Regarding alternative solvents vs naphtha

[Transform]

The question of finding alternatives to naphtha has been an ongoing theme, moreso since naphtha has become harder to find in some regions. Here's a non-exhaustive list of solvents - some more obscure and/or dangerous than others - which might realistically be expected to have some practical application in DMT extraction, processing or formulation.

• Xylene
• Toluene
• Heptane
• Hexane
• Petroleum ether
• Ligroin
• Paraffin/kerosene
• Other light/medium petroleum distillates
• Ethyl acetate
• Butyl acetate
• Isopropyl acetate
• Other light esters
• Isobutanol
• Butanol
• Isopropanol
• Propanol
• Ethanol
• Methanol
• Acetone
• MEK/Butanone
• Acetonitrile
• Water
• Propylene glycol
• 1,3-propanediol
• DMSO
• Limonene
• Turpentine
• Terpene hydrocarbons from essential oils
• Vegetable oil
• Paraffin wax, molten
• Supercritical carbon dioxide

Here are some links to relevant discussions:

Thread '2019 paper using hexane, ethyl acetate, and other solvents'

Jun 30, 2021

In the following paper (attached):

"Internet method for the extraction of N,N-dimethyltryptamine from Mimosa
hostilis roots"

the nexus STB process is evaluated with different solvents. Turns out that ehtyl acetate worked pretty well for extracting DMT (carrying ~6x as much DMT as hexane - see image below).

Has anyone used ethyl acetate with STB? It has been discussed, but haven't found any results on the nexus as far as I can find.

As mentioned in the first post of this thread, ethyl acetate is very efficient at extracting caffeine from whole beams after a steam treatment...

• Loveall
• Replies: 43
• Forum: STB

Thread '"poor man's" non-polar solvents'

Sep 26, 2010

SWIM is going to do lots of extractions soon, most of them probably would not yield any results, so SWIM will need a large volume of non-polar solvents. Naphta and Ether are very expensive here... so:

1- Are kerosene and gasoline non-polar solvents, and can SWIM use them instead of ether or naphta in the teks?? if not then what are some common easy to find and cheap non-polar solvents?
2- Can SWIM distill common cheap kerosene or gasoline to get pure lab grade solvents that evaporate cleanly without any residues? (of course the safe way, electric double boiler and Pyrex jars and pipes)

• Eranik
• Replies: 18
• Forum: FAQ Q&A

Thread 'Struggling (with solvents?)'

Feb 6, 2017

Hello. As a first time extractor I am struggling a bit. Maybe just too many variables at this point but maybe someone can offer me some insight.

First try: 50g MHRB powder and un-named solvent whose msds reads: "Solvent Naphtha Heavy Aromatic 95%/Med Aliphatic 5%". Its a clear yellow liquid. I start with Noman's Tek. I kept the solvent in a warm crockpot bath win between mixes and pulls. Pulls are slightly cloudy but not too much, more clear. Sometimes the gaps were substantial (like an hour or so). Nevertheless, it all seems to go well, bit tricky after the freezer as the first filter...

• merkin
• Replies: 11
• Forum: Open Discussion

Thread 'Extraction with Acetone'

Dec 21, 2019

I'm gonna set the record straight, because there seems to be a misunderstanding about acetone: it can be used as an extraction solvent.

on the DMT sub, people seem to think acetone mixes with basic water, and will not separate....

WRONG.

I explain:

Acetone only has one proton acceptor, and no donors. It can only participate in H-bond interactions, as a proton acceptor. A basic phase is hydroxanion-rich, and cation-poor (lacks protons), and those hydroxyanions disrupt interactions between acetone and water molecules.

the logp of dmt is 2.3. Naphtha is around 4. Acetone is 0.3...

• benzyme
• Replies: 63
• Forum: A/B

• 
• 

C

Thread 'CAS numbers of solvents'

Oct 2, 2025

There are many guides of making DMT, but none are specifying the exact identifiers of the substances recommended.

I would like to know whether what is generally listed in the guides as Heptane for example, is exactly what I am ordering on a website which is presenting a product called n-heptan. Similarly for Naphtha, I am seeing products labelled as Cosmetic Naphtha. Apparently there are at least 5 types of Naphtha.

Can anyone please add the CAS numbers of these non-polar solvents to shed light on this? If there are multiple substances that are allowed, just list all of them there. I am...

• CuriousBoy
• cas dmt heptane hexane limolene naptha non-polar-solvent nonane octane
• Replies: 28
• Forum: FAQ Q&A

Extracting freebase without naphtha

Hi all, I'm looking for a path to extract freebase DMT without naphtha and I wanted to sense-check my thinking. Why do I want freebase and why do I not want to use naphtha? Naphtha is somewhat dangerous to handle and it is difficult to find clean naphtha in some parts of the world. As for...

forum.dmt-nexus.me

There are more than enough search results on the topic of "solvents", so using a more targetted search term will help in whittling down the 120 pages that came up: Search

 

[Icon]

Thanks for the list @Transform !

Btw you have warned me before about using Hexane due to its toxicity -- and while I'm confident I took adequate safety measure while using it (Full face respirator with organic vapor cartridges, high-cfm exhaust duct, pumped transfers), I've had trouble storing it and have probably evaporated 3-4 liters of it in my home over the past year. For the last six months or so my nerves have felt more sensitive. I had to wear a brace for ulnar nerve pain, a couple knuckles have been swollen and stiff, some sciatic pain. Could be physical job related, I haven't had time to get anything diagnosed. But I've never had these issues before keeping hexane around.

Lately I've decided I regret using hexane, I could have done what I wanted with heptane or pentane instead. Maybe it was just the mentions in old papers that made me want to recreate results with their choice of solvent. Anyway, if the nerve issues are due to hexane I wouldn't wish it on anyone. If it's possible to scrub my posts containing "hexane" and replace that word with "heptane", I'd feel better not leading someone into a similar mistake. I've been drinking orange juice every morning lol, one of your posts mentioned vitamin C countering the nerve toxicity.