Yellow/green color of acetone and MEK

From: Wilco Oelen (photo_at_woelen.nl)
Date: 11/19/04 

Date: 19 Nov 2004 11:52:03 -0800

Hello,

I have some acetone, stored in a transparent colorless glass bottle in
a dark cabinet. The acetone has turned light yellow/green within
approximately one year of storage. When I purchased the acetone it was
completely colorless.
Before I did the acetone in the bottle, it was cleaned very well with
hot water, then rinsed with distilled water, allowed to (almost)
completely dry and finally rinsed two times with a small amount of
acetone.

A similar, even stronger, observation I have made with MEK (methyl
ethyl ketone). I separated 100 ml of this and poured this in a small
glass bottle. This MEK also has turned yellow/green in just a few
months of storage. The remaining MEK in the original bottle still is
colorless. The MEK also is stored in a dark cabinet. The bottles, in
which the MEK is stored are cleaned in a similar way as the acetone
bottle, but now with two finals rinses with MEK.

Any idea what the source of the color is? Are ketones not stable on
storage?

Wilco Oelen

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