitation chemical suppliers developed lubricant-free chains. These chains have an initial cost more than double that of a traditional chain, but because they are not maintained by the unintentional over- or under-oiling of maintenance personnel, the span of usefulness may stretch more than ten times that of a lubricated chain.

Lubricated chains are created with the lubricant added as the components are manufactured, a process known as sintering by sanitation chemical suppliers, or by packing the rollers with a high-viscosity grease lubricant. Of the two, the former is more highly recommended. Both have the advantage of dispersing oil internally to the chain rather than externally on the chain. Internal application repels more of the airborne particulate matter from adhering to the surface of the chain and causing undue wear.

Give your products and machinery the advantage of lubricated chains. The amount of man-hours saved in maintaining the chains of your equipment along with the greater amount of clean, oil-free products will certainly make the purchase of lubricated chains beneficial.

To learn more about sanitation chemicals, contact the Orlando sanitation chemical supplier at Bell Chem today.

Clean Water With Polyphosphates

Polyphosphates, the water treatment chemical components, play a vital role in maintaining a precise chemical level of potable (drinking) water. It is inevitable that metals exist in water; polyphosphates work to remove or reduce the level of these metals more rapidly than other chemicals; they are also used as a catalyst to stimulate other chemical reactions. For instance, hard deposits of calcium carbonate and iron oxides tend to flocculate, or clump, and cause buildups in pipes and in the water. Polyphosphates coat individual metal particles, halting flocculation and preventing clogging. Sodium hexametaphosphate interferes with early crystallization of hard metal deposits to remove these metals from the water at levels far below what is typical for other reactions. Polyphosphates also act as sequestration agents, surrounding metal ions such as iron and manganese to form soluble chemical complexes that move through pipes rather than adhering to them.

Many water treatment chemicals have a specific pH range and strict environmental protocol to work properly. Polyphosphate configuration is varied and works in a wide range of neutral or alkaline pH levels. Polyphosphates are stable under conditions considered too harsh for other water treatment chemicals, such as those found in chlorinated drinking water. Stability is also important in storing chemicals, and polyphosphates have the ability to retain physical and chemical properties over an extended period of time.

If you are looking for an array of stable, hard-working water treatment chemicals to quickly improve your water treatment system, give polyphosphates a try. For the most reliable water treatment chemical supplier in the Orlando area, contact Bell Chem today. By simply calling 407-339-BELL(2355), you’ll be establishing a lasting and reliable relationship, unlike any other. Along with a vast selection of water treatment chemicals, we also have various pharmaceutical and personal care, as well as raw materials to suit any need or desire.

Beyond the Sunburn: Aloe Vera’s Uses as a Beauty Care Chemical

My grandmother always had at least one aloe vera plant at her house that we primarily utilized as a curative for any minor skin irritation, from burns to punctures and even abrasions. The soothing gel of the aloe did not irritate or dry the skin. As I grew up, aloe vera’s usefulness grew with me. The beauty care chemical became my go-to remedy for sunburn relief and to enhance my skin’s pliability. Aloe does much more than making the skin look healthy, though; aloe significantly improves many facets of skin health.

Aloe vera plants are storehouses of remarkable beauty care chemicals, designed to counteract the effects of time and environment. Long strings of extremely polar proteins called mucopolysaccharides encapsulate water within the skin’s surface to help skin maintain moisture. Aloe vera also stimulates the production of the skin’s collagen and elastin fibers, the fibers responsible for skin elasticity. The breakdown of elastin fibers gives the skin a wrinkled appearance; aloe vera prevents this breakdown.

The surface of the skin, the epidermis, is constantly flaking away. These small cellular regions are shed without notice for the most part, but their departure often gives the skin a rougher appearance. Aloe adheres these flaking skin cells together for a softer, more uniform skin appearance. The amino acids within aloe vera work to soften toughened skin areas, such as feet and fingers. As a matter of fact, when gloves are infused with aloe, hands become less erythematous and wrinkles decrease. Another dermatological difficulty aloe corrects is pore size. When the pores on the skin’s surface are large, not only does the skin look rough, but the larger openings increase permeability, inviting bacterial infection of the oil glands. The zinc within aloe vera is proven to tighten pores and relieve many of the symptoms caused by larger pores.

The components of aloe vera also act as an anti-inflammatory, which aids in removing or reducing fluid build-up beneath the skin. Studies are also proving that aloe vera may inhibit tumor growth in animals. In the future, we may see aloe as part of cancer chemoprevention.

Stock up on aloe vera today by contacting Bell Chem. Your skin will thank you for investing in this amazing beauty care chemical for years to come.

