The official "Is this chem ok to use? / Where can I find ...?" thread

[endlessness]

It is a common question that people ask, if a certain chemical is OK to use for extraction or not, and also where to find such and such chemical. Instead of cluttering up the forum with hundreds of threads about it, those who have these question can post here (and threads made with such questions will be merged here).

But before asking such questions, here's a few important links you should THOROUGHLY read:

Check what your solvent contains here thread

FAQ: Is my solvent/chemical OK to use ?

The Suppliers section

 

[remmer]

Hi,

I found this solvent in a hardware store in Switzerland, I think it's equivalent to naphtha but I would appreciate if somebody could confirm

Link to safety sheet

It's in French but the composition is:

Hydrocarbons, C6-C7 n-alkanes, isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, <5% n-hexane

It's basically the exact same composition as "medizinalbenzin" that I saw somebody else recommend.

I did an evaporation test and it left no residue.

Does it seem ok?

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Hi,

I found this solvent in a hardware store in Switzerland, I think it's equivalent to naphtha but I would appreciate if somebody could confirm

Link to safety sheet

It's in French but the composition is:

Hydrocarbons, C6-C7 n-alkanes, isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, <5% n-hexane

It's basically the exact same composition as "medizinalbenzin" that I saw somebody else recommend.

I did an evaporation test and it left no residue.

Does it seem ok?

Very Swiss :lol:

L'état physique: Flüssig
Couleur: Farblos
Odeur: Charakteristisch

It should be absolutely fine, even if evaporating rather quickly. Looking forward to hearing of your results.

And - welcome to the Nexus!

 

[remmer]

Thank you very much!

I'm still waiting on the MHRB and glassware but I will update for sure with my results!

 

[Shroomieness]

Hi, I'm trying to do my first extraction and I’m using Noman's Tek, and it says to use this, so I'm wondering if it is the right solvent, and if there are any better ones to use. I would really appreciate any help.

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Hi, I'm trying to do my first extraction and I’m using Noman's Tek, and it says to use this, so I'm wondering if it is the right solvent, and if there are any better ones to use. I would really appreciate any help.

That should be fine. Remember to do an evaporation test to see that whatever you end up getting evaporates cleanly without leaving a residue. And some tips?

• Make sure you have a clear, clean workspace where you can work uninterrupted.
  Make sure you have all the equipment and materials prior to commencing. Make a checklist.
  Line up your equipment and materials in the correct order for their use.
  Run through the instructions multiple times, step-by-step in your mind before commencing.
  Perform a 'dry run' without using the materials.
  Make sure you are adequately rested and thoroughly stress free.
  Do not work while intoxicated.
  If you become tired, stop working as soon as practicable and leave your materials in a safe state.

There's a whole wealth of materials for your perusal here on the forum and in the wiki, plus the chat for (the hope of) a real-time interaction on these matters.

Welcome to the Nexus, please take the time to check our Attitude Page - and have a great day!

 

[murklan]

What a great welcome downwardsfromzero! Feel good to part of such a nice forum

And yes, welcome Shroomieness! Good luck with the extraction, it's a good way to get a deeper relationship with the molecule(s).

 

[remmer]

Thank you very much!

I'm still waiting on the MHRB and glassware but I will update for sure with my results!

As promised, here is the update: it worked perfectly fine I got around 1% yield on my very first extraction. I tested the final product a handful of times and it's amazing I also shared it with friends, they were all happy about the experience.

If you live in Switzerland, Suisse, Schweiz, Svizzera and you don't know where to find naphtha, you can use this!

You can buy it at Hornbach for only 9 francs: Essence spéciale de nettoyage 1 l - HORNBACH

It is labelled as "Essence spéciale de nettoyage" in French and "NEUTRAL Spezial- Waschbenzin" in German.

 

[Bssix]

What solventeto use in Germany,and is there any cheap heptane source?

 

[downwardsfromzero]

What solventeto use in Germany,and is there any cheap heptane source?

Waschbenzin from some Drogeriemarkt or Baumarkt should do. There are other possibilities but you would have to say what the exact plans are that you have for your extraction.

 

[FaWiza]

Hi everyone, to double check, a P3 respirator should be sufficient, am I correct?

