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Making Picric Acid from Aspirin

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Making Picric Acid from Aspirin by the Jolly Roger

Picric Acid can be used as a booster explosive in detonators, a high
explosive charge, or as
an intermediate to preparing lead picrate.

Material Required
—————– /> Aspirin tablets (5 grains per tablet)
Alcohol, 95% pure
Sulfuric acid, concentrated,
(if battery acid, boil until white fumes
disappear)
Potassium Nitrate (see elsewhere in
this Cookbook)
Water
Paper towels
Canning jar, 1 pint
Rod (glass or wood) /> Glass containers
Ceramic or glass dish
Cup
Teaspoon
Tablespoon

Pan
Heat source
Tape

Procedure:
———

1) Crush 20
aspirin tablets in a glass container. Add 1 teaspoon of water
and work into a paste.
2)
Add approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup of alcohol (100 millilitres) to the
aspirin paste; stir
while pouring.
3) Filter the alcohol-aspirin solution through a paper towel into another /> glass container. Discard the solid left in the paper towel.
4) Pour the filtered solution
into a glass or ceramic dish.
5) Evaporate the alcohol and water from the solution by placing
the dish
into a pan of hot water. White powder will remain in the dish after

evaporation.

NOTE: The water in the pan should be at hot bath temperature, not boiling,

approx. 160 to 180 degress farenheit. It should not burn the hands.

6) Pour 1/3
cup (80 millilitres) of concentrated sulfuric acid into a
canning jar. Add the white powder
to the sulfuric acid.
7) Heat canning jar of sulfuric acid in a pan of simmering hot water
bath
for 15 minutes; then remove jar from the bath. Solution will turn to a

yellow-orange color.
8) Add 3 level teaspoons (15 grams) of potassium nitrate in three
portions
to the yellow-orange solution; stir vigorously during additions. Solution

will turn red, then back to a yellow-orange color.
9) Allow the solution to cool to ambient
room temperature while stirring
occasionally.
10) Slowly pour the solution, while
stirring, into 1-1/4 cup (300
millilitres) of cold water and allow to cool.
11) Filter
the solution through a paper towel into a glass container. Light
yellow particles will
collect on the paper towel.
12) Wash the light yellow particles with 2 tablespoons (25
millilitres) of
water. Discard the waste liquid in the container.
13) Place articles in
ceramic dish and set in a hot water bath, as in step
5, for 2 hours.

Compiled
by: RFLAGG

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  1. Anthony
    April 26th, 2009 at 08:54 | #1
    Reply | Quote

    What type of alcohol do you need? Ethyl Alcohol or Methyl Alcohol?

  2. Dan Smith
    June 4th, 2009 at 10:42 | #2
    Reply | Quote

    This works well and uses cheap aspirin (get on sale for 99 cent!) rather than hard to get phenol. It DOES make a big yellow stain; do outdoors on old newspaper.

    If you really want to USE it; add it to 2 teas. methanol, stir carefully with plastic rod; add 2 grams lead NITRATE (Only!), stir carefully to remove lumps; spread in flat pan to dry–or heat on hot plate to not more than 190 fahrenheit. Be careful with this; a hard knock will set it off. P.A. is very, very insensitive; I never could get a bang out of it.

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