Oxygen Scavengers

While we consider oxygen extremely important for life, it has only been quite recently in the history of the world that oxygen moved from the category of “toxic chemical” to “life-giving gas,” both classifications due to its ability to chemically bond with so many elements. Today, there are still instances where oxygen causes extreme damage. In chemistry, a scavenger is a substance that removes or de-activates impurities. Oxygen scavengers remove oxygen or prevent an oxidation reaction--the transfer of electrons from one chemical to another. As it relates to oxygen, an oxidation reaction forms an oxide. Because of its electronegativity, oxygen is highly reactive and quickly bonds to almost every other element when exposed to elevated temperatures, forming an oxide of that element. However, a number of elements form oxides at standard temperatures, most readily identified as iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3)--commonly referred to as “rust”. Oxygen scavenging negates the presence of oxygen in normal atmospheric conditions, stanching its ability to corrode or form oxides.

Oxygen scavenging is a simple process that occurs when an organic chemical--which tends to have a slightly negative charge--comes in contact with a slightly positive oxygen molecule. In essence, science has caused oxidation to occur with a compound at our discretion rather than nature’s. Oxygen is absorbed from the surrounding area and its ability to corrode is negated. Two oxygen scavengers used in this manner are the water treatment chemicals: sodium hydrogen carbonate and ascorbic acid. Adding either of these chemicals, or any other oxygen scavenger, negates oxygen’s corrosive properties. Carbohydrazine is another oxygen scavenger known for its ability to convert iron (III) oxide (ferric oxide) to iron (II) oxide (ferrous oxide). In order to control the corrosive properties of oxygen, it is imperative to introduce oxygen scavengers into a water treatment system. Without water treatment chemical oxygen scavengers, the metals will corrode and cause maintenance difficulties and breakdowns, and, more importantly, the health of consumers will be negatively affected.

If you’re looking for a water treatment chemical supplier, contact Bell Chem. We’re the the leading chemical supply company in Orlando and we’re more than happy to help you in any way that we can. For more information, call 407-339-BELL (2355) today.

Hydrogen Chloride as a pH Conditioner

Obtained from a water treatment chemical supplier, hydrogen chloride has an extremely low pH (around 1.5-2), making it a strong acid. The water treatment process is often presented with situations that demand an added strong acid and hydrogen chloride, which becomes hydrochloric acid when it forms an aqueous solution with water, fills this role nicely. Hydrogen chloride’s role in the water treatment process is to lower the pH of basic (alkaline) water. When water is too alkaline, corrosion in pipes and equipment occurs, and, more significantly, the health of anyone drinking the water is negatively affected. Elevated pH levels also causes scale formations in water treatment equipment, eventually lead to pinhole leaks in copper pipes, decrease water heater efficiency, and stain porcelain.

If you are concerned about the pH balance of your water, specifically if your water is basic, it is important to recognize the signs of alkaline water. Your water will taste bitter, and the telltale blue-green staining caused by the leaching of copper from pipes will be noted on surfaces coming in contact with the water. To remedy this situation, hydrogen chloride is a dependable acid with many benefits. While other strong acids are available, the water treatment chemical, hydrochloric acid, is the least hazardous to handle, the most stable during storage (concentrations of HCl in water remain more constant than other acids), is available as a pure reagent, and it contains non-toxic and non-reactive chloride ions.

To keep your water treatment equipment safe, check the pH frequently. When a strong acid is necessary to counteract a basic pH, rely on hydrogen chloride to work quickly and effectively. If you’re looking for water treatment chemicals or a water treatment chemical supplier, contact Bell Chem at 407-339-BELL (2355) today.

Chlorinated Detergents

Detergents purchased from sanitation chemical suppliers are renowned for their ability to clean. This process begins when detergents break the surface tension of water used to rinse stainless steel, plastic, or any other hard surface. Once water’s tensile strength is relaxed, water is able to penetrate soiled areas on most hard surfaces and remove grime. Adding a chlorinated component to the detergent will also disinfect surfaces as they are cleaned.

Chlorinated detergents sanitize and bleach stainless steel surfaces, floors, and most plastics. Breweries and wineries use chlorinated detergents as part of their post-fermentation cleaning process to remove brewing deposits. Professional painters find chlorinated detergents excellent for washing walls because it can be entirely rinsed off the surface to be primed and painted. The dairy industry uses chlorinated detergents to clean its milking apparatus and pipelines. Power and spray washers incorporate chlorinated detergents in their equipment; and many convoluted, hard-to-clean machines benefit from the use of chlorinated detergents.

Tannin, a substance released from decaying leaves, stubbornly clings to most hard surfaces. Chlorinated detergents easily remove these stains, leaving a gleaming surface where dark stains once lingered. Along with removing tannin, the sanitation chemicals in chlorinated detergents are also effective in removing proteins, food, and soil.

Add to the above benefits the facts that chlorinated detergents are low-foam, safe to use on soft metals, widely utilized in food manufacturing and production, and hard water tolerant, it is no wonder so many industries turn to chlorinated detergents as their cleaning and disinfecting needs.

At Bell Chem, we are the sanitation chemical supplier offering a variety of products to suit your needs. It’s our goal to provide our clients with the best service in the industry. Along with sanitation chemicals, we provide food, pharmaceuticals, and personal care materials, as well as technical-grade chemicals and custom-blended compounds. If you’re looking for a reliable Florida chemical supply company, contact us today at 407-339-BELL (2355).