Turning aspirin pills into mint flavor | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

Learn how to transform aspirin into wintergreen through a chemical reaction, and use the resulting wintergreen to make mint candies.

Key Insights

• 💪 Methyl salicylate, also known as wintergreen, is a naturally-occurring oil with a strong minty odor used in flavoring and pain relief products.
• ❓ Wintergreen can be synthesized from aspirin through a chemical reaction involving esterification and transesterification.
• 💄 The process of making wintergreen involves grinding aspirin pills, dissolving them in methanol, adding concentrated sulfuric acid, boiling for 60 minutes, filtering and washing the solution, and separating the wintergreen.
• 🌥️ Careful handling and precautions are necessary due to the toxicity of wintergreen when ingested in large amounts.
• 💪 Using wintergreen as the main source of mint flavor in candies may not provide a strong enough taste and can be potentially dangerous if consumed in excess.

Transcript

methyl salicylate also known as wintergreen is a naturally-occurring oil with a really strong minty odor it can be found in a lot of different plant species and it's often extracted as an essential oil commercially it's mostly used as a flavoring agent in candy or in cream products like bengay to relieve muscle and joint pain to make the wintergree... Read More

Questions & Answers

Q: What is wintergreen and how is it commonly used?

Wintergreen is a naturally-occurring oil with a strong minty odor. It is commonly used as a flavoring agent in candy and in cream products like Bengay for muscle and joint pain relief.

Q: How is wintergreen made from aspirin?

Wintergreen can be made from aspirin through a chemical reaction called esterification. The carboxylic acid group of aspirin is esterified, and the salicylic acid is replaced with methanol.

Q: What supplies and chemicals are needed to make wintergreen?

To make wintergreen, you will need 50 extra-strength aspirin pills, methanol, and concentrated sulfuric acid. It is important to use high-grade ACS chemicals and solvents to ensure purity.

Q: What is the process for making wintergreen from aspirin?

The process involves grinding aspirin pills into powder, dissolving the powder in methanol, filtering off insoluble particles, adding concentrated sulfuric acid, boiling for 60 minutes, separating the wintergreen and unreacted starting material, washing with sodium bicarbonate solution, drying with molecular sieves, and filtering to remove impurities.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Wintergreen, also known as methyl salicylate, is a naturally-occurring oil with a strong minty odor, often used as a flavoring agent and for pain relief.

• By esterifying the carboxylic acid group and replacing the salicylic acid with methanol, aspirin can be converted into wintergreen in a single step.

• Using high-grade chemicals and solvents, the process involves grinding aspirin pills, dissolving them in methanol, adding concentrated sulfuric acid, boiling for 60 minutes, filtering and washing the solution, and finally separating the wintergreen.