Paraformaldehyde (PFA), 300g, 99% powder, for making Formaldehyde, Formalin, etc

Description

From Wikipedia:
Paraformaldehyde
(
PFA
) is the smallest
polyoxymethylene
, the
polymerization
product of
formaldehyde
with a typical degree of polymerization of 8–100 units. Paraformaldehyde commonly has a slight odor of formaldehyde due to decomposition. Paraformaldehyde is a poly-
acetal
.
Paraformaldehyde can be
depolymerized
to formaldehyde gas by dry heating and to formaldehyde solution by
water
in the presence of a base, an acid or heat. The high purity formaldehyde solutions obtained in this way are used as a
fixative
for
microscopy
and
histology
.
The resulting formaldehyde gas from dry heating paraformaldehyde is flammable.
Once paraformaldehyde is depolymerized, the resulting formaldehyde may be used as a
fumigant
,
disinfectant
,
fungicide
, and
fixative
. Longer chain-length (high molecular weight) polyoxymethylenes are used as a
thermoplastic
and are known as
polyoxymethylene
plastic (POM,
Delrin
). It was used in the past in the discredited Sargenti method of
root canal treatment
.
Paraformaldehyde is not a fixative; it must be depolymerized to formaldehyde in solution. In cell culture, a typical formaldehyde fixing procedure would involve using a 4% formaldehyde solution in
phosphate buffered saline
(PBS) on ice for 10 minutes. In histology and pathology specimens preparation, usually, the fixation step is performed using 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin (4% formaldehyde) for, at least, 24 hours.
Paraformaldehyde is also used to crosslink proteins to DNA, as used in ChIP (
chromatin immunoprecipitation
) which is a technique to determine which part of DNA certain proteins are binding to.
Paraformaldehyde can be used as a substitute of aqueous formaldehyde to produce the resinous binding material, which is commonly used together with
melamine
,
phenol
or other reactive agents in the manufacturing of
particle board
, medium density
fiberboard
and
plywood
.
To make Formalin, a 37% solution of Formaldehyde in water, from Photo Engineer:
Take about 50 ml of warm water and add a drop of 37% Sulfuric Acid to it. This is common battery acid. Then add 37 grams of Paraformaldehyde to that in small amounts while stirring. It should dissolve. If it does not, add another drop of acid. When all solid is added, dilute this to 100 ml and this will make a 37% (weight / volume). Be careful as Formaldehyde is a gas and can overcome you in a closed space. Wear eye and hand protection and use a breath mask or work outdoors if possible.
Similarly, to make
10% Neutral Buffered Formalin (4% formaldehyde), use 4 grams of Paraformaldehyde instead to make 100 ml
.
If you backpack to climb Mt. Everest, even a small butane tank would be too heavy to carry.
Paraform can be compress into
camping fuel pellets weighing only grams. It burns clean with no smoke or residues.
Due to aldehyde's high reactivity, you can also use Paraformaldehyde to make
fungicide,
triethylamine (fish scent), adhesives, various resins, and many other cool things.