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Making Nitroglycerin (an actual method)
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by: Simon
3-18-2004

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	Well, this is my first text file. I am not a computer user, but luckily I have plenty 
of typing experience on my IBM Typewritter. Let me first explain exactly why I am writing this; 
I am visiting my relatives here in California, I am from Texas. I made mention of the fact that 
I know how to make Nitroglycerin to one of my cousins, he wanted to know how. So he asked me to 
get on his computer, and write it down so he could submit it on the internet. 

	He showed me a few things on the computer that he had on how to make nitroglycerin, 
"the anarchist cookbook" he says. Well, that's not the real way. I am from Texas, and I did 
grow up knowing how to make Nitroglycerin, and it is actually very simple. I'm no chemist, and 
I can do it. Of course I don't go doing bad things with it, it is quite useful when tearing 
down an old house, or shed. I usually use my nitroglycerin batches for blasting large rocks out 
of the ground when I am digging large holes by hand (lots of rocks in Texas).

	Anyway, so here is how to make Nitroglycerin.

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	Ok, now let me tell you first off that I have never had a nitroglycerin reaction go 
wrong. I feel totally safe when making nitroglycerin, there really is nothing dangerous about 
doing this, as long as you use some Common Sense in safety. Like not shaking liquids.

	This stuff was first made in the middle of the 1800s. That says alot if you consider 
the very simple, rough materials and equipment that they had at the time. Anyone who has not 
been dropped on their head can easily become a master at this. Just as long as you follow the 
directions, nothing can really go wrong.


	Ok, first a list of things that you're going to need:


--Lots of Ice
--Nitric Acid (Concentrated)
--Sulfuric Acid (Concentrated)
--Glycerin (with NO water)
--Bucket of Water
--Styrofoam Container (the ones for beer)
--Pint Sized Glass Flask
--A 2000mL Seperatory Funnel (easy to come by in catalogs)
--Distilled Water
--Thermometer


	First, keep the bucket of water close, if something does go wrong, you can drown it out 
with water. This will not happen, as long as you are not a complete dumbass.

	You must remember that you CAN NOT have glycerin that has water in it. You must have 
actual glycerin. Find a chemical supplier that supplies pure glycerin.

	Note that you are constantly using the seperatory funnel. After you use it once, clean 
it, then use it again 20 minutes later. You are going to have to clean it and use it about 3 
times.

	Fill the Styrofoam Container half way full of Ice. This container will be used to cool 
your flask with all the chemicals in it. The chemicals being cold is 100% REQUIRED. If the 
ingredients are not cold when mixed, other reactions can take place, and your mixture could 
explode. This is easily avoided by doing what I just said: fill the Styrofoam Container half 
way full of Ice.

	Put your Nitric Acid and Sulfuric Acid in the freezer for a while before mixing them 
in the flask. That way you do not have to sit around and wait for them to get cold. Burry your 
glass flask in the ice (ice bath), pour in 200mL concentrated sulfuric acid, and 100mL of 
concentrated nitric acid, they are mixed together by swirling the container a bit, or mixing 
with a glass rod, or the thermometer. This mixing will warm them up a bit, but they will 
quickly cool in the ice bath. When the temperature of the acids is 40F, the glycerin can be 
added. 50mL of glycerin is measured out, and added to the Nitric Acid and Sulfuric Acid 
mixture 5mL at a time. The best way to do this is to run the small amounts of glycerin down 
the inside of the glass, so it gradually pours into the acids. The glass flask is tilted at an 
angle, and turned like a concrete mixer (using your hands) while you pour the glycerin in. DO 
NOT pour the glycerin into the acids all at once, or even in 5mL globules. You must slowly add 
it to the acid mixtures. If the glycerin builds up in one spot, a runaway reaction can occour, 
so make sure to pour it in very slowly as I stated above. Be Gentle.

	Do this until you have added all the glycerin. It takes about 25 minutes, adding ten 
portions of glycerin of about 5mL each. The temperature of the acids and glycerin inside the 
flask should be watched closely. It should not be allowed to rise above 50F. If it gets too 
close to this temperature, the adding of glycerin should stop immidiatly, and the mixing 
continued with the flask nestled in the ice bath until the temperature drops back down to 
around 40F.

