Completly Natural Extraction

[benzyme]

if you're left with a yellow oil, that's a fairly clean pull (generally the lighter it is, the cleaner).

 

[Aegle]

"The study of epigenetics shows that instead, genes can be turned on and off by experiences and environment. What we eat, how much stress we undergo, and what toxins we're exposed to can all alter the genetic legacy we pass on to our children and even grandchildren."

Hence I have a personal preference to not use things which could bring harm even on a small or miniscule scale, another example of this perception which I incorporate through out my life is I use an infusion of ginger to treat aphids that appear on my plants rather than using poisons marketed for aphids. Truly each to their own...


Much Peace and Kindness

 

[Aegle]

Alright. I love all these simple, natural extractions & preparations.

This is a list of neat little chemicals that can easily be made, naturally:

-Calcium Hydroxide(Lime) - Base
Crush Seashells and/or Snail shells to a powder & burn it well,
then mix thoroughly with water & allow to dry up.

-Potassium Hydroxide - Base
Mix ashes from burnt wood with water thoroughly. Strain this soup
through a very fine filter, collect the water & discard the ash-pulp.
Allow water to evaporate to yield Potassium Hydroxide crystals.

-Potassium Nitrate - Fuel, Fertiliser
Niter-beds are prepared by mixing manure with either mortar or wood ashes, common earth and organic materials such as straw to give porosity to a compost pile typically 1.5×2×5 meters in size.[11] The heap was usually under a cover from the rain, kept moist with urine, turned often to accelerate the decomposition, then finally leached with water after approximately one year, to remove the soluble calcium nitrate which was then converted to potassium nitrate by filtering through the potash.(Wikipedia)

Can anyone elaborate on this method? Or know a simpler or faster method?

-Ethanol(Alcohol) - Solvent
Dissolve plenty of Sugar in water in a suitable jerrycan.
Then add Yeast & allow to ferment. When Yeast is dead, filter out
the solids & throw the liquids into distiller. Low-temp distill
the liquid to yield relatively pure Ethanol as distillate.

This could be further dehydrated. Perhaps by using regular table salt?

Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm not much of an alcohol brewer.


Let's see how much handy chemicals we can add to that list without doing anything too unnatural.
Correct me if I am wrong & feel free to add more handy Chemicals & simple methods to make them.

SKA

I really love your list of neat little chemicals, incredibly grand if I do say so myself.


Much Peace and Respect

 

[benzyme]

The study of epigenecis shows that instead, genes can be turned on and off by experiences and environment. What we eat, how much stress we undergo, and what toxins we're exposed to can all alter the genetic legacy we pass on to our children and even grandchildren.

i'd like to see some of those studies, if you don't mind.
you greatly underestimate the error-checking mechanism of DNA polymerase.
I certainly don't experience the physical complications due to environmental stressors that my grandparent experienced.
then again, that's part of the reason why genetic variability (mutations) is beneficial, and
inbreeding is detrimental.

granted, some mutagens can induce malevolent mutations in progeny, but chloroform isn't quite like thalidomide.

 

[Aegle]

"Over the past five years, evidence that epigenetics plays a major role in cancer has become "absolutely rock solid," says Robert A. Weinberg, a biologist at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Mass. Andrew Feinberg, director of Johns Hopkins University's Epigenetics Center, thinks it's a factor in autism and diabetes as well. Drugs are in the works aimed at undoing cancerous epigenetic changes. Even eating foods rich in gene-altering methyl groups — such as soybeans, red grapes, and green tea — might protect against disease by silencing detrimental genes. In one famous experiment, researchers fed a methyl-rich diet to pregnant female mice that carried a gene that made them fat, yellow, and prone to cancer and diabetes. Though their offspring carried the same gene, they were born slim, brown, and disease-free. But researchers are still trying to work out how to use this powerful tool to address specific health problems. "Did this change in diet increase cancer risk?" asks McGill University pharmacologist Moshe Szyf. "Did it increase depression? Did it increase dementia or Alzheimer's? We don't know yet, and it will take some time to sort it out."

