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TEK Looking for feedback regarding new/proposed Ibogaine extraction from Voacanga.

This topic contain a TEK
TheSoftMachine

TheSoftMachine

Esteemed member
Good morning everybody. It's been about a decade since i last posted here. Im experienced with the extraction of DMT using Q21's tek, and some experience with other extraction methods for DXM and LSA. Circumstances have led me to wish to pursue the extraction of Ibogaine.

I have conducted a significant amount of research and was surprised at how little simplified/accessible documentation is available. (or, at least, accessing this information isnt quite as simple as i recall from the good old days of clandestine chemistry on the internet.)

My own (admittedly uneducated) research and feedback regarding most recent papers regarding this subject has led me to write up this simplified method of extracting Ibogaine from Voacangine, ive read through Chris Jenks' material, as well as this 2021 paper. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsomega.1c00745

I am looking for feedback on this UNTESTED procedure, if there are any issues that stand out, if this would theoretically work, and if there are any considerations that have been neglected.

Also, if there are aspects that can be further simplified, id be interested in that as well.

VOACANGA → IBOGAINE HCl (EXPANDED)


This guide adapts the Jenks Tek approach for accessibility while incorporating González (2021) innovations such as the direct acetone shortcut and optimized dimer cleavage. Two alternative extraction routes are presented, both of which converge on the same voacangine‑enriched intermediate. From there, the conversion and crystallization steps are common to both. This also integrates Jenks’ refinements on selective partitioning, purification, and yield calculations, while noting that González (2021) does not include the Jenks‑style acetone/HCl or petroleum ether/diatomaceous earth purification steps. Those optional steps were designed for dirtier acid–base extracts; the acetone route generally produces cleaner resin that can move directly to cleavage and conversion.

MATERIALS (COMMON TO BOTH ROUTES)

  • Plant: 100 g dried, powdered Voacanga africana root bark (finely milled, sieved to remove fibers)
  • Acids: White vinegar (5% acetic acid), muriatic acid (10% HCl from hardware/pool supply), citric acid powder or lemon juice (weak fallback)
  • Bases: Ammonia solution (~10%), potassium hydroxide pellets (preferred for hydrolysis step), baking soda or washing soda as emergency substitutes
  • Solvents: Acetone (100%, nail polish remover if pure, or hardware thinner), ethanol (95% rectified spirits, e.g. Everclear), optional methanol for final recrystallization, toluene/petroleum ether/naptha as optional wash solvents
  • Tools: French press or large jar, mason jars, funnels, coffee filters or cloth, stirring rods/spoons, thermometer (digital probe or candy), pH strips (aquarium/pool supply), fan or gentle heater for drying, glass plates or ceramic dishes for spreading solids
  • Optional glassware: Flask, simple condenser, separatory funnel, Büchner funnel with filter aid (diatomaceous earth)
  • Safety gear: Gloves, goggles, good ventilation or outdoor setup, labeled containers, ready supply of baking soda and water for neutralizing spills

ROUTE A: DIRECT ACETONE EXTRACTION (GONZÁLEZ STYLE)

  1. Mix: Combine 100 g powdered bark, 10 g baking soda, and 800 mL acetone in a large glass jar or French press. The baking soda neutralizes natural plant acids, freeing alkaloids into the acetone.
  2. Agitate: Stir or shake for 30–60 minutes. Over time the acetone will darken from clear to a rich brown, with a sharp, bitter odor indicating alkaloid migration.
  3. Filter & repeat: Filter through paper or cloth. Repeat extraction 3–5 times with fresh acetone until filtrate is pale, showing most alkaloids are removed. Combine all extracts.
  4. Evaporate: Place combined acetone extracts in shallow dish or jar. Let solvent evaporate in a ventilated area (no flames). A thick, sticky dark resin remains (8–10 g typical).
  5. Cleanup: Suspend resin in a smaller volume of acetone. Add a few drops dilute HCl. This protonates alkaloids, leaving fats in solution. Filter off unwanted fats. End with a voacangine/dimer enriched resin.
Expectation: ~8–10 g resin total; ~0.8–1.0 g voacangine recoverable after cleavage. Resin should be sticky and pungent.

