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Specialty Chemistry Forums => Citizen Chemist => Topic started by: Fe$phi on August 24, 2013, 11:25:54 PM

Title: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: Fe$phi on August 24, 2013, 11:25:54 PM
I have basic chemistry knowledge and am going through chemistry AP I want to do more chemistry but i have work. If i could at least profit a little bit from my hobby it would be worth it since i enjoy it so much. I've looked into things like valerian plants which is just extracting stuff from a plant kind of like preparing herbs. I'm not some chemistry prodigy but I would really like to do it more and get something out of it too. i have a very basic chemistry set.
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: curiouscat on August 25, 2013, 12:30:03 AM
Try making soap.
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: Fe$phi on August 25, 2013, 12:43:14 PM
Really, soap? I know a little about extracting lye from wood ash and whatnot. So I could make soap do you know where i would go to sell it?
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: curiouscat on August 25, 2013, 02:38:47 PM
Really, soap? I know a little about extracting lye from wood ash and whatnot. So I could make soap do you know where i would go to sell it?

Farmers market.
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: Fe$phi on August 25, 2013, 02:42:05 PM
okay cool i'll look into that, and if there are any other ideas keep posting please
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: billnotgatez on August 25, 2013, 03:39:41 PM
@Fe$phi
Could you GOOGLE and come back with some of your thoughts

Several things you could do might be legal but you need a license
for instance
Ethanol production

There is a limit here as to what we can suggest or how we suggest it
check forum rules

--------------------------
I went to the caveman chemistry site for inspiration

combining art with science
maybe you could make

designer Textiles
designer Dyes
designer Glass
designer Paper
designer Soap
designer Plastics

or a combination of the above like

designer Dyes  and Textiles

Again not all the things on the caveman site would be legal to sell
but maybe some of the above might work

ALSO
I GOOGLED some and there are lots of ideas out there
as I asked before please post some

Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: Fe$phi on August 25, 2013, 10:25:52 PM
So i really looked around and there's also mosquito repellant, fireworks and general household products.
The fireworks sound fun but not legal, I can make beer i may end up doing that, and then theres the designer stuff.
I was really hoping someone would just be like oh just make this one miracle chemical and put it on ebay for 5 times what you spent on the precursors. Of course now that i actually think about that if it were so simple everyone would do it. But the designer soaps and extracts sound like thats where the money is all the organic expensive stuff. My friend actually came to me talking about valerian so i think i'm going to start farming that and extracting the oil its prescribed for insomnia and its legal and all i'm just wondering who will buy it from a guy just starting out but the seeds are $5 so its worth a shot. Please guys keep posting if there are other better ideas out there. That we haven't found.
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: NobleMetalWorks on August 26, 2013, 01:01:44 AM
Depending on your experience and knowledge, you might be interested in recovering and/or refining of precious metals.  You can do so even from e-waste.

I started my business, recovering, refining, assaying etc with no prior knowledge of chemistry, I had to learn everything from books, self taught.  If you already have a chemistry background and feel comfortable (or at least as much as could be) handling very strong acidic solutions, you might find it very interesting, and if done correctly you could make some money doing so.

You could start with silver which is fairly inexpensive in comparison to other noble metals, learn how to dissolve silver, precipitate it, melt it into anode bars then you could use an electrolytic cell to further refine, and in the process you could produce some beautiful silver crystals.  You could even take this hobby a little further with silver, and find a way to produce thick silver crystals that could be used in the jewelry trade.

It's not for everyone, and it's  by no means simple and easy.  You would have a lot of reading to do on the processes and techniques, some of which would also include subjects on different types of metallurgy, but you would already be ahead of the game with your knowledge in chemistry.

Scott
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: curiouscat on August 26, 2013, 01:21:55 AM

I was really hoping someone would just be like oh just make this one miracle chemical and put it on ebay for 5 times what you spent on the precursors. Of course now that i actually think about that if it were so simple everyone would do it.

TNSTAAFL
Title: Re: I want to use my chemistry knowledge and equipment to make a legal profit
Post by: Fe$phi on August 26, 2013, 06:57:06 AM
that sounds pretty cool what books would you suggest