Mess trying extracting DMT for the first time: Please help!

[Pippobaudo]

I tried extracting DMT using A/B extraction using Mimosa hostillis, lightning naphta, lye and vinegar. Everything went good until I had to precipitate! I put the naphta in freezer for 24 hours but then very little crystals were in the bottom, plus they weren't attached to it, with minimum sollecitation they could float around. I could see that most of the DMT was still in the naphta because there were strange white "filaments" floating around so I think it was sature. So based on posts on the internet I decided to evaporate all the naptha by putting it under the sun. After 24 hours very little naphta evaporated so I tried to warm it. It seems thst I warmed it so much because I forgot it and litteraly everything evaporated and my "lab" was full of very dense DMT fumes; this is another thing that makes me suppose the naphta was full of dmt so... Why it didn't precipitate? Also any recommendation to make naphta evaporate faster in case I run in the same problem?

 

[downwardsfromzero]

One possibility is that your naphtha had a significant content of aromatics, which will prevent freeze precipitation from occurring. If you are able to find a SDS (safety data sheet) for your naphtha that will help throw some light on the matter - and I have some suspicions if you really mean 'lighting naphtha' rather than Lightning as a brand of naphtha? If you can't find the data, there should be something like an EINECS number, or some other kind of product identification number which can help point is in the direction of understanding.

Another possibility is that your freezer was not cold enough, if it is an ice compartment above a refrigerator, for example. Are you able to check this with a thermometer?

Incidentally, it's better to evaporate naphtha using air flow - sunlight can in principle lead to destruction of your product by UV light.

Another way of recovering DMT from your solvent would be to extract it into vinegar and evaporate the vinegar to recover DMT acetate. The naphtha can then be used for subsequent extractions. The DMT acetate can be converted back to freebase by mixing it into a paste with sodium carbonate, allowing this to dry and then dissolving the DMT with acetone or ethanol (the drier the better). Evaporating the solvent leaves the DMT as a gooey residue.

 

[Pippobaudo]

One possibility is that your naphtha had a significant content of aromatics, which will prevent freeze precipitation from occurring. If you are able to find a SDS (safety data sheet) for your naphtha that will help throw some light on the matter - and I have some suspicions if you really mean 'lighting naphtha' rather than Lightning as a brand of naphtha? If you can't find the data, there should be something like an EINECS number, or some other kind of product identification number which can help point is in the direction of understanding.

Another possibility is that your freezer was not cold enough, if it is an ice compartment above a refrigerator, for example. Are you able to check this with a thermometer?

Incidentally, it's better to evaporate naphtha using air flow - sunlight can in principle lead to destruction of your product by UV light.

Another way of recovering DMT from your solvent would be to extract it into vinegar and evaporate the vinegar to recover DMT acetate. The naphtha can then be used for subsequent extractions. The DMT acetate can be converted back to freebase by mixing it into a paste with sodium carbonate, allowing this to dry and then dissolving the DMT with acetone or ethanol (the drier the better). Evaporating the solvent leaves the DMT as a gooey residue.

I found this reddit post about my solvent

https://www.reddit.com/r/dmtguide/comments/q9jji5/zippo_premium_lighter_fluid

 

[downwardsfromzero]

quote from that Reddit:
"Please post either the product SDS (previously known as MSDS) or a picture from an evap test you did. If you can't find an SDS please link the product in question, advise where it was purchased from and what country you're in.

Evap tests are done by putting a drop of solvent on a cleaned piece of glass and seeing if any residue is left behind. This should be done for every new brand or new bottle of the same brand unless ACS grade."

I think you need to find a better solvent, yours sounds suspect - did you do an evaporation test?

If you're in Italy, something like this might be suitable: Essenza di petrolio per vernici e resine
SDS: https://www.antichitabelsito.it/schede/sicurezza_essenza_petrolio.pdf

 

[Pippobaudo]

Wow where the f. you found it??? I tried to find some naphtha in Italy since 3 days, but I never found anything maybe because it isn't called naphtha. Anyway really thanks. I will process with a DMT extraction as soon as possible and I will let y'all know if this solvent works. Also it is a lot cheaper than lighter fluid. It is crazy how a slightly different name made me crazy in searching where to buy it.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Wow where the f. you found it??? I tried to find some naphtha in Italy since 3 days, but I never found anything maybe because it isn't called naphtha. Anyway really thanks. I will process with a DMT extraction as soon as possible and I will let y'all know if this solvent works. Also it is a lot cheaper than lighter fluid. It is crazy how a slightly different name made me crazy in searching where to buy it.

I'll admit, it was bloody difficult, not least because I don't really speak Italian (although, tbh, it's pretty easy to read for the most part). I really had to grub around even for information on what to call it; Italian wikipedia is pretty lousy, btw :lol: Luckily for me, up in the north you have Bolzano/Bözen so I was able to get a bit more of a grip on things via the dual German/Italian websites that they have up there. That led me to a few more options for petroleum distillate terminology in Italian, since I am pretty fluent in German and have several decades of experience in naphtha synonyms.

But yeah, it does seem to be rather tricky to find out about naphtha or its alternatives in Italy - keep me updated if you find out some more as global petroleum distillate nomenclature is one of my ongoing projects within the more general umbrella of chemical etymology.

Btw, I don't think your lighter fluid would have any aromatics in but then again it could be formulated differently for the Italian market. Products intended for burning will not have the same specification as solvents for cleaning or laboratory use as oily and waxy residues are irrelevant for the former, but highly undesirable for the latter.