Quoted from The Week


Much Peace and Kindness

 

[benzyme]

that's nice, but it doesn't address/differentiate between causality vs. genetic predisposition.
some cancers are not necessarily passed onto progeny, and you
can't say for certain it's attributed to diet either. a lot of unanswered questions remain.
people used to think cholesterol was bad, and going vegan would prevent illnesses.

I've known people who've worked with aromatic solvents for over 10 years, no tumor growths.
on this site, we're talking about a handful of extractions...

ultimately, like you said, it's a matter or preference.

 

[SKA]

I was reading about NaOH production on Wikipedia and found this description of
a seemingly very simple electrolysis process anyone with brain activity & opposable thumbs could do.

Electrolysis can be done with two beakers, one containing a brine solution (salt water) and one containing pure water. A salt bridge can be made of a length of bent hose (a metal pipe should not be used) to connect the two beakers. Plug the ends with tissue or cloth. Put the negative electrode in the solution that you want to produce sodium hydroxide and hydrogen with. Put a positive electrode made from a carbon rod (or a pencil lead) into the solution that you want to produce the chlorine gas (metal electrodes such as copper used here will produce little gas, but instead will fall apart into green copper chloride). Connect both electrodes to the respective terminals of a 12 volt power supply.
Note: A salt bridge can also be made by soaking a folded up paper towel in the brine and inserting each end in the two beakers.

Sounds really simple doesn't it? May not quite be "Jungle Chemistry", but it is defenitely Kitchen-Chemistry
and as such just as available to the uneducated hobby chemist.
That's why I'll add it to my list: NaOH is usefull for extraction & preparation of precious compounds &
it's amazingly easy to produce from readily available materials.(Salt, Water, 2 Glasses,
a Gardenhose, Carbon or Pencil Lead rods & Batteries/powersource)

Seems like the negative electron would accumilate NaOH crystals & H gas will bubble up from it.
Too bad Wikipedia doesn't specify what material the Negative electrode should be made of :/
Does anyone know this Salt bridge-electrolysis setup?
And does anyone know what the Negative electrode should be made of?

 

[Infundibulum]

^^
It is imperative to know that chlorine gas would also be produced by electrolysis of NaCl to NaOH. Chlorine gas is extremely toxic and you should not try the above procedure without good ventilation or knowing exactly what to do and how to act if you get poisoned.

 

[InMotion]

Another issue is the formation of chlorates. Which will likely oxidize the crap out of anything you would use sodium hydroxide for in an extraction.

Chlorine gas generated by electrolysis isn't a big issue unless done on an industrious scale.

Maybe try with sodium carbonate? I don't see why that wouldn't work. Industry probably uses NaCl because its well dirt cheap.

I actually have replied in a thread about this very topic going into a bit of detail(Easy, sustainable method of alkali production - Eco friendly extraction teks - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus)... A good choice of anode or cathode would be graphite. It will degrade however, carbon dust can easily be filtered and should introduce no 'toxic' impurities.

 

[SKA]

Another issue is the formation of chlorates. Which will likely oxidize the crap out of anything you would use sodium hydroxide for in an extraction.

Chlorine gas generated by electrolysis isn't a big issue unless done on an industrious scale.

Maybe try with sodium carbonate? I don't see why that wouldn't work. Industry probably uses NaCl because its well dirt cheap.

I actually have replied in a thread about this very topic going into a bit of detail(Easy, sustainable method of alkali production - Eco friendly extraction teks - Welcome to the DMT-Nexus)... A good choice of anode or cathode would be graphite. It will degrade however, carbon dust can easily be filtered and should introduce no 'toxic' impurities.

