TEK - Propylhexedrine Chemistry & Extraction

[Nahbus]

Ok. I'm creating this thread to provide (and find) more information about this drug.


Propylhexedrine can be extracted from the cotton rods:
in a glass baking dish, place the cotton rod.
pour a teaspoon of HCl/Muriatic Acid on it and let it sit for a second.
pour 3 teaspoons of dH20 over this and let the liquid run down to the other side, squeeze the juice out of the cotton.
evaporate, and you should be left with yellow crystals.

you could probably have a better result with an A/B extraction.
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Propylhexedrine:


Amphetamine:


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Please share any further information or experiences here.

[Nahbus]

SWIm once extracted it (kinda shotty job, just did 1 teaspoon HCl onto the cotton in a dish, let it sit for a bit, then 3 teaspoons of dH2O on the cotton and squeezed the juice out and let it drip to the side, then evaporated the liquid to reveal yellow crystals). SWIM is sure it could have been cleaner, but he tried snorting some (little bumps) and it burned like hell. Stick with oral, says SWIM.
Maybe this week SWIM will post another experience with this stuff, seeing how he can't find any adderall or amphetamines (and his little meth experiment went down the shitter, lost all his equipment and chemicals... boo). SWIM wants some kind of stimulant for work, and this would be perfect, minus the headaches. SWIM did try it long ago, and did about 1/3-1/2 a cotton and didn't get any headache... didn't get much effect either, though.
Tough decision.
SWIM wonders if propylhexedrine can be used to synthesize anything a bit more interesting?

[markdahman]

A. Propylhexedrine

Propylhexedrine is a clear, colorless liquid having a characteristic amine-like odor. It volatilizes slowly at room temperature and solutions are alkaline when subjected to a litmus test. Propylhexedrine therefore absorbs carbon dioxide from the air in an acid-base reaction. The specific gravity is between 0.848 to 0.852. It boils at about 205.degree. C. Propylhexedrine is only slightly soluble in water, with only 1 gram being dissolvable in 500 ml of water. On the other hand, 1 gram of propylhexedrine is soluble in 0.4 ml alcohol, 0.2 ml of chloroform, or 0.1 ml of ether. The hydrochloride form of propylhexedrine, formed by reacting one molar equivalent of propylhexedrine with one molar equivalent of hydrochloric acid, is soluble in water and is a crystalline solid at room temperature.

I did the research now someone whip up a good recipe so SWIM can whip up a batch and show you picks and tell you the turnout!

Reputation Comments on this post:

Good info

[jesusfreak666er]

Swim has heard of the muriatic acid extraction but swim is wondering if swim could just soak the cotton in ether or alc and just get the goodies that way, swim fears that will result in extracting the unwanted menthol and lavandor too?

[Nahbus]

SWIM thought 1 teaspoon of Muriatic Acid for 250mg of propylhexedrine seemed like a lot, so now he's trying to figure out the correct proportions, but doesn't quite know how to do it. SWIMs Muriatic Acid from the tool store is like 35% or something. Anyway, the moles are:

Propylhexedrine: 155.29
hcl:36.46 (does H2O change the ratio if the HCl is diluted?)
h2o:18.02

SWIM doesn't really know what to do with these numbers, and can't really find much online (he wasn't googling for HOURS or anything..), but any help for showing SWIM how to figure out the ratios for a good A/B Extraction, that'd be great! Thanks.

[jesusfreak666er]

swim believes (though its been a while since chemistry) that its alright if one uses more acid then needed, since the acid is not the limiting factor, the propylhexadrine is. If one was using too little of the acid for the extraction then swiy would be left with some extracted prop and some left over since the acid/water is saturated, swim believes it would be better to use too much rather than too little since then your left with a diluted (but still complete extraction) that you can just evaporate, rather than a saturated partial extraction... but hey swim is no scientist.

btw: swim stopped his prozac 2 days ago, planning a mescaline and a dxm trip comming up in a few weeks. maybe swim will wait for then to try prop, but maybe not

[Nahbus]

thanks. Also, does this remove the menthol, seeing how it's slightly soluble in water (lavender oil is insoluble in water), or should SWIM clean it after the extraction?

[jesusfreak666er]

swim doesn't know about the solubility of menthol... swim would imagine that not all all of the menthol is dissolved, from what swim reads about extracted prop the menthol burps that are prevalent with eating cotton, is not observed with the extract leading me to think that the menthol is not in the product, but if swiy wants they could do a second a/b extraction on the extract though swim thinks it would be unnecessary and pointless.

[Nahbus]

SWIM extracted the p-hex from one cotton, but this time they were very very white crystals, rather than the last time he did it when they were pretty yellow. He did nothing different (maybe he just didn't dry them out enough last time?). His yield was about 50% (0.13g from a potential 0.25g). Youch. Any better extracting methods?

