Washing Spice

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Washing Spice

The purpose of washing is to disperse impurities off of the product or out of a solution containing the product and into an intermediate solvent.

Alkaline Solution Washing of Inactive Impurities

Most of the impurities that plague yields tend to be quite soluble in both alkaline aqueous solutions and non-polar solvents. To remove these impurities, an imbalance in equilibrium must be created between these two types of solutions, causing the impurities to disperse into a disposable solution from the solution containing the product. This procedure is commonly used for purifying product from extractions that utilize naphtha or heptane to obtain a whiter product. Some of these impurities may be active (DMT N-Oxide, most notably) while others may not.

Washing Spice

Saturate a solution of warm water with a weak base such as sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or sodium carbonate (washing soda) to render an alkaline solution. sodium bicarbonate can be converted to sodium carbonate. Dissolve product in an NPS of preference. Add alkaline solution to the NPS at a ratio of about 1:4 and mix thoroughly. Remove the top NPS layer, and proceed to recrystallization procedure of preference.

Solvent Washing and Isolation of Active Impurities

Removal of active impurities generally relies strictly on differences of their solubility or insolubility in specific solvents. Most notably, Jungle Spice may be removed from DMT using particular solvents such as naphtha or heptane.

Conversion of Sodium Bicarbonate into Sodium Carbonate

Sodium carbonate on left and bicarbonate on right, both in oversaturated solutions. After vs Before the conversion. Sodium carbonate on left and bicarbonate on right. Notice how carbonate is more grainy and bicarbonate more loose/fluffy Weigh your sodium bicarbonate, and put it onto a non-aluminum pan or oven-safe dish. Place in the oven at 400ºF (205ºC) for one hour to one hour and a half to release CO2 and water. Alternatively you can put in a stainless steel (dont use any other material!) pot on the stovetop, 20mins should be enough. Be careful because the powder will be VERY hot, leave it to cool down for a while. The resulting material should have lost around 20% of the original weight. It will be of a slightly less powdery consistency, closer to sugar than flour. If it didnt lose a third of the original weigh, leave it for longer in the oven sodium carbonate feels a bit looser and grainier than bicarbonate, and in an oversaturated solution, sodium bicarbonate will remain powdery while sodium carbonate tends to rock up. NOTE This can also be done on a stove top/oven ring in a pot and take around 10 minutes to completely dehydrate