From 100 g bark expect ~8–10 g resin. At cleavage stage ~1.4–1.6 g voacangine equivalent. Final ibogaine HCl ~1.0–1.3 g under field conditions.

ROUTE B: ACID–BASE EXTRACTION (JENKS STYLE)

  1. Acid soak: Mix 100 g bark with 500 mL vinegar (5% acetic acid) in a French press or large jar. Soak 1–2 hours, stirring occasionally. The acidic solution protonates and solubilizes alkaloids.
  2. Press & repeat: Press/filter liquid into a clean beaker or jar. Repeat 4–5 times with fresh vinegar until bark tastes no longer bitter. Combine acidic extracts.
  3. Basify: Slowly add ammonia solution while stirring. Monitor pH with strips. At pH >10, brown solids precipitate. Avoid overshooting above pH 12 to reduce impurities.
  4. Settle: Allow mixture to stand overnight so solids can sink.
  5. Filter & collect: Decant off clear liquid, then filter the precipitate through coffee filter. Collect brown solids.
  6. Dry crude TA: Spread precipitate on plate, dry under fan or gentle heat. You now have crude total alkaloids.
  7. Optional wash: Rinse dried crude with 15–20 mL acetone per gram, stirring gently, to remove fats. Impurities stay dissolved, alkaloids remain behind.
Expectation: ~2–3 g crude alkaloids containing voacangine + dimers. Dry powder should smell earthy/bitter and darken on heating.

From 100 g bark expect ~2–3 g crude TA. After cleavage this equates to ~1.4–1.6 g voacangine. Final ibogaine HCl ~1.0–1.3 g.

Optional Phase II (Jenks): Crude TA may be partitioned with weak acid/toluene system to enrich voacangine prior to cleavage. This optional purification is most beneficial for Route B, since crude TA is dirtier. Route A products should not need this step according to the Gonzalez paper.

DIMER CLEAVAGE TO ENRICH VOACANGINE

  1. Dissolve resin/TA: Take ~1 g resin or crude TA from Route A or B. Suspend in 50 mL 10% HCl (~3 M).
  2. Heat: Place jar or flask in boiling water bath (100–110 °C) for 1–2 hours. Mixture darkens, then lightens slightly as dimers cleave. Stir occasionally if possible.
  3. Cool & neutralize: Let cool. Slowly add baking soda until fizzing (CO₂ release) stops. Check with pH strip; target ~7.
  4. Extract: Add ethanol, shake well, separate layers. Retain ethanol solution. Evaporate gently to recover voacangine‑rich resin.
Expectation: Yields ~1.4–1.6 g voacangine from 100 g bark under field conditions; up to ~2.0 g possible with optimized cleavage. Texture should be less sticky, odor more pungent/chemical than raw bark.

If available, TLC can confirm disappearance of dimer bands. By eye: solution becomes less viscous and slightly lighter brown.

Optional scavengers: Triisopropylsilane (TIS) additives or microwave heating (per González 2021) can raise yield to ~50% molar.

Optional Jenks purification: Before conversion, voacangine can be precipitated with acetone/HCl and leached with petroleum ether/naptha & diatomaceous earth to remove impurities. This step is mainly important for Route B extracts where more impurities remain; for Route A extracts it can be skipped unless maximum whiteness is desired.

CONVERSION TO IBOGAINE BASE

  1. Dissolve voacangine: Place ~0.5 g purified voacangine in 50 mL ethanol:water (3:2). Stir until clear.
  2. Add base: Add ~2 g KOH pellets per 0.5 g voacangine. Stir until fully dissolved. Mixture will be strongly basic (pH >10).
  3. Reflux: Heat under gentle reflux (covered jar in hot water bath) for 12 h. Color shifts from yellow → deep brown. Completion indicated by stabilization of color and pH.
  4. Cool & reduce: Let cool. Evaporate ~half solvent volume carefully.
  5. Acid quench/decarboxylation: Add 15–20 mL 5% HCl slowly. Bubbling CO₂ signals decarboxylation. Heat gently for 15 minutes. Color may lighten again.
  6. Neutralize: Cool, then add baking soda slowly to neutral pH ~7.
  7. Extract ibogaine base: Add ethanol, shake, and separate. Evaporate ethanol to obtain ibogaine free base as sticky resin or semi‑solid.
Expectation: From 0.5 g voacangine, yield ~0.3 g ibogaine base. Texture is sticky but more cohesive than crude resin. Odor sharp and chemical.

