making alkali metal nitrates from pee, and wood.

[willi-wurm]

i have never tried this, but as urine is high in nitrate, could you take a large bucket, pour earth in it, then pee all over it, leave this to settle? then just taking that earth after a few weeks/months, and placing it in hot water, then filtering it? do you need a plant in the earth for it?

i have never tried this, and id love to do it just once, just for fun.


and isnt white wood ash rich in potassium? could you add this to your filtered earth to displace the other positive ions?

[uchiacon]

...why....

[willi-wurm]

its called history.

this is how the first gunpowders were produced. im interested in how this would be done, i dont need to do this. it just has been bugging me. if your interested in suggesting something, go a head. if your going to add a word, and put some fancy full stops around it, refrain from doing it in my posts, mk?

[X-ray Cat]

Urine is not high in nitrate.. High in ureum, sometimes traces of nitrites of you have a bladder infection.

[shetlan]

Originally Posted by willi-wurm

its called history.

this is how the first gunpowders were produced. im interested in how this would be done, i dont need to do this. it just has been bugging me. if your interested in suggesting something, go a head. if your going to add a word, and put some fancy full stops around it, refrain from doing it in my posts, mk?

Early gunpowder was made from potassium nitrate, sulfur, and coal just like it is today - there where just changes in the binding procedure and the percentages.

Urine was not used to add nitrates, it was used in teh same way alchohol is used to make improvised black powder today - as a mixing/binding agent.

[Misanthropy]

Wiki:

Urea or carbamide is an organic compound with the chemical formula (NH2)2CO. The molecule has two amine (-NH2) residues joined by a carbonyl (-CO-) functional group.
Urea plays an important role in the metabolism of nitrogen-containing compounds by animals, and is the main nitrogen-containing substance in the urine of mammals. Being solid, colourless, odorless, neither acidic nor alkaline, highly soluble in water, and relatively non-toxic, urea is widely used in fertilizers as a convenient source of nitrogen. Urea is also an important raw material for the chemical industry. The synthesis of this organic compound by Friedrich Wöhler 1828 from an inorganic precursor was an important milestone in the development of chemistry.

But if you're wondering about urea nitrate, well:
Urea nitrate - Wikipedia

[X-ray Cat]

Urea nitrate CAN be made out of urine.. Then again you'd need to have nitric acid. I'm pretty sure I've got a urine synthesis for urea nitrate in a book here. pretty funny..