nbk2000
April 26th, 2006, 04:51 AM
Experiments in CW sometimes require precursors which are difficult, if not near-impossible, for the amateur to obtain. One such chemical is arsenic, from which such things as Lewisite and Adamsite can be derived.
Long available in the old days as a rodent poison, it's been restricted for the last century due to homicidial poisonings with it.
Purchases from chemical suppliers entail records, red-flags in government databases, and who-knows-what since 9/11, thus such commercial sources are to be shunned as leperous whores.
Fortunately, arsenic-based chemicals are still available at most hardware stores in the form of defoliants intended for sheeple to use on their driveways and such in pursuit of a greener pasture than the neighbors. :rolleyes:
I'll not be naming the exact brands (anti-k3wL), but they are quite common in the US, and arouse no suspicion in their purchase, being available in such places as ACE, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.
The 2 chemicals most often used are listed below:
Monosodium methyl arsenate, CAS#2163-80-6, CH4AsNaO3, MW 162
Cacodylic acid, CAS#75-60-5, C2H7AsO2, MW 138
The arsenic content of both of these chemicals is about 50%.
So, out of a pint of defoliant, you can expect to get almost six ounces of arsenic, for only $8. :)
But getting the arsenic out of them is a process that needs to be developed.
The MSDS's for these products mentions that acidic conditions in the presence of reducing metals, such as aluminum or zinc, will produce arsine gas.
Arsine, a very poisonous gas in itself, is oxidized to arsenic trioxide when the gas is burned in air, the oxide forming a white smoke that can be collected on a cold surface held above the flame.
Another option would be to pass the arsine gas through an alkali solution, such as sodium hydroxide, and collection the resulting arsenide salt.
The most direct route is to pass the arsine gas through a solution of silver nitrate, whereupon the nitrate is reduced, the hydrogen removed, and arsenic trioxide remains in solution to be collected by evaporation.
But this requires a fairly expensive reagent which, even though it can be regenerated by cheap nitric acid, would be prohibitivly expensive for quantitiy production.
All these processes involve the creation of a highly toxic gas, which it would be nice to avoid having to use, if an alternate process could be found that would require simple mixing of reagents with the herbicide to produce the desired arsenic salt as a preciptiate.
Long available in the old days as a rodent poison, it's been restricted for the last century due to homicidial poisonings with it.
Purchases from chemical suppliers entail records, red-flags in government databases, and who-knows-what since 9/11, thus such commercial sources are to be shunned as leperous whores.
Fortunately, arsenic-based chemicals are still available at most hardware stores in the form of defoliants intended for sheeple to use on their driveways and such in pursuit of a greener pasture than the neighbors. :rolleyes:
I'll not be naming the exact brands (anti-k3wL), but they are quite common in the US, and arouse no suspicion in their purchase, being available in such places as ACE, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.
The 2 chemicals most often used are listed below:
Monosodium methyl arsenate, CAS#2163-80-6, CH4AsNaO3, MW 162
Cacodylic acid, CAS#75-60-5, C2H7AsO2, MW 138
The arsenic content of both of these chemicals is about 50%.
So, out of a pint of defoliant, you can expect to get almost six ounces of arsenic, for only $8. :)
But getting the arsenic out of them is a process that needs to be developed.
The MSDS's for these products mentions that acidic conditions in the presence of reducing metals, such as aluminum or zinc, will produce arsine gas.
Arsine, a very poisonous gas in itself, is oxidized to arsenic trioxide when the gas is burned in air, the oxide forming a white smoke that can be collected on a cold surface held above the flame.
Another option would be to pass the arsine gas through an alkali solution, such as sodium hydroxide, and collection the resulting arsenide salt.
The most direct route is to pass the arsine gas through a solution of silver nitrate, whereupon the nitrate is reduced, the hydrogen removed, and arsenic trioxide remains in solution to be collected by evaporation.
But this requires a fairly expensive reagent which, even though it can be regenerated by cheap nitric acid, would be prohibitivly expensive for quantitiy production.
All these processes involve the creation of a highly toxic gas, which it would be nice to avoid having to use, if an alternate process could be found that would require simple mixing of reagents with the herbicide to produce the desired arsenic salt as a preciptiate.