The Vespiary

The Hive => Stimulants => Topic started by: chaos_mischief on August 13, 2003, 12:54:00 PM

Title: liquid nitrogen vs. anhydrous ammonia
Post by: chaos_mischief on August 13, 2003, 12:54:00 PM

Anhydrous Ammonia is utilized to melt the lithium strips in the meth process, correct?  Can liquid nitrogen be used in place of it?

Title: UTFSE
Post by: catfish on August 13, 2003, 01:11:00 PM

C_M-
azane is your only hope here.
You're gonna need a lightning bolt to do anything with N gas.
-catfish
PS-for more info on azane, UTFSE!

Title: liquid nitrogen vs. anhydrous ammonia
Post by: chaos_mischief on August 13, 2003, 02:32:00 PM

the nitrogen is in liquid form...not gas

Title: to work with liquide nitrogen...
Post by: k0dog on August 13, 2003, 03:46:00 PM

To work with liquide fom you would need to be under a huge ammount of pressure... not plausible for clandestine chemistry... at least under normal circumstances... he's right.... try that other compound...

Title: The special role of ammonia in the Birch reduction
Post by: Rhodium on August 13, 2003, 05:02:00 PM

Anhydrous Ammonia is utilized to melt the lithium strips in the meth process, correct?

No, that is wildly incorrect. It is used to dissolve the lithium, and due to certain properties of anhydrous ammonia, this dissolution creates solvated free electrons in the solution, and these are in turn the active reducing species in the Birch Reduction.

Can liquid nitrogen be used in place of it?

Not at all. Liquid nitrogen is a very bad solvent for most substances, due to its non-polarity. Also, it cannot harbor any solvated free electrons, the only other solvents besides ammonia which can do that are certain lower alkylamines (this has been discussed a lot in the Stimulants forum, try to search for "birch AND amines" and follow the threads which turn up.