Strong bubbling during acid quench, dark → lighter color shift, and a more solid texture upon drying.

CRYSTALLIZATION TO IBOGAINE HCl

  1. Dissolve base: Place ibogaine base in minimal warm acetone.
  2. Salt formation: Add 10% HCl dropwise with stirring until pH ~3. Crystals should begin to appear.
  3. Cool slowly: Allow solution to cool at room temperature, then move to fridge. Slow cooling yields larger, purer crystals.
  4. Filter & wash: Collect crystals on filter paper. Rinse quickly with cold acetone to remove trace impurities. Dry thoroughly.
Expectation: From 100 g bark, expect ~1.0–1.3 g crystalline ibogaine HCl under field conditions. Crystals should appear as white to off‑white needles/plates, with a faint chemical odor.

At this stage solution should smell strongly chemical/solvent, and crystals should look white to off‑white. Sticky or discolored product means recrystallization is needed.

Hazard note: Avoid long contact between acetone and strong HCl as polymerization can occur.

RECRYSTALLIZATION

  1. Redissolve: Place crude ibogaine HCl crystals in hot ethanol or methanol. Stir until fully dissolved.
  2. Cool & crystallize: Allow solution to cool slowly, then refrigerate overnight. Crystals reform.
  3. Filter & dry: Collect crystals, dry fully. Repeat 2–3 times.
  4. Purity check: First crop is usually purest; later crops contain more impurities and can be redissolved for further processing.
Expectation: Each recrystallization improves whiteness and sharpness of crystals. After 2–3 cycles, product should be bright white, odor neutral, and dry to the touch.

Hot solution should be clear and smell strongly of ethanol/methanol. Upon cooling, fine white crystals form. Off‑white or yellow tinge suggests more cycles needed.

COMPARISON OF ROUTES

  • Route A (Acetone): Faster, avoids liters of aqueous acid, gives consistent yields. Needs more acetone solvent and flammable‑handling care.
  • Route B (Acid–Base): Uses cheap and safe materials like vinegar and ammonia. More laborious soaking/pressing, larger liquid volumes, but does not require as much flammable solvent.
  • Convergence: Both methods produce voacangine‑enriched resin, which then undergoes the same dimer cleavage, conversion, and crystallization sequence.
  • Checkpoint yields: Resin weight after extraction, voacangine after cleavage, ibogaine base after decarboxylation, and ibogaine HCl after crystallization should be recorded and compared to theoretical (~2 g max per 100 g bark).

FINAL NOTES & SAFETY REMINDERS

  • Always add acid to water, never the reverse. Exothermic splashing can cause burns.
  • Never seal containers while heating; gases (CO₂, solvent vapors) must escape.
  • Always work outdoors or in strong ventilation. Acetone and ethanol vapors are flammable.
  • Keep baking soda nearby to neutralize spills of acid or base.
  • Label every jar and keep notes of pH, weights, observations. Keep batch sheets with timings, photos, and yield calculations.
  • Yield expectations: Lab‑grade methods can yield close to 2 g ibogaine HCl from 100 g bark. Kitchen methods are more likely in the 1.0–1.3 g range.
  • Waste disposal: Neutralize acidic waste with baking soda until fizzing stops, then dilute with plenty of water before disposal. Neutralize bases with weak vinegar before discarding. Solvents like acetone/ethanol should be evaporated outdoors or collected for safe disposal—never pour into open drains. Recycling: spent bark can be re‑soaked in fresh solvent, and filtrates can be recycled into later pulls to maximize recovery.
End Goal: Achieve a stable, crystalline ibogaine hydrochloride product starting from accessible Voacanga bark using either simplified acetone or acid–base extraction routes, followed by common conversion and purification steps.

Both paths should lead to ibogaine hydrochloride if carefully executed. Route A implements the González shortcut and produces more consistent yields with fewer steps. Route B mirrors the classic Jenks “kitchen chemistry” approach with multiple clear stopping points. In either case, careful recrystallization is essential to go beyond crude resin and achieve true ibogaine HCl crystals.
 
