Hey guys!

So im just starting another harmala extraction.. So far i've only done the crude filtering of the vinegar cooks and now onto the fridge for decanting some gunk.. Nevertheless, next step being the salt precipitation, I was looking at the salt I just bought, and it said pure sea salt + e 536 as anti-caking agent, which I looked and found to be potassium ferrocyanide. A quick wikipedia look showed me that in acqueous solution when mixed with acids it can release toxic hydrogen cyanide gas!

Next step salt will be added to an acidic solution, so I wonder... Can this really happen with dilute weak acids such as vinegar? What if it was another acid? Or maybe the quantity would be insignificantly small?

I will anyways try to find pure salt without this, but if its something to worry about maybe people should be warned!

Are there other byproducts from reactions that can happen in the usual psychonaut extractions with the different food safe products used?

Good call here Endlessness!!!

Potassium ferrocyahide can react with acids to produce HCN. SWIM has been using in the past 10% potassium ferrocyanide mixed with 5-10 HCl to make histological stains and he did not have to take any special precautions. The above mixed solution is stable for few days (means that the two react and the solution "goes off".

Acetic acid (even dilute) will also react with the potassium ferrocyanide and release some hydrocyanide gas. Even though this is harmful, it should not be formed in amounts that can pose any threat. Plus, potassium ferr. is already in trace amounts in the salt.

Or just imagine eating a teaspoon of this salt; some HCN will form in your stomach but it is considered safe.

excellent, thanks for the info here!

Its a good point that this also probably happens in our stomach too.. but then again the quantity of salt ingested in food is quite different than, say, 600g of salt added to a 2 liter of acidic solution. It doesnt mention quantities of the potassium ferrocyanide in the salt label, could anybody make an educated guess how much there might be? And then could we theoretically predict how much HCN would be formed, and if that is dangerous?

How fast is the reaction? Would an open window and a cheap pharmacy mask suffice?

and as mentioned, if anybody has any info on other possible additives extraction chemicals commonly used that could create problematic side products, do post