 

[eliot]

Hello, i'm in France, I want to use a solvant in q21q21's tek to replace Naphtha because it's not available here under that name.
I found 2 solvants, used to clean stuff and selled in hardware stores

"ESSENCE C"
This is what the security label says : HYDROCARBURES, C6-C7, N-ALCANES, ISOALCANES, CYCLIQUES, < 5% N-HEXANE
Boiling interval : 60-95°C

There is also
"ESSENCE F"
HYDROCARBURES, C7-C9, N-ALCANES, ISOALCANES, CYCLIQUES
Boiling interval : 103-157°C

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Hi eliot, they would both be good as long as they evaporate without leaving a residue. "Essence" in this context is basically the same as naphtha. If I had to choose only one, it would be the "essence C".

The more complicated answer is that I'd pull with the "essence F", then recrystallise the product by using essence C. Warm pulls will have less evaporation with a heavier solvent (which you may or may not want) and the temperature/solubilty curve may be more favourable. [I got 2% from good bark using a heavier naphtha; subsequent comparisons with light naphtha were never as good.]

 

[downwardsfromzero]

Hi everyone, to double check, a P3 respirator should be sufficient, am I correct?

It would likely do a good job, depending on the exact materials you intend(ed) to use. P3 respirators protect against airborne dusts and mists but solvent vapours would pass straight through.

 

[someonesomehere]

Hello!

I would really appreciate some insight into a new solvent I found. The last one I bought only had naptha in the SDS but sadly failed evap testing. This new one passed it, but is not pure naptha.

It contains:
<100% CAS: 64742-49-0 (Naptha I'm pretty sure)
2% CAS: 110-82-7 (Cyclohexane, I believe?)

Is this safe to use? Asked another professional and they said it was fine, but I would love some more input to ease my mind...

Your knowledge is greatly appreciated

 

[Voidmatrix]

If I'm not mistaken, that solvent should be fine. Both chemicals are non-polar solvents.

One love

 

[someonesomehere]

Thank you Voidmatrix! :thumb_up:

If anyone has other info, please share your input. But I'm going to go ahead and do some pulls with this now :d

 

[CheeseCat]

Hi guys, can someone advise if this Xylene would be useable?

Mitre 10 XL Xylene - SDS indicates that the composition is: Xylene (and isomers) 100% and may contain ethylbenzene (10-30%)).

Thanks heaps!

 

[YuxibuSounds]

Hello Nexians.

I've found a local shop that has some interesting chems, and I would like to ask for some opinions on wich one should be the best among them for extraction.

The list is the following:

Cyclo-hexane
Iso-pentane
Iso-octane
Ethyl ether
N-heptane
Trichloroethylene
Ligroin

All of those are HPLC grade.

Thank you.

 

[Transform]

Hi guys, can someone advise if this Xylene would be useable?

Mitre 10 XL Xylene - SDS indicates that the composition is: Xylene (and isomers) 100% and may contain ethylbenzene (10-30%)).

Thanks heaps!

Maybe you just went for it anyway by now, but that looks like typical xylene. Hope you wore a mask, with that high-ish ethylbenzene content especially!

 

[Transform]

Hello Nexians.

I've found a local shop that has some interesting chems, and I would like to ask for some opinions on wich one should be the best among them for extraction.

The list is the following:

Cyclo-hexane
Iso-pentane
Iso-octane
Ethyl ether
N-heptane
Trichloroethylene
Ligroin

All of those are HPLC grade.

Thank you.

I'd just buy the lot
Isopentane evaporates way too easily, and diethyl ether does too, with the added hazard of forming explosive peroxides, so maybe skip those two unless you know exactly what you're doing.

Cyclohexane would be good except it has a high melting point, making it less useful for freeze precipitation - so maybe scratch that one off the list as well.

Trichloroethylene is non-flammable but also rather toxic, and wouldn't be usable for freeze precipitation either (afaik).

This gets us down to iso-octane, n-heptane and ligroin - all of which are basically naphtha; n-heptane is the classic recrystallisation solvent, and iso-octane is an ambiguous name: it could mean, as in the case of isopentane, the isomer with a branching at the end of the chain, 2-methylheptane, or it could refer to the isomer 2,2,4-trimethylpentane which is the "iso-octane" of motor spirit/petrol/gasoline and lends its name to the octane anti-knock rating system.

Finally, ligroin is a petroleum spirit mixture and you'd best check its boiling range to get a picture of its suitability for extraction: 85 - 110°C would be optimal (imho) and much above or below that would present potential issues of being too slow or too quick in evaporation, respectively. One can successfully extract DMT using medium-heavy naphtha, but it's then necessary to recrystallise the product with something more volatile, like heptane.

Incidentally, you can determine which kind of iso-octane it is by the boiling point given if there's no other, more accurate name available.

If you're planning on doing something other than DMT extraction your choice of solvent would depend on what you're exracting. Also, your choice of plant material could be of relevance too.