Adjusting PH levels

[frobot]

When adjusting PH levels, does it matter what you use, so long as you hit the desired PH?
For example if you want a solution to be at a PH of 4, would anything be different between citric acid / vinegar / tartaric acid / etc? Or if your target was a PH of 10 would there be a difference between using ammonia / baking soda / lye / etc?
Lye seems to be just about a staple for DMT extractions. Aren't there other things that can get you to a PH of 12+ ? Or is it so commonly used because it can increase yield over other things?

 

[concombres]

Most acids will work. Bases are a little more complicated. Baking soda doesnt bring the solution to a high enough ph, some sifferent bases may react with different solvents, etc.
lye seems to be the most commonly used base because it works very well.

It would be nice if an alternative base could be used w/ naphtha & yeild good results. Lye is sketchy thanks to meth cooks, & ammonia stinks.

 

[frobot]

Thanks for the response this helps a bit.

I've experimented with citric, malic, and tartaric acid with no noticeable differences.
Mostly was wondering about bases.
I just did some more experimenting though and learned something that pretty much answers my question.
I thought the more of something you use, the higher PH you get. But each substance seems like it has a max PH you can get out of it.
Noobie mistake :lol:
I didn't expect this because in my experience with ammonia, every drop I add has a significant effect. But I had never used more than just a couple drops. I now see that there is no PH difference between 10 drops and an entire flask full.

So I assume nothing else that is easy to access gets to high PH levels and that is why lye is commonly used.

 

[benzyme]

it's a matter of considering pKa's. dicarboxylic acids such as tartaric and fumaric are considered polyprotic, so at certain pH ranges, more than one of the conjugate acids may bind (ex. bitartrate salts).

 

[frobot]

Very interesting. Well, I've got quite a bit of reading to do.
I looked up a few words that weren't so familiar to me, each one leading me to other things I had to look up.

Edit: are there other things that can get you to a high PH level?