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Transform said:
Yes, we have thread about this somewhere, with a pdf outlining the whole process going from Voacanga africana ~bark (seeds?), via voacangine decarboxylation to ibogaine. You'd best look that up to check your method is accurate.

I'd say just get on with it (including the background reading) and report back.
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I assume youre referring Chris Jenks four-part method which has been talked about a bit before, which is essentially what is simplified in the Acid/Base portion of this. However i have not found much else on this site aside from that one resource, which outlines a more large-scale and chemically advanced method of extraction/synthesis.

This TEK should theoretically be simpler and easier than any other clandestine method published thus far, at least, that i could find, based on recent improvements in the scientific literature. (Unless there's any additional information that i'm missing)

It's why i'm looking for more feedback from anybody with a chemistry knowledge. Thank you for the reply though.
 
Just wanted to bump the thread to advise that i've since edited and expanded the full guide above after some re-reading and some other feedback I received from other sources. Now the Jenks style purification steps have been included here also, in case a user follows his traditional A/B extraction and receives a similar crude impure product. They were originally excluded as its thought they are not necessary for the Gonzalez-style acetone extraction, but may still be necessary if using the Jenks style A/B extraction. Experimentation will probably be needed here.

I'm still yet to attempt this procudere myself, so any feedback of any kind would be sincerely appreciated! even if somebody can validate that this appears correct would be helpful just to sanity-check myself before going through with it; I will not be able to test this approach for quite some time. But, i will be sure to provide updates each step of the way once i am able to attempt this.

Please, if anyone at all has any experience or knowledge about organic chemistry or clandestine extraction/synthesis, let me know what you think!
 
TheSoftMachine said:
Just wanted to bump the thread to advise that i've since edited and expanded the full guide above after some re-reading and some other feedback I received from other sources. Now the Jenks style purification steps have been included here also, in case a user follows his traditional A/B extraction and receives a similar crude impure product. They were originally excluded as its thought they are not necessary for the Gonzalez-style acetone extraction, but may still be necessary if using the Jenks style A/B extraction. Experimentation will probably be needed here.

I'm still yet to attempt this procudere myself, so any feedback of any kind would be sincerely appreciated! even if somebody can validate that this appears correct would be helpful just to sanity-check myself before going through with it; I will not be able to test this approach for quite some time. But, i will be sure to provide updates each step of the way once i am able to attempt this.

Please, if anyone at all has any experience or knowledge about organic chemistry or clandestine extraction/synthesis, let me know what you think!
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I still need to go over the Gonzalez paper but due to present commitments this may take a while. Have you looked through all the references in that paper? They'll generally help illuminate various aspects of the extraction scheme and the logic behind it (or at least, some of them should). The steps you've outlined look fairly reasonable and practicable so far.

TheSoftMachine said:
Triisopropylsilane (TIS)
Click to expand...
This one is definitely not OTC, btw! Still worthy of note for those with access to a more sophisticated lab, of course.
 
Transform said:
I still need to go over the Gonzalez paper but due to present commitments this may take a while. Have you looked through all the references in that paper? They'll generally help illuminate various aspects of the extraction scheme and the logic behind it (or at least, some of them should). The steps you've outlined look fairly reasonable and practicable so far.
Click to expand...

Interestingly enough, the references are pretty sparse. The only reference to actual extraction and synthesis procedure is the Jenks extraction tek. There is one or two other references regarding Ibogaine synthesis and voacanga chemistry but nothing else that can provide much practical insight. It seems Jenks really pioneered this process and not much development has occured since then.

Now, in case it's not evident in the guide, what sets this guide apart and makes it worthwhile is that it integrates the practical simplicity of González’s method with the foundational insights from Jenks, while trimming the complexity where it’s unnecessary. The acetone resin method derived from González is the centerpiece here — it avoids the cumbersome acid-base washes that Jenks relied on and cuts out chromatography entirely. Instead, voacangine is captured in a crude but effective resin that can be cleaved and converted directly.