The formation of Chlorates only occurs when you electrolyse Brine in a regular
electrolytic cell, where the negative & the positive electrode are in the same
body of brine water.

chloralkali process (also chlor-alkali and chlor alkali) is an industrial process for the electrolysis of sodium chloride solution (brine). Depending on the method, several products besides hydrogen can be produced. If the products are separated, chlorine and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) are the products; by mixing, sodium hypochlorite or sodium chlorate are produced, depending on the temperature.

In the simple, Salt-Bridge Electrolysis of brine, as I quoted from Wikipedia in my
previous post, the negative and the positive electrode are in 2 separate bodies of
water, one brine water & 1 pure water cell, so the Chlorine hence no Chlorates form
and pure NaOH, pure Hydrogen gas & pure Chlorine gas are yielded from this
salt-bridge type electrolytic cell.



Are there any other Solvents, Acids, Bases or other chemicals usefull for
extractions, simple synths & other Bush/Kitchen- Chemistry activities any
of you know of? Please share.

 

[InMotion]

Yes correct with a salt bridge chlorine will form at one electrode and sodium hydroxide at the other. Don't expect a 100% conversion however. Chlorate formation is dependent on temperature to a large extent anyways.

Sulfuric acid can be made via electrolysis and concentrated with heat.

Solvents hmmm...

Ethanol from yeast and distillation.
Turpentine from pine tree resin.
Vinegar can be made from a fermentation process.
Nitric acid is an easy one with some glass-ware.
Ammonia is easy but not exactly "bush chemistry"

 

[SKA]

Yes correct with a salt bridge chlorine will form at one electrode and sodium hydroxide at the other. Don't expect a 100% conversion however. Chlorate formation is dependent on temperature to a large extent anyways.

Sulfuric acid can be made via electrolysis and concentrated with heat.

Solvents hmmm...

Ethanol from yeast and distillation.
Turpentine from pine tree resin.
Vinegar can be made from a fermentation process.
Nitric acid is an easy one with some glass-ware.
Ammonia is easy but not exactly "bush chemistry"

Sulferic acid, Terpentine, Vinegar, Nitric acid & Ammonia?
Interresting! Can you explain how they are made in more detail?

It's okay if it isn't Bush Chemistry, just as long as a Kitchen
Chemist could easily make these chemicals without the need of
excessive knowledge, skills or the need of complex Lab gear.

I'm trying to make a list of relatively easy to make Extraction Chemicals
that Noobish Kitchen-Chemists like myself can make: Both Bush Chemistry &
Kitchen Chemistry have simple production methods & require easy to obtain
starting materials/sources are therefor welcome to my list.

The list is in post #32 on page 2 of this Topic and I'll update it with
more, new Chemicals & their (easy) production methods as they come in.
Ethanol from Yeast & Distillation is already on the list. I also added
"NaOH from Salt-bridge Electrolysis" to the list ago some hours ago.

Just keep extraction/synthesis-relevant Chemicals & their production
methods from readily available sources comming in...if you guys know any more.
I'll keep adding them to the list.

 

[InMotion]

Ammonia can be made by bubbling ammonia gas released from the following reaction. Ammonium Salt(Ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, etc) and Sodium hydroxide, small volume of water to start reaction. Bubble the gas into cold water. Suck-back bottle is a good idea. Warning ammonia gas is very dangerous!!! If one starts from ammonium nitrate then they are left with sodium nitrate which can be used for nitric acid synthesis.

Nitric acid can be made by a variety of methods. The best one requires a simple distillation set up. Sulfuric acid and a nitrate salt distills over to be HNO3, leaving I believe sodium hydrogen sulfate a useful solid acid. There are easier methods but the concentration is usually pretty dilute and usually there are impurities. Warning nitric acid is a pretty serious acid, the fumes emitted in the process are NOx fumes(brown/red smell of chlorine) are very toxic and can kill.

Sulfuric acid from a sulfate salt is pretty routine in the electrolysis world. Here's a link about it. Make Sulfuric Acid by Copper Sulfate Electrolysis

Ethanol fermentation is easy. Get some yeast, lots of sugar and some tomatoe paste.(recipes available online). Ferment the stuff. Distill it. Fractionate it, Bang concentrated ethanol.

