My mimosa is stuck in calcium carbonate (I think)

[red and yellow]

Can anyone please advise? I fear I may have a large block of calcium carbonate (limestone), containing about 1/2 a kilo of mimosa hostilis root bark. Here's what happened:

Last summer, I ran a simple a/b vinegar/calcium hydroxide extraction (Q2121's to be exact), only did one pull from it and just left it in an open container where it has now dried out to form a big, solid, lightish-brown block, resembling plaster-cast in consistency.

EDIT: Apologies, I neglected to supply some, perhaps crucial, information. During the tek, I accidentally added far too much calcium hydroxide, or far too much water (I can't actually recall which), resulting in far more material than I'd normally end up with. The plan was to do subsequent pulls in the following days, but I just never got around to it. Had no idea that I was going to end up with this brick I now have.

Would I be correct in thinking the calcium hydroxide has now carbonated to become limestone (calcium carbonate)?

Is there any fairly simple way I can still get the remaining spice out of it; could I heat it to make calcium oxide, then add water to make calcium hydroxide? If so, is this an easy process to carry out at home, with simple household items, or stuff I could get from ebay or wherever?

It's not too big a deal, I'll just start again if it involves a complicated process to get it back to calcium hydroxide, but it'd be nice if I could get something out of it.

 

[DreaMTripper]

I think the simplest way is to do an acid base, crush the lump up as much as possible, you could use a cloth and a hammer until it is powder, then add acidic water thats at a low pH, leave it react for a while until the lump has dissolved , you may need a lot of water, say minimum 2.5l and more importantly adequate time. You can always reduce the solution on a stove after its reacted until it is a more manageable amount. Then add a suitable base such as sodium carbonate and pull with NPS.

 

[pitubo]

Some of the block might still be calcium hydroxide. I bet that most of the dmt is still there as freebase. I would do as DreaMTripper says, crumble and powder the block.

BUT.. I would not redissolve in acid yet (OMG the foaming of dissolving all that calcium carbonate in acid...) Chances are good that there is DMT as freebase in the block that can be pulled as is. You could pull with naptha or with some alcohol (ethanol, isopopanol - choose) but you'll have to use quite a bit of solvent because of the amount of material you'll have to soak. After soaking let the solvent evaporate. Recrystallize the crude residue from clean naphta.

If that fails you can always redissolve in acid, and do a regular A/B extraction.

 

[Orion]

It shouldn't matter much as the actives have been released from the broken down bark as a freebase. Breaking up and re-hydrating the solid mass should still give you the freebase alkaloid solution which can be pulled in a standard fashion. I like pitubo's idea of simply ripping it out with alcohol though, then just re-x the product after evaporating the alcohol.

 

[1ce]

Hahahahahaha....

is the mimosa powdered?

 

[red and yellow]

Thanks guys, thought I might have to end up binning the lot, but this is great news

First, I'll have have a go at breaking up the brick and running a few pulls, see what that gets me.

1ce: Always powdered.