However, unlike the González paper, which uses ethyl acetate extraction and silica gel column chromatography, this guide bypasses those bottlenecks by leaning into ethanol and acetone as universally available solvents. Reflux and pH manipulation substitute for flash chromatography, which dramatically increases accessibility without sacrificing too much in yield or purity. The tradeoff is slightly lower purity compared to chromatography, but with careful crystallization, the end result is still pharmaceutically clean.

Jenks’ process had more cleanup steps — acetone/HCl precipitation, petroleum ether washes, etc. — but those were designed for dirtier extracts. The acetone-resin path from González yields more total material, and is already fairly selective for alkaloids. That allows users to go straight to cleavage without dealing with adsorbents or fractional filtration unless they really want top-end results.

Time-wise, the González route brings the entire process under three days, start to finish. Even in home lab conditions, you can theoretically extract, cleave, convert, and crystallize within a long weekend.

In short, this guide bridges the gap: it preserves Jenks’ foundational work, simplifies González’s innovations for field use, and should deliver good results without specialized equipment, in theory.
 
Some of those claims sound like LLM ego-rubbing; I'd be very cautious about accepting general (non-specialised) LLM output regarding chemical process as anything approaching factual. If you can get crystalline material using only acetone, ethanol and water - well, that would be a significant step. Are repeated recrystallisations really simpler than column chromatography, though?

The proof of the pudding is - I was going to say "in the eating" but I'm highly sceptical of the claim regarding pharmacological purity without chroma. Not to say that you won't get a usable product, just that some of the claims appear inflated and the practical execution of the extraction and conversion will be a learning process where you should expect the emotional rollercoaster of experimental lab work.

So, how lucky are ya feelin'? ;)
 
doubledog said:
This section seems to imply that ethanol will make separate layers (as ethyl acetate would), but it will most likely not.
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That one caught my eye too, only I forgot about it due to some recent other events; it might do from a highly concentrated base solution… not a reliable step with ethanol, works far better with IPA, if that's a suitable solvent for ibogaine freebase.
TheSoftMachine said:
Salt formation: Add 10% HCl dropwise with stirring until pH ~3. Crystals should begin to appear
Click to expand...
While we're at it, I'm not confident that 10%HCl would necessarily allow crystal formation. Does this have precedent in either of the papers you're referencing?
 
Transform said:
Some of those claims sound like LLM ego-rubbing; I'd be very cautious about accepting general (non-specialised) LLM output regarding chemical process as anything approaching factual. If you can get crystalline material using only acetone, ethanol and water - well, that would be a significant step. Are repeated recrystallisations really simpler than column chromatography, though?

The proof of the pudding is - I was going to say "in the eating" but I'm highly sceptical of the claim regarding pharmacological purity without chroma. Not to say that you won't get a usable product, just that some of the claims appear inflated and the practical execution of the extraction and conversion will be a learning process where you should expect the emotional rollercoaster of experimental lab work.

So, how lucky are ya feelin'? ;)
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I did not use an LLM when conducting my research for this. this was made in collaberation with a friend of mine who does have a more classically trained chemistry background. I'm only repeating the claims that this friend of mine had made or validated. (Whether he used an LLM though, i mean i guess i cant prove otherwise, but frankly I havent found any reason to suggest this would be implausible. The conversion to HCL and recrystalization is directly lifted from Jenks and Route A is directy lifted from Gonzalez. the Gonzalez paper only differs in the regard that it uses Ethyl Acetate, and i dont see why Ethanol couldnt act as a reasonable substitute for final processing/crystalization. Gonzalez goes from this Ethyl Acetate directly to silica gel column chromatography, so dont see why Ethanol couldnt act as a reasonable substitute for Ethyl Acetate, nor why careful recrystalization cannot substitute purification by chromatography.

If you have reason to doubt any of the procedures mentioned, please elaborate further because obviously i dont want to waste my time. But im a little perplexed by the assertion of doubt but without identifying any actual problems that stand out (aside from my admittedly overly-optimistic claims - definitely shouldnt have claimed "pharmacological purity", but in my mind this just meant "with purity suitable for consumption". i'll give you that one. but the excitement is valid IMO if the Gonzalez improvements really are as stated in the paper, especially with the optimizations made by dimer cleavage)

This is an attempt to summarize the improvements by Gonzalez and simply to transpose it onto the current Jenks procedure. There isnt really anything new here. If Jenks can do it with Vinegar/Ammonia, HCL, Ethanol, and Water i dont see why Acetone, HCL, Ethanol, and Water couldnt do it. (Granted Jenks does have Toluene/Naptha wash steps, but Gonzalez doesnt perform these either. They also are included in the guide nevertheless, and i did try to make it clear this eas experimental.)

