Here is a synthesis of propiophenone, which is then converted to methcathinone (ephedrone) and then to racemic ephedrine. This is another alternative to the above synthesis.
Synthetic ephedrine from propionic acid.
Fel'dman, I. Kh.; Bel'tsova, N. N.; Ginesina, A. A.
Zh. Priklad. Khim. (1962), 35(6), 1364-7.
Stirring 37 g. EtCO2H, 40 ml. dry C6H6, and 29 g. PCl3 1 hr. at 55-62°, cooling to 30°, and removing H3PO4 gave a soln. of EtCOCl. Adding this soln. to 85 g. dry C6H6 and 65 g. anhyd. AlCl3 over 3 hrs. at 35-45°, heating 2 hrs. at 45-50°, cooling to 30°, pouring into 300 g. ice and 50 g. coned. HCl, sepg. the C6H6 layer, adding 20% Na2CO3 till alk. to litmus, distg, with steam, drying the C6h6 layer of the distillate over CaCL2, distg. C6H6, and distg. residue at 103-5°/10 ram. yielded PhCOEt (I).(propiophenone)
Adding dropwise 67.5 g. Br to 56.5 g. I in 130 ml. C6H6 at 30°, blowing out HBr formed with air while stirring, adding 30 ml. H2O, neutralizing with 20% Na2CO3, adding 56.5 g. MeNH2.HCl in 55 H2O, adding over 10 rain. 67.5 g. NaOH in 80 ml. H2O at 50-60°, raising the temp. to 70°, cooling to room temp., blowing out with the air unreacted MeNH2, sepg. the C6H6 layer, extg. the H2O layer with C6H6, washing combined C6H6 soln. with H2O, mixing with N HCl, evapg. in vacuo to sirupy consistency, stirring with Me2CO, heating to boiling in Me2CO, cooling, filtering, washing with Me2CO, and drying yielded 70-74 % (based on I) ephedrone-HCl (II), m. 175-9°.
Adding 14.2 g. NaOH in 135 ml. EtOH to 62 g. II in 300 ml. EtOH at 5-10°, filtering, washing pptd. NaCl with EtOH, reducing filtrate and wash EtOH with H over Raney Ni at room temp. and attn. pressure, cooling to 5-10°, filtering, acidifying the filtrate with HCl, filtering, evapg, in vacuo at 45° yielded 64% dl-ephedrine-HCl m. 187-90° (EtOH), and 19% pseudoephedrine-HCl.
Those who give up essential liberties for temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety