searchanddestroy
Rising Star
I've been following a procedure that is based on Kash's A/B procedure. 100g cactus powder is placed in cheesecloth and covered with 800ml water and 200ml vinegar, and pressure cooked at 15 psi for 20 minutes. The liquid is poured off and this procedure is repeated for a total of five times. The liquids are combined and boiled until volume is reduced to 900-1000ml, and then basified with 200g KOH (pH >14). This solution is then extracted with 5 portions of 150ml xylene. The organic layers are then combined and mescaline HCl is formed by addition of 20-25ml dilute HCl (prepared by adding 8-10 drops of 35% HCl to 120ml distilled water). The aqueous layer is filtered off and set aside, and then the addition of 20-25ml of dilute HCl and filtering off is repeated for a total of 5 times (until the prepared dilute HCl solution is entirely consumed.) The aqueous layers are combined and allowed to evaporate.
My yields are typically 0.1% to 0.2%, the former using san pedro powder and the latter using a bridgesii powder. I'm not sure if it's because my powder is weak or my procedure/technique is lacking. Any suggestions on how I can improve technique? When mixing with xylene, I typically roll and shake the bottle for a few minutes, allow the layers to resolve, roll/shake again, and so on for a total of 4-5 times for each of the 5 extractions. I follow the same procedure with the addition of dilute HCl.
I've also heard of people adding HCl to the organic (xylene) layer serially, rather than combining the layers and adding HCl, as I do. Would this improve yields any?
My yields are typically 0.1% to 0.2%, the former using san pedro powder and the latter using a bridgesii powder. I'm not sure if it's because my powder is weak or my procedure/technique is lacking. Any suggestions on how I can improve technique? When mixing with xylene, I typically roll and shake the bottle for a few minutes, allow the layers to resolve, roll/shake again, and so on for a total of 4-5 times for each of the 5 extractions. I follow the same procedure with the addition of dilute HCl.
I've also heard of people adding HCl to the organic (xylene) layer serially, rather than combining the layers and adding HCl, as I do. Would this improve yields any?