Though i appreciate the feedback and will take note of the challenge towards the procedure, and perhaps ill lean towards utilizing Jenks' purification steps at first.

It was this friend that suggested just going to Ethanol/Methanol instead of Ethyl Acetate, as Ethanol is used by Jenks in a similar fashion (iirc), but if this is doubtful, then i will take that into consideration.
 
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Transform said:
That one caught my eye too, only I forgot about it due to some recent other events; it might do from a highly concentrated base solution… not a reliable step with ethanol, works far better with IPA, if that's a suitable solvent for ibogaine freebase
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I believe even with IPA it will be contaminated with salt or base.
It seems that all these alkaloids have very favourable characteristic: they precipitate in alkaline water and can be filtered out.
In any separation step, I would use this approach in each step, if some hard-to-get solvents could not to be used.
 
doubledog said:
This section seems to imply that ethanol will make separate layers (as ethyl acetate would), but it will most likely not.
Click to expand...

Actually, i just spoke to the friend who assisted with this, and youre right. I completely misinterpreted his advice to use Ethanol.

He's advised to me that Ethanol will not separate into layers, but that this isnt strictly necessary at this phase as Ethanol is only used after neutralization to pull the material. so it's not a partitioning extraction, but a solvent-assisted isolation, it's just used to dissolve the freebase into solution and can be decanted/filtered off and evaporated, and the following purification steps and crystalization should strip it of any remaining trace salts/acids

Jenks dissolves or redissolves the alkaloids in ethanol or acetone after neutralization, then evaporates to dryness in the exact same fashion.

Stating it should separate into layers is my own mistake, thank you for pointing this out, it's exactly the kind of feedback im looking for. That should instead read something like "add ethanol to dissolve the freebase, decant off solids, then evaporate"

Transform said:
While we're at it, I'm not confident that 10%HCl would necessarily allow crystal formation. Does this have precedent in either of the papers you're referencing?
Click to expand...

Yes, In both Jenks and Gonzalez, ibogaine is converted to its hydrochloride salt by acidifying a freebase solution with dilute HCl, around pH 3–4, after which crystals do begin to form as Ibogaine HCL is much less soluble in acetone. 10% HCL is sufficient to convert other alkaloids into salts from information ive gathered. Even if it's less efficient, being able to use muriatic acid directly off the shelf is worth the convenience IMO.
 
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TheSoftMachine said:
as Ethanol is only used after neutralization to pull the material. so it's not a partitioning extraction, but a solvent-assisted isolation, it's just used to dissolve the freebase into solution
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But at that stage, you have your ibogaine in water solution together with some salts from reacting KOH, HCl and baking soda. Adding ethanol will not separate these salts and after evaporation, it will be contaminated. Subsequent crystallization in acetone maybe would not work properly.
 
doubledog said:
But at that stage, you have your ibogaine in water solution together with some salts from reacting KOH, HCl and baking soda. Adding ethanol will not separate these salts and after evaporation, it will be contaminated. Subsequent crystallization in acetone maybe would not work properly.
Click to expand...

Well, KOH is not used at this stage yet, and the bicarbonate should reduce the HCL to mostly H2O, CO2, and NaCl shouldnt it? (Hence why it stressed "Until fizzing stops") isnt that the purpose of nutralizing acids like this? & sodium chloride as a salt is very poorly soluble in Ethanol, while baking soda isnt supposed to be soluble in ethanol at all. As such, Ethanol should be a suitable solvent in this context despite not separating into layers, everything else should remain with the solid material. No?

I also figure that crystalizing first in Acetone and then recrystalizing back in Ethanol/Methanol should have enough selecvtivity to get rid of any trace salts that did remain, anyways.
 
