Distill my beating heart. Question for do-yourselfers.

Topic created by FuckingMachineOperator
on Sat, 27 Sep 2025 at 19:43

FuckingMachineOperator said on Sat, 27 Sep 2025 at 19:43...

Hypothetically speaking, if one were to use food grade (99.9% pure) sodium nitrite, would vacuum distillation of the finished product remove the impurities? Asking for a friend, for the sake of argument.

AssPumper33 said on Tue, 30 Sep 2025 at 01:15...

I am not a DIYer but have considered making and have some relevant training.

I once inquired about distillation in this forum. The response was limited and negative. It was reported that alkyl nitrites are unstable enough that contaminants will just reappear in a matter of days.

My understanding is that food grade sodium nitrite is routinely used and distillation is generally considered unnecessary, hazardous, and wasteful. I do not know whether this is accurate but I have been unable to find quality product for many years.

I suspect the impurities resulting from the reaction differ from those generated in storage. If this is the case distillation would yield a unique product even with the subsequent decomposition.

Do you know what impurities are expected? Will the differences in boiling point be sufficient?

Squirtle said on Wed, 1 Oct 2025 at 14:48...

Perhaps alkyl nitrates resulting from oxidized powder? The difference in volatility is substantial and the separation should be easy.