Practical Chemistry

Ludi · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 5:53 am Post subject: Practical Chemistry

I started this thread in honor of Reverse Engineer.

Please post your experience with producing useful materials in the home lab. Book knowledge is not relevant (this is the doing forum), so don't post what you've read in a book, just what you have actually done yourself.

MadScientist · Heavy Crude Joined: May 19, 2004 Posts: 418

lol there's A LOT more to chemistry than exothermic reactions. If the only use you see for chemistry is bomb-building, well, that says something about you.

my personal favorite at home science project is colloidal silver.

1. hook a pure silver wire to a positive battery lead.
2. hook a pure silver wire to a negative battery lead.
3. stick the wires ( not touching) into a distilled hot water solution. I always add a speck of honey to catalyze the reaction.
4. how long you leave it running is dependant on the amount of water and the size of your current. The water will progress from clear to yellow to golden to black.
5. remove the wires, filter the water through a cheese cloth or coffee filter.

the darker the water, the higher the ppm of the silver colloid. Mix it with more distilled water until you get the color you desire.

colloidal silver is an amazing anitbacterial, antiviral solution.

excellent for washing, cleaning, preserving. excellent immune booster.

if you drink enough of it, for years, you will start to turn blue. I personally dont ingest it unless im really sick or am hard up for mouthwash, which i havent been in a long time. Mainly because I don't wanna kill the multitude of friendly microorganisms in my gut.
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highlander · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 7:50 am Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

Not quite a "home lab", but It is easy to convert waste cooking oils into fuel (biodiesel) just heat, add 20% methanol and about 5grams KOH per lb oil, mix for two hours and let set. Drain off the glycerine (hmmm, wonder what you can make with that, besides soap), wash with water to remove contaminates, dry and put the stuff in your diesel powered vehicle, generator, or stove.
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smallpoxgirl · Moderator Joined: Nov 08, 2004 Posts: 6477

Just a friendly reminder that making explosives without a license is illegal under US and most national laws. In the US that includes using blackpowder for anything except firearms. Please do not discuss how to make any of the materials on this list: link

Also please do not discuss how to make any of the substances on this list: link
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Cashmere · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Mar 27, 2008 Posts: 1971

Rendering fat - hardwood ashes lye - nice soap.

Aluminum and iron oxide - Alien blood.

N3----> N2. Very tricky - need a good symbiont to do such things.
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Ludi · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:27 am Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

Thanks, smallpox girl. Obviously, I'm pretty ignorant of this topic! Smile

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Ludi · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:28 am Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

mos6507 · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 9:29 am Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1761

De-rusting iron and steel articles with muriatic acid, also known as "brick cleaning acid", or HCL. Dilute with equal parts of warm water in a plastic or enamelware pan, NEVER aluminum, which will react violently and produce poisonous gas! Soak your parts until rust rubs off with a stiff brush. Do this OUTDOORS, as the fumes are hazardous to your lungs, eyes, skin, etc., and wear goggles and protective clothing and rubber gloves. Protect your eyes at all costs! If you get it on your skin, it will itch and burn a bit, but it washed off with copious amounts of water, will do little or no harm. Keep a garden hose handy, and don't splash this stuff.

When you are satisfied the rust is removed, evidenced by it turning black, remove the articles with tongs and wash with the hose immediately. Then, carry the metal articles to a laundry sink, or equivalent, and wash in lots of very hot water. While the metal is hot from the water, remove parts one at a time and blot dry. I use an air hose to dry them. The residual heat in the metal will get the last water vapor from the surface. As you see this happen, dunk the parts in oil, or spray with primer paint immediately, since the metal is chemically clean and surface etched, so it will rust again on the surface instantly. No matter, it is only a couple molecules deep.

I recently cleaned a 5 gallon bucket full of old files this way, and use them in the shop daily. The files were actually sharpened in the process! The files were free, throwaways, and I netted over 100 of them, at a considerable savings. New, they would have cost $500 to $1,000. Shouldn't have to buy any files as long as I live. I've also cleaned hundreds of pounds of old bolts this way, that came out looking almost like new. In general, the process is too much trouble for a single article, but is a real winner for quantities like this.

Yes, it's a lot of trouble, but it works on difficult shapes that resist all other efforts. Don't use it on compex assemblies where acid could become trapped between layers and contiue to corrode the metal. You can dispose of the spent acid properly in plastic jugs at a recycling center. Dilute and wash away any spills as it will etch concrete surfaces. Scared yet? Hope so. Be careful out there.
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highlander · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:00 am Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

Anybody have a good recipe for anti-biotics?
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Ludi · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 11:06 am Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

Patience, what is the maximum amount of time the items should be left in the acid? Can they be left overnight, for instance?

Thanks!
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MadScientist · Heavy Crude Joined: May 19, 2004 Posts: 418

patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1761

Ludi, It's a time and temperature thing. The warmer it is, the faster it works. On a hot Texas summer day, starting with warm water in the acid, you can remove a lot of rust in about 30 to 45 minutes. Light rust disappears very quickly. Note that any grease or oil will stop the acid from getting to the metal, thus, no workee. Lacquer thinner or acetone are good degreasers to wash with, then let dry in the sun completely before putting in acid.

Also note that the vapors of the acid will corrode anything it touches. You can leave a bottle of this stuff uncorked in the garage for a few days, and rust every piece of steel in there! Store it outdoors, and dispose of it when you're done. This, by the way, is the process steel mills use for descaling/derusting thier metal, because it is the cheapest.

One more thing. Any basic chemical like baking soda will neutralize acids. In the case of HCL, the product of the reaction is salt water. Not the answer for your tools. The best way to get rid of it is to wash off with outrageous amounts of water.
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Ludi · Posted: Wed Aug 13, 2008 1:05 pm Post subject: Re: Practical Chemistry

Thank you very much, patience. That is all very useful practical information. Smile

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patience · Expert Joined: Jan 04, 2008 Posts: 1761

Ludi,
Some more caveats I forgot. When the rust is gone, the acid starts eating steel! So don't leave it in longer than necessary to clean something. That is the reason it will actually sharpen a file, since the acid acts more quickly on a flat surface (the side of file tooth) than on a sharp edge, removing metal that creates a sharper edge.

Very old blacksmith tools may be made of WROUGHT IRON, not steel. Don't use acid on wrought iron , because it contains a lot of thin layers of silica slag, a product of it's manufacture. Acid will eat away the pure iron, leaving the slag in a pattern resembling weathered wood grain. I would only use mechanical means for getting rust off wrought iron. Cast iron can be acid cleaned just fine, though.

Used responsibly, this can help resurrect some old tools that are pretty far gone, although it does not replace metal that is turned to rust, so that means you will expose the pitting caused by rusting when the rust is removed. Many times, this is okay, being covered with paint, or sanded until smooth. I've saved some old wood planes, draw knives, and such by the process.

I think I've covered it all.....
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