FIRSTLY, i have to give credit to SHORTY for the majority of knowledge gained in the aforementioned post-reaction workup summary.
<<I have only ever distilled, and have only ever done hypo syns. But i have tried both washing reaction fluid and not washing the reaction fluid before distilling and to be quite honest i dont think there were any benefits for either process, the meth was just as clean with either wash or no wash, so when it comes down to it i opt for the process that reduces the chance of error.>>8Ball i agree, a well executed hypo synth using clean psuedo will probably not benefit from the pre-distill NP wash. HOWEVER, for those using less-than-perfect precursers and equipment; it
could be of benefit. And to be honest, once Swix has got to the point of a finished reaction (after the week of prep work)... a quick five minute wash step is the last of his worries.
<<I feel that in back yard lab situations, distilling with or without external steam or with or without that wash before distilling the product is going to be the same, external steam cuts the time down ten fold, i feel that's the only advantage.>>Likewise, a well executed hypo reaction will see no difference.
From
https://www.thevespiary.org/rhodium/Rhodium/chemistry/meth.ephedrine.steam.html
<<A separation of ephedrine from the amphetamines seems possible if a steam distillation as mild as possible is used to isolate the amphetamines. Then a forced steam distillation can be used to separately collect the ephedrine.>> HOWEVER, on the basis of removing iodo-intermediates and other derivatives, Swix uses a gentle boil (using no external steam) to bring over the greatest majority of meth. This is because he uses plant derived alkaloids, but this would also apply to anyone using less-than-perfect pseudo.
<<biotech when you say wash with salt water.. you mean table salt..(non ionized) right About how much salt would one put in 500ml of dh20 prior to the wash?>>Mmmm, when one adds the first portion of water to the meth-fb/NP and SHAKES..it doesn't separate QUICKLY and some inter-mixing dynamic happens due in part to the layers clinging to the sep funnel sides. (SHORTY could prob explain this better).
SO some non-iodised cooking (no pun intended..) rock salt is added. Say about a tea spoon to 200mLs. This speedens the separation of the layers and the layers and now 'DRY' and dont mix and dont cling to the sides of the sep funnel. Its kinda hard to explain. But in short, you want to saturate the dH2O (with salt); but you DONT want to add TOO much so it doesn't dissolve anymore.
Geez or an Elder Bee could explain why this happens better..., But Swix thinks the salt adds ionic forces which fastens (and better ensures) the migration of molecules to where they are meant to be (eg impurites in water, meth-fb in NP).
Bio 0_o