pihkal mesc. questions

[bruja]

Since this is my first post I would like to thank Dr. Shulgun, Strike, Rhodium, Osmium, and to many other bees to list, especially all the moderators.  Your knowledge makes for beautiful dreams.

So I see these bears walking through the woods with a flask and a copy of pihkal.  Turns out these were honey bears and they wanted to ask some bees a few questions about some rare honey(at least in this forest).  Since bears aint so good with computers I am going to help them out.

Refering to the mescaline synth. in pihkal or more explicitly to the reduction:
1. Why do you add the rochele salt?
2. Could this be scaled up using LAH and THF under helium?  Say 10 times the size in pihkal.  As writen it seams like a lot of work for very little product.
3. Whats the selflife of the nitrostyrene?
4. Any obvious reasons this reduction can't be done with the Zn/HCl method.  Seams like if it works fo 2C-H, it should work for mescaline.
Thanks 

[terbium]

I think the rochele salt is just Shulgin being cute with a solution to the problem of the muck that you get when you neutralize the LAH. He is adding the tartrate to try to solubilize the aluminum. There are an infinite number of variations in working up an LAH reduction, most don't use the rochele salt.

You don't really need an inert gas but if you want to use one then argon or nitrogen are readilly available at welding supply shops and are better than helium. Helium is too light, nitrogen is better but argon is best.

[sunlight]

We'll see in the very next days if Zn works ok with this styrene. If it works, you could only make a few grams (may be 20 or so) in each batch, but it is enough for family and friends...

[yellium]

Could be that he was affraid that a lot of the mescaline would stick to the aluminium salts, like TMA did.

[bruja]

Sunlight, any idea why the size restrictions on the Zn/HCl reduction.