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Topic: Using alternate compounds in isolation of nicotine salt  (Read 1261 times)

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Offline Abhi75

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Using alternate compounds in isolation of nicotine salt
« on: November 07, 2021, 06:29:21 AM »
I have attached an image detailing procedure of isolating nicotine salt.
I want some advice regarding how some alternative chemicals I used( to cut cost) will affect the result of experiment. Substitutes are mentioned as follows:-
Tobacco dust in place of cigarette leaves,(dust is coarse powder obtained from dry tobacco leaves)
Water with tds of 150ppm in place of distilled water(DW),
Ethanol in place of Ether,(to separate nicotine from naoh solution using separating funnel)
Anhydrous magnesium sulphate in place of anhy. Potassium carbonate,( drying agent/desiccant)
Lactic acid in place of picric acid. (Acid, here, was used to make nicotine salts by neutralising nicotine dissolved in basic environment. And nicotine lactate salt exists just as nicotine di pictrate salt)

Offline MOTOBALL

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Re: Using alternate compounds in isolation of nicotine salt
« Reply #1 on: November 29, 2021, 01:27:07 PM »
I have not even considered the chemistry, but you will run into problems substituting ethanol for diethyl ether in the extraction step.
Ether is used because it is not miscible with water.


Offline Abhi75

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Re: Using alternate compounds in isolation of nicotine salt
« Reply #2 on: November 29, 2021, 04:07:16 PM »
Actually, I have already tried those substitutes. I got a salt as well in the end which crystallised into fibrous form like a pulpy fruit. I filtered it, dried it in sunlight and had to crush it so that it dried quickly. But I had to throw it away in the end because I had no way to confirm what it actually was and also I didnt want to handle a nicotine salt for too long without proper protective gear.

Now about separation part with ethanol.
I did get two different layers within 15 minutes for all four times I added ethanol to separating funnel. But I also got more ethanol out of separating funnel after the process. I guess it contained a lot of water in it thats why I had to use a lot more than just a 'teaspoon' of drying agent after that.
Only if I could identify that salt I could have called this a success😅.

I have no idea why different layers formed but could it have been bcuz of that 5% aqueous naoh solution i used during maceration...🤔

Since bp of ether is 34.6C, wouldnt it evaporate a lot during the process and make my approximations (of amount of nicotine that gets transferred from water to ether ) wrong🤔. Also, I would assume storing diethyl ether safely is little complicated and might require special care as well.
« Last Edit: November 29, 2021, 04:17:49 PM by Abhi75 »

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