Hi,

I used a big pinch of sodium carbonate for my wash and the limonene separated from the water but it is cloudy. Is this just excess sodium carbonate? Is it wise to try a destilled water wash now or is there anything else I could try?

Kind regards,
PPE

It might help if you gave us a few more details... Are you extracting DMT? Mescaline? From MHRB? ACRB? Cacti? Carrots? Rocks? Which tek are you following? Please read this thread: How to Ask Questions

I can't recall reading any teks that suggest performing a sodium carbonate wash on limonene. That doesn't mean it's not a good idea, but perhaps there is a reason that limonene teks don't usually include a sodium carbonate wash. What were you planning on doing next? You really don't need a sodium carbonate wash if you are doing a limonene tek, which requires salting out and re-basing.

I would definitely advise a distilled water wash, assuming your solvent wasn't cloudy like that before you tried to wash with sodium carbonate.

Thanks Entheogenerator,

The reason that I wasn't more precise was because I saw that Yorkest was online in the chat and I was going to ask him to have a look after I posted it since he had answered another question for me a bit before. But then I couldn't pm him and I didn't want to butt in the chat since there were people talking, I am not familiar with chat etiquette.

I am following BLAB with MHRB. And there isn't a s.carb wash in it but I decided to do it anyway to get a more pure product since I haven't been too precise with pipetting.

Anyway, afterwards I had also washed a tiny bit of leftovers with only a tiny bit of s.carb water with less s.carb and that was clear so that had answered my question already and I will do a water wash now.

Thanks for your reply though.

Kind regards,
PPE

Ok, so I was wrong.... I did the destilled water wash but it didn't clear up. (the limonene was already cloudy before I did the sodium carb wash though but it got lighter cloudy) The water layer underneath did get darker after a few minutes so I decided to separate it as I was afraid it was dmt going into the water. I poured it in a smaller cup to get the last bit out and on top there it a very thin layer did get clear but I got a foamy bit in the middle.

Is it possible that there is any significant amount of dmt in the darker water now and if so how could I get it out?

How could I make the cloudy limonene clear or can I maybe resolve the issue by using a bit of excess fumaric acid for my next step in BLAB which is putting in the FASW? Or is it maybe worth it to try and filter it again or twice through a coffee filter? (I had a test run with a paper towel with plain water but it soaked up all of the water and I also would have lost lots of it in spillage so best not to give that a go with the limonene).

Kind regards,
PPE

The big pot got poured into a smaller pot but it stayed darker just different.
My cloudy one is the big one but I managed to get a smaller pot which seems ok. But that was after putting in through a filter without a sodium carb. wash, I didn't want to take any chances with this one since it had already cleared up.

I'm not sure why your limonene is cloudy, but if it was cloudy before the sodium carb wash then I would recommend you just continue with the process as you would normally. If there is some impurity in there causing the cloudiness, it shouldn't precipitate when you salt with fumaric acid so I wouldn't worry about it.

How long did you leave the distilled water sitting in the limonene? Water washes on alkaloid-containing solvents should be as quick as possible. Add water, shake really well, separate layers. Even still, I doubt that any of your DMT was left in the water. If you are really concerned about it, just add a small amount of limonene to that darkened water you used for washing, mix well, pipette the limonene off, and combine it with the rest of your limonene. This would retrieve any DMT that had somehow made it's way into the water.

One other question for ppp: what colour was the limonene when it came fresh out of the container it was sold in?

Thanks guys, that helps.

The limonene was colourless and apparently very high grade since it came from a lab. I have read how some people get orangy limonene due to some other peal ingredients but that was not the case for me.

I'll just continue with the salting of the cloudy limonene. Good to know that the limonene keeps its colour , thanks Entheogenerator.

Kind regards,
PPE