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TheSoftMachine said:

CONVERSION TO IBOGAINE BASE

  1. Dissolve voacangine: Place ~0.5 g purified voacangine in 50 mL ethanol:water (3:2). Stir until clear.
  2. Add base: Add ~2 g KOH pellets per 0.5 g voacangine. Stir until fully dissolved. Mixture will be strongly basic (pH >10).
  3. Reflux: Heat under gentle reflux (covered jar in hot water bath) for 12 h. Color shifts from yellow → deep brown. Completion indicated by stabilization of color and pH.
  4. Cool & reduce: Let cool. Evaporate ~half solvent volume carefully.
  5. Acid quench/decarboxylation: Add 15–20 mL 5% HCl slowly. Bubbling CO₂ signals decarboxylation. Heat gently for 15 minutes. Color may lighten again.
  6. Neutralize: Cool, then add baking soda slowly to neutral pH ~7.
  7. Extract ibogaine base: Add ethanol, shake, and separate. Evaporate ethanol to obtain ibogaine free base as sticky resin or semi‑solid.
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I was refering to this part. There is a mention to use water, KOH, HCl and baking soda in steps 1, 2, 5, 6. If I understood correctly, you are going to have all salts dissolved in water prior to addition of ethanol.

Most likely yes, more crystallization steps could purify it anyways.
 
doubledog said:
I was refering to this part. There is a mention to use water, KOH, HCl and baking soda in steps 1, 2, 5, 6. If I understood correctly, you are going to have all salts dissolved in water prior to addition of ethanol.
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Sorry yes i was actually in the process of editing my comment, i forgot about that second wash initially. But even a quick search shows that KOH is reduced to KCL by the HCL (and the added NaHCO₃ if any is really left by that point) and KCL is also insoluble in Ethanol.

The only salts remaining would be KCL and the aformentioned NaCL + NaHCO₃. (and maybe perhaps KHCO₃), but these or any other derivitives shouldnt be soluble, AFAIK
 
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TheSoftMachine said:
a quick search shows that KOH is reduced to KCL
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That's not how this term should be used in chemistry.
The proper term is "neutralised". It's also worth noting that this neutralisation occurs only between the H₃O⁺ and OH⁻ ions, the K⁺ and Cl⁻ ions remaining unchanged as 'bystanders'. There aren't actually any "KCl" or "KOH" molecules involved, and the contribution of molecular HCl is minimal.

Check out what the term "reduction" means in chemistry - it's useful to know ;)
 
doubledog said:
Imo you would need to dry it after step 6 then, otherwise you are dealing with water in the mixture, in which KCL is soluble.
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Oh, shit, yes, that's a good point. Understanding now that there is no layer separation, youre absolutely right, this water needs to be accounted for. Thank you for this, i will definitely dry the material at this stage.
 
Transform said:
That's not how this term should be used in chemistry.
The proper term is "neutralised". It's also worth noting that this neutralisation occurs only between the H₃O⁺ and OH⁻ ions, the K⁺ and Cl⁻ ions remaining unchanged as 'bystanders'. There aren't actually any "KCl" or "KOH" molecules involved, and the contribution of molecular HCl is minimal.

Check out what the term "reduction" means in chemistry - it's useful to know ;)
Click to expand...

I havent made any illusion that i have any chemistry training or knowledge beyond searching the internet for these specific purposes, at least i thought i had made that pretty clear. Hopefully youll forgive my specific technical ignorance. I do know the difference between reduction and neutralization, im just speaking quickly and colloqueally here. Chemistry isnt something ive spoken about or studied in over a decade.

Also with regards to your description of how KOH neutralization works. This is actually something im at least loosely familiar with, enough to know that the distinction here is a bit of an unneccesary and irrelevant distinction. it literally doesnt matter and KCL is referring to an aqueous solution of K⁺ and Cl⁻ ions. i understand that. Theyre not soluble in ethanol. it just seems youre being overly pedantic at this point tbh. No offense or anything...

If you have any actual criticisms to direct at the procedure itself, rather than at my vocabulary, i genuinely am interested in the productive feedback to improve this. Clearly your chemistry knowledge is far superior to mine based on how you want to represent yourself, so please, enlighten me, how would you approach this differently then? From what i can see here, you havent raised any issues of your own thus far, or really provided any specific original feedback of any kind. My chemistry vocabulary is less of a priority, you dont have to spend time worrying about that.
 
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