Vinegar has a similar method but no need for distillation. Just need a 'mother vinegar culture'. These can be bought online or at local places. This is how people used to get vinegar(so says my mom).

Turpentine can be made from distillation of pine resins or 'rosins' iirc. The left over solid can be burned for a wonderful incense. Calophony incense.

It's all together much cheaper to buy these chemicals then to make them in general but it can be fun and worthwhile if proper safety precautions are taken to prepare them yourself.

 

[SKA]

The methods and chems I seek need to be cheap, easy to make & possible to make from readily available sources.

Salt, water & 9Volt batteries are cheap and the process to turn them into NaOH(+ H(g) & Cl(g))
with a salt-bridge electrolysis is really easy and NaOH is very usefull in many extraction methods.

Ethanol fermentation is easy. Get some yeast, lots of sugar and some tomatoe paste.(recipes available online). Ferment the stuff. Distill it. Fractionate it, Bang concentrated ethanol.

Yeah I have Ethanol on my list already as it indeed is easy to make & usefull in many extractions too.
I haven't heard of adding tomatoe paste to the yeast-sugar-water mixture before.
Does it aid the Yeast somehow? Or is it just an extra source of sugars for yeast to turn into Ethanol?

Vinegar has a similar method but no need for distillation. Just need a 'mother vinegar culture'. These can be bought online or at local places. This is how people used to get vinegar(so says my mom)

Thanks! Vinegar is defenitely usefull in extractions. Wikipedia mentions
Acetic acid bacteria
which ferment Ethanol into Vinegar. "Mother of Vinegar" is a culture of this
bacterium, right? I'll have a look around to see if I can find some.
Perhaps some professional cooking & kitchen gear store may sell it.

I'll defenitely add Vinegar to the list, but do you know anything about the
(easy) production process? Wikipedia is a little vague about it:

Fast methods add mother of vinegar (i.e., bacterial culture) to the source liquid before adding air using a venturi pump system or a turbine to promote oxygenation to obtain the fastest fermentation. In fast production processes, vinegar may be produced in a period ranging from 20 hours to three days.

So you're supposed to add the Acetic Acid bacteria culture to a container
filled with ethanol(source liquid) & aerate that ethanol with air bubbles
until the process is done. That seems quite simple too.

Would an aquarium-pump suffice?

Ammonia can be made by bubbling ammonia gas released from the following reaction. Ammonium Salt(Ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, etc) and Sodium hydroxide, small volume of water to start reaction. Bubble the gas into cold water. Suck-back bottle is a good idea. Warning ammonia gas is very dangerous!!! If one starts from ammonium nitrate then they are left with sodium nitrate which can be used for nitric acid synthesis.

Nitric acid can be made by a variety of methods. The best one requires a simple distillation set up. Sulfuric acid and a nitrate salt distills over to be HNO3, leaving I believe sodium hydrogen sulfate a useful solid acid. There are easier methods but the concentration is usually pretty dilute and usually there are impurities. Warning nitric acid is a pretty serious acid, the fumes emitted in the process are NOx fumes(brown/red smell of chlorine) are very toxic and can kill.

Sulfuric acid from a sulfate salt is pretty routine in the electrolysis world. Here's a link about it. http://www.instructables...er-Sulfate-Electrolysis/

Can you explain how Ammonia would be usefull in extraction? And from what
readily available sources would you obtain Ammonia gas?

Sulfuric acid may be usefull for extraction. That Instructable link is very
helpfull, but one thing concerns me:

After the solution has gone clear, filter off the particles and the clear filtrate is dilute sulfuric acid that can be boiled down to obtain concentrated sulfuric acid. It will have trace amounts of metals but for most purposes this is not an issue.

Might these trace amounts of metal cause impurities in extracts?
Also: Isn't making & working with a strong, liquid acid like this
dangerous for uneducated, unskilled hobbychemists?