[jesusfreak666er]

did it produce the same effects, swim is thinking maybe the result was a more pure propylhexadrine (explainging the less massive yield but swim is just playing devils advicite. Try using more muriatic acid, swim doesnt think you can use to much, the result would just be a more diluted substance, swim thinks maybe swiy didnt scrape all the crystals off? swim doesnt know hes just given you possibilities

[Nahbus]

there are still some scrapings to be scraped in the pyrex dish. SWIM hasn't tried it yet. Will report back when he does.

[Nicaine]

Originally Posted by markdahman

On the other hand, 1 gram of propylhexedrine is soluble in 0.4 ml alcohol, 0.2 ml of chloroform, or 0.1 ml of ether.

Interesting. So could someone try this (if not, SWIM will try it):

* Soak the cotton thoroughly in 91%-99% isopropyl (avail. at most drugstores), squeeze out, evaporate alcohol.

Seems to me this MAY help with the whole lavender/menthol thing, and would certainly eliminate the cotton. Without having to use HCl, which can be unsafe.

[Nahbus]

SWIM says today he finally might try this again... starting with half a rod (cut lengthwise, most likely)
Anyway... he REALLY doesn't want to ingest the menthol+lavender, nor does he feel like the HCl extraction method is inefficient (seeing that last time he extracted about half of the propyl)
Would he be able to make a "tea" and kind of boil out the menthol+lavender?
What other methods are there for isolating the propylhexedrine or just getting rid of the menthol+lavender+cotton rod?
Thanks.

(he may just end up getting like 2 inhalers and extracting it from both, weighing out maybe 150mg and trying with that... maybe increase it by 50mg if he wants to go higher. But he really wants a better method.. like a tea - that would be very convinient)

[Forthesevenlakes]

swim looked for an MSDS or other source online stating propylhexedrine's solubility, but could not find anything. he suspects that its soluble in water though because he read on wikipedia that some people have extracted the propyl and injected it. (NOTE: DO NOT ATTEMPT TO SHOOT IT. IT CAN BE FATAL). this suggests to swim that its water soluble, since it ends up as a salt form after an a/b extraction right? is it present as a salt in the inhaler itself?

[Nahbus]

On wikipedia it says it's soluble in water. Didn't check out menthol (i think menthol is only slightly soluble in water) or lavender oil.
SWIM should try the tea. I came across an old post about SWIM trying the tea.. I think he used a full inhaler and only got subtle effects. Maybe the water was too hot. Hmmm.
He does remember the rainbowy looking menthol on top of the water, not sure if he drank it or if it evaporated, though.

[Nicaine]

SWIM had no luck trying to extract it with isopropyl alcohol -- it's either not soluble in isopropyl, or it evaporates at room temperature in the form present in the cotton. Probably the latter, if you imagine how it gets from the cotton to inside a person's nose when used normally -- clearly it has to be volatile and able to be inhaled as a vapor, or it wouldn't work in a Benzedrex inhaler.

SWIM has some hydrochloric acid on its way, but won't be able to try an extraction for another couple weeks (going out of town Monday). He will definitely report on his results though, eventually. SWIM suspects the Propyl to be in a volatile 'freebase' form in the cotton, and that HCl will do the trick and convert it to stable/water soluble hydrochloride salt as noted in the thread-starter and other posts. How this would affect oral bioavailability is unknown to SWIM, but it would certainly improve versatility of ingestion methods (not to mention hopefully eliminating the lavender oil... the menthol's not that big a deal, but that lavender smell is hellish).

[Nicaine]

SWIM tried an elementary extraction today with 32% muriatic acid/HCl (1/2 an inhaler at a time), followed by dh2o and evaporation. The first time he used WAY too much acid, and the end result was harsh beyond belief and not insufflatable by anyone except an extreme masochist. The second time he used much less (couple drops) and although still VERY harsh, the end result could be snorted by a human. SWIM is not a chemist, but the extract should probably be base-ified to neutral pH before evaporation (?). Perhaps someone up on the end result of evaporating a solution containing muriatic acid could comment, and if the answer is "yes" include a good choice of chemical to use.

Anyway, it resulted in quite a large pile of white crystals. Insufflation caused SWIM's lab rabbit to behave like it was feeling some euphoria and stimulation, although SWIM still recommends the oral route. Extraction may not be worth the trouble for occasional users, as muriatic acid can be dangerous to work with. Note that if propylhexedrine is still a vasoconstrictor in its HCl form, it could be as hard on the nose as cocaine or worse.

Edit -- SWIM found out muriatic acid is naturally a gas, so the original culprit must have been incomplete evaporation. Chemistry lesson #1 for him (it's about time).

[kingdxm]

SWIM has tried this substance 5 or 6 times and liked it alot. SWIM has done meth many times and propyl feels alot like it. on a scale of 1-10(meth being a 10) SWIM would rate it about a 7. SWIM cut up the cotton wad into small pieces and soaked in a small about of citric acid solution for a hour. Then SWIM squeezed the cotton so all the liquid came out. Then he added a small amount of mineral spirits and shook it for about 5 minutes. This dissolves the menthol and other oils and leaves the propyl behind. Then SWIM boiled the propyl/citric acid mix down to about half a shot glass full, cooled it , and drank it. The effects lasted about 8 hours. SWIM would like to try and soak the cotton in acetone, filter and add a few drops of HCl to it and see if it crystallizes out.

