# Lye solution somehow reacted with acetone? Google is useless here. Is my freebase recoverable?



## Heartburn (Jan 6, 2023)

Scope: extraction of freebase from lye solution. 
I forgot to resupply solvents and only decisions available were to try acetone or leave it unstable as freebase for too long. Acetone with any saturated water solution had to act like IPA and other alcohols - divide and float on top. IRL after pouring pure p.a. dose of acetone, and shaking final separation mix. But for my fate's sake, somehow this mix started rarely observed nuclination from surface down the valve horn. now it is soft solid similar to pudding, made of dense cloudy of fish-glossy, white, needle shaped, unordered in crystal mesh. it unevenly divides the layers, and also clogged my drain rotovalve for good... 

The question is it only me getting haunted by this kind of unexplainable by common sense, nor even by google search. Can mine freebase be somehow available to retrieve before turning oxidified or anything spoiling? someone had it before?


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## BrownRiceSyrup

I copy and pasted this (below, im not that cool). But this is likely what the goo is... SO, the question then becomes, how do you separate and isolate this compound. Looks like it could possibly water solube... ish... One of the real chemistry guys (with legit background) would need to expand on this....

"When you react acetone with lye, a reaction called the aldol reaction will occur. Lye usually is either KOH or NaOH and these are strong bases. The hydroxide will deprotonate acetone and the resulting enolate will add to the carbonyl carbon of a second acetone molecule. The overall reaction is shown below
.




"


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## Heartburn

BrownRiceSyrup said:


> I copy and pasted this (below, im not that cool). But this is likely what the goo is... SO, the question then becomes, how do you separate and isolate this compound. Looks like it could possibly water solube... ish... One of the real chemistry guys (with legit background) would need to expand on this....
> 
> "When you react acetone with lye, a reaction called the aldol reaction will occur. Lye usually is either KOH or NaOH and these are strong bases. The hydroxide will deprotonate acetone and the resulting enolate will add to the carbonyl carbon of a second acetone molecule. The overall reaction is shown below
> .
> ...



BrownRiceSyrupI've seen this, but I knew that it only refers only to solid anhydrous KOH. Eventually, after some scrolling I've found some scope of explaination in US patent. Under some conditions NaOH solution is able to get triggered into nucleation, becoming, as they claim, ultra pure NaOH slurry, ready to further process etc. At the end of my story, acetone layer was just decanted with small amount of slurry, after slight heating to around 45-50°C, lye got dissolved back and so on. 
If it's right thesis, valid for confirmation by someone else - then let everyone honestly admit if he has ever heard of it. Honestly I didn't.


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## BrownRiceSyrup

Heartburn said:


> I've seen this, but I knew that it only refers only to solid anhydrous KOH. Eventually, after some scrolling I've found some scope of explaination in US patent. Under some conditions NaOH solution is able to get triggered into nucleation, becoming, as they claim, ultra pure NaOH slurry, ready to further process etc. At the end of my story, acetone layer was just decanted with small amount of slurry, after slight heating to around 45-50°C, lye got dissolved back and so on.
> If it's right thesis, valid for confirmation by someone else - then let everyone honestly admit if he has ever heard of it. Honestly I didn't.



HeartburnIve never experienced that... but its interesting. I suppose i should remember that if it ever does happen to me. But im glad you figured it out man.


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## BrownRiceSyrup

but wait.... whats a "P.A." dose of acetone? I cant make sense of what process your describing here. You didnt have solvents, so instead of just leaving the freebase alone you mixed it with acetone? where does the sodium hydroxide come in to play? and why is there water involved? You had a saturated NaOH solution and mixed that with acetone thinking it would do what?


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## Heartburn

BrownRiceSyrup said:


> but wait.... whats a "P.A." dose of acetone? I cant make sense of what process your describing here. You didnt have solvents, so instead of just leaving the freebase alone you mixed it with acetone? where does the sodium hydroxide come in to play? and why is there water involved? You had a saturated NaOH solution and mixed that with acetone thinking it would do what?



BrownRiceSyrupPurity grade "p.a." - if i translated my local language shortcut correctly it has to mean >99.5% of content.


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