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theFool

Extracting antimony

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by
theFool
on 12-13-2013 at 01:59 PM (50182 Views)
Some antimony ore was crushed and then mixed with KOH in a porcelain crucible. Then it was heated till the KOH melted and a yellowness (sulfur) was extracted out of antimony. The contents were left to solidify, and then crushed to little pieces. Half of them were extracted with vinegar, the rest of them with alcohol. The vinegar gave no color upon extraction. The alcohol gave an interesting orange color within one day of digestion.



It is known that alcohol when digested with KOH, can give a yellow color, even if no antimony is present. A possible explanation is that the alcohol self condenses in the strong alkaline environment created by KOH. It is known also that potassium ethoxide may be formed, which appears yellow or even red for some reason.

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Updated 12-13-2013 at 02:40 PM by theFool

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  1. theFool's Avatar
    theFool - 12-13-2013 07:13 PM
    Some of this tincture was evaporated. The orange color did not go together with the alcohol, but stayed behind. When all alcohol left, it has turned to a completely black residue. When alcohol was added, the black residue was dissolved back to original color.

    One more test was run, with alcohol and KOH digested together. The alcohol turned again orange. So, the color observed has nothing to do with antimony extract.

    Old authors have made this tincture by fusing antimony with salt of tartar. Digestion of alcohol on salt of tartar alone (potassium carbonate), also produces this orange color. I wonder, when Basil Valentine for example writes that this tincture can be used medicinally what does he mean. Obviously, those authors have never tested their preparations. They just repeat the same words after an operation that will produce something colorful, probably to make their book more attractive for selling.

    This is the path of alchemy .. full of pitfalls and traps.
  2. black's Avatar
    black - 12-15-2013 11:12 PM
    Hi The Fool

    Warning this is a high poison !!!
    From one who knows...............Lucky to be here now.
    Basil Valentine speaks the truth about ANTIMONY,it can become a high medicine. But he speaks in the language of nature (Alchemy). If we do not understand this language then we can be terribly lost in the Labyrinth of our own thoughts.