[Nicaine]

Originally Posted by kingdxm

SWIM has tried this substance 5 or 6 times and liked it alot. SWIM has done meth many times and propyl feels alot like it. on a scale of 1-10(meth being a 10) SWIM would rate it about a 7. SWIM cut up the cotton wad into small pieces and soaked in a small about of citric acid solution for a hour. Then SWIM squeezed the cotton so all the liquid came out. Then he added a small amount of mineral spirits and shook it for about 5 minutes. This dissolves the menthol and other oils and leaves the propyl behind. Then SWIM boiled the propyl/citric acid mix down to about half a shot glass full, cooled it , and drank it. The effects lasted about 8 hours.

I'm unclear on something... how did SWIY get rid of the mineral spirits once the menthol & lavender oil were dissolved in it?

Fwiw, the taste of menthol/lavender is pretty weak when using an extraction method on the cotton. If the liquid is dried to crystalline form (propylhexedrine hcl), there's barely any remaining taste/odor at all.

SWIM would like to try and soak the cotton in acetone, filter and add a few drops of HCl to it and see if it crystallizes out.

Why acetone rather than methyl or ethyl alcohol? The freebase form of propyl is supposed to be soluble in alcohol. Also, wouldn't the normal procedure for crystallization be to bubble HCl gas through it rather than adding a few drops of acid?

[kingdxm]

Sorry SWIM forgot that when the 2 layers seperate( naptha-propyl/citric), siphon off the top(naptha) layer and toss. SWIM has tried the acetone and a few drop of HCl, but the propyl didn't crytallize out, not sure why since propyl-HCl is insoluble in acetone, anyone know why? And can the acetone simply be evaporated to retrieve the propyl?

[Nicaine]

Originally Posted by kingdxm

Sorry SWIM forgot that when the 2 layers seperate( naptha-propyl/citric), siphon off the top(naptha) layer and toss.

SWIM would only do this if planning on evaporation... there's no way he's aware of to completely get rid of all traces of naptha, so the liquid wouldn't be any good for drinking. Unless boiling it down to a small quantity does eliminate all remaining naptha? SWIM's still confused.

SWIM has tried the acetone and a few drop of HCl, but the propyl didn't crytallize out, not sure why since propyl-HCl is insoluble in acetone, anyone know why? And can the acetone simply be evaporated to retrieve the propyl?

SWIM's no chemistry expert, but he doesn't think crystallization would happen without bubbling HCl gas through acetone/propyl freebase solution. Just adding a few drops of HCl will not accomplish it, as hydrochloric acid is a gas dissolved in H2O. In other words, because HCl is insoluble in acetone, it will not affect the propylhexedrine freebase dissolved in the acetone either.

The acetone can't be evaporated to retrieve the propyl. Propylhexedrine in freebase form is a volatile liquid that would evaporate along with the acetone.

Re: Propyl and headaches, it's amazing how often people report painful headaches associated with it. Must be related to vasoconstriction in some way, but SWIM doesn't know. Thankfully, he's never had that problem.

[kingdxm]

Naptha is carried away with the steam when you boil the mix. SWIM has never noticed the taste of naptha in the citric/propyl combo. besises SWIM usea an eye dropper and manages to siphon off 95-98% of the naptha.

Even though the HCl didn't get the propyl to crystallize out of the acetone it should still have turned it into the HCl salt. The water in the hydrchloric acid(31%HCl, 69% water) and the fact that hardware store acetone probably contains a small amount of acid maybe the reason it didn't crystallize out. SWIM has been studing chemistry and pharmacology for 15 years.

My mistake SWIM meant to say that there is probably a small amount of water in the acetone, not acid.

SWIK evaporated some acetone with propyl in it after he had used about 15 drops of 31% HCl. SWIK got crystals of propyl, but they were slight brown. SWIK will attempt to clean them up.

[Nicaine]

Why not just use H2O + HCl and evaporate it? Very effective.

But maybe that's the wrong question to ask... why not just put the cotton into capsules & swallow the capsules? SWIM finds the best yield is gotten this way (100%) and thus the best high. He no longer can really find a reason to do extractions, unless it's a matter of principle about eating cotton or something. Or if someone is truly nuts and plans on injecting their propyl (just doesn't seem worth dying young for a Benzedrex inhaler ).

[Nagognog2]

One might try using pure propylhex. dissolved in diethyl ether - anhydrous. Then bubble anhydrous HCl through it in an ice bath.

Does chewing Benzedrex Inhalers cause cottonmouth?

[Nicaine]

Muriatic acid = hydrochloric acid. It's available legally online in small quantities (which is all that's needed) for "chemistry set" type use... I'm not allowed to specify sources, but check popular "auction" sites. SWIY wants 32-36% concentration, or less.