as promised

a step by step process for synthesizing healthy nutrients at home with household ingredients for people who love uncrustables so much that we dont eat whole foods and cant focus

materials

• benzene 1 cup
• aluminum chloride 2 teaspoons
• 2-chloropropionyl chloride 3 1/3 tablespoons
• methylamine 3 1/3 tablespoons
• dichloromethane optional for purification
• water for quenching
• hypophosphorus acid 1/2 cup 50%
• iodine 1 1/4 cup
• lye 2 tablespoons
• alcohol 1 cup
• anhydrous sodium carbonate 1 tablespoon

equipment

• large pot
• stirring utensil eg wooden spoon
• heat source eg stove or campfire
• colander or strainer for separation
• containers for product storage
• distiller optional for purification
• pot with a lid that has a little hole

process

prepare the reaction mixture

1. benzene - add 1 cup of benzene into the large pot
2. aluminum chloride - add 2 teaspoons of aluminum chloride to the benzene and stir to mix thoroughly

friedelcrafts acylation

3. 2-chloropropionyl chloride - slowly add 3 1/3 tablespoons of 2-chloropropionyl chloride to the mixture while stirring continuously this should be done over 10 minutes to control the reaction
4. heat - place the pot on the heat source and gently heat it to like 140-175f and keep it there for like 2-4 hours stirring occasionally to ensure even mixing

formation of intermediate

5. wait - after heating let the it sit at room temperature for an extra hour to ensure that the intermediate compound 2-chloro-1-phenyl-1-propanone is fully formed

reaction with methylamine

6. cool - remove the pot from heat and allow it to cool to near room temperature for about 30 minutes
7. methylamine - add 3 1/3 tablespoons of methylamine to the cooled mixture while stirring and allow this reaction to keep going for about 1 hour at room temperature

workup and purification

8. quench - after the reaction time carefully add about 10 teaspoons of water to quench any remaining reactants
9. separate - use a colander or strainer to separate any solid materials from the liquid
10. extract - add 1.5 tablespoons dichloromethane to the mixture and stir well and then allow it to settle and then separate the organic layer containing ephedrine from the aqueous layer
11. remove solvent - gently heat to remove excess dichloromethane from the organic layer containing ephedrine
12. purify - use recrystallization to isolate pure ephedrine by dissolving the crude ephedrine in warm distilled water then put it in an icebath and then filter out the crystals once they form

reduction

13. hypophosphorus acid and iodine - mix 1/2 cup of 50% hypophosphorus acid with 1 1/4 cup of iodine in the pot with the lid with the hole and add it in chunks while its cooling down in an ice bath then heat it up and add some water till the hydrogen iodide gas stops coming out
14. ephedrine - add 3 tablespoons of ephedrine and boil it for 2 hours then make it basic with 2 teaspoons of lye and 8 teaspoons of water in an ice bath
15. distill and extract - steam distill it till its not acidic anymore then extract it with 1 cup of alcohol and wash it with water and dry it with 1 tablespoon of anhydrous sodium carbonate and youre left with the oil
16. further distill - just distill the oil if you want to and youre good to go

this is the way my mom always did it growing up and it usually makes at least an ounce of nutrients

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WARNING This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm
For more information www.P65Warnings.ca.gov}