First the good news:
Other bees contrinbuting to this thread have inspired SWIP, who went scurrying back to his lab to try an idea spawned by one of the suggestions. He took just a little of the GUPS from the 120s-maybe 3 pills worth--and added a bit of ammonia, mixed it into the usualy creamy paste, took a quantity of washing soda roughly equal in quantity to the GUPS and mashed it well into the mixture. Then he dtirred in some acetone, let it settle for just a moment, filtered through a peice of cotton and evapped. It was dry in a very few minutes, and SWIP was amazed to see a small pile of beautiful crystals glimmering on the plate. Very, very clean looking. Surely clean enough to vaporize immediately.
Now the bad news:
That was yesterday. SWIP has tried a dozen times to repeat this feat without success! Mostly he has been getting an oily residue that won't dry. He has tried adding more ammonia at the outset, less ammonia, more and less soda, acetone, etc. Changed everything he can think of.
The only hope? SWIMs has notoriously sloppy lab skills. Maybe someone with a bit more control can do better.
Sheesh! SWIP was imagining announcing the quickest and easiest universal cure since they started using povidone--five minutes work, minimal consumable materials, no boiling, high yeild. . .
It can be done, and SWIP thinks the trick is in getting the amount of ammonia and soda just right. It's also important to filter the acetone through a loose cotton ball. If it's compacted you will squeeze water out of the soda when you use a vacuum or pressure from the other side.
Come on, Scotty! Swip knows you can do it. You're the bee!
And you too, Geez. And Wareami, where has he been lately? Shane, Ning, BB? And, and, . . .
PP