	Under NO circumstances may it be thought that you can add the nitric acid, sulfuric 
acid, and glycerin at the same time. To add all three chemicals at once will result in a sure 
death I am assuming. I really don't know what would happen, I just know that it would be very 
bad. (My lack in knowledge of this is because I have never been stupid enough to actually do 
it).

	When all the glycerin has been added, a milky colored solution will be formed with 
little globules of pure nitroglycerin throughout the mixture. After the glycerin has been 
added, the mix can be allowed to warm up a bit. It can be taken out of it's ice bath, and 
allowed to rise around the 50s F. You should stir occasionally during this time.

	About 25 minutes after the last bit of glycerin has been added, you can consider the 
reaction to be done. Now is time for the purification process.

	First, get a little over quart of cold distilled water, and put it in a 2000mL 
seperatory funnel. Pour your nitroglycerin batch into the seperatory funnel with the water. Let 
it sit for a bit, the bottom Oil type layer is the nitroglycerin. A small amount of the 
nitroglycerin stays floating at the top of the water, just splash the water around the small 
droplets of nitroglycerin with a glass stirring rod, and they will sink to the bottom. When all 
of the Nitroglycerin has seperated from the acid and water, you can release the stopcock on the 
bottom of the sep funnel, and drain out the nitroglycerin into a glass container. You must NOT 
allow any of the other top layer into the jar with the nitroglycerin, because the entire point 
is to seperate the nitroglycerin from the acids.

	The seperated nitroglycerin is added to a cup of cold distilled water, and allowed to 
sit for a little while. The water will soak up more acid from the nitroglycerin, that is the 
point of mixing all of this with water: to seperate the acids away from the nitroglycerin. It 
is good to cause the nitro to flow around on the bottom of its new container every once in a 
while, so that it is not the same old surface exposed to the water all the time. This water 
bath should take no more than about an hour.

	pour the nitroglycerin/distilled water back into the sep funnel, and seperate the 
bottom Nitroglycerin layer from the water/acid layer. Again, be sure to only allow the 
nitroglycerin to drain.

	Take 10 grams of Arm & Hammer, and add it to a cup of distilled water in the sep 
funnel, mixing it until it is totally dissolved (this is your bicarb solution). The 
nitroglycerin still has some acid left in it, and this solution will help pull all of it out. 
If there is still acid left in the nitroglycerin, the nitroglycerin will not keep, it will 
break down. If you skip any of these purification steps, you will have a crappy nitroglycerin 
that will probably not explode. Add the nitroglycerin to the bicarb solution.

	When the nitroglycerin is added to the solution, it sinks to the bottom. It should 
look milky and oily. It will probably cause the bicarb solution to bubble a bit, maybe some 
fizzing. You need to rotate the sep funnel, so that the nitroglycerin rolls around on the 
bottom of the container exposing fresh surfaces to the bicarb solution. Tilt it at about a 45 
degree angle to do this, it's better because then more nitroglycerin gets exposed to the 
bicarb solution. Be gentle with every stirring technique you use. Do not use any rod to stir 
the mixture, You do not want to cause friction. With the nitroglycerin in the position that it 
is in, you can cause seriously large explsions from causing friction. Soft swirling may be 
used. Spend at least a couple of hours on this step. It should be constantly attended, 
stirred, swirrled, etc.

	At the end of the bicarb treatment, the nitroglycerin still looks the same, it still 
looks milky.  This is from the water caught in the nitroglycerin, and it should be removed for 
the nitroglycerin to be deemed pure. It will cause problems with detonating the nitro if it is 
not removed.

	To remove the water completely, you need to get some hot water in a container, and 
dissolve as much table salt as you can in it. Shake it as much as you can to dissolve as much 
salt as you possibly can in the hot water. When the water cools down, the clear colored 
saturated salt solution (no crystals of salt floating around) is poured off of the excess salt 
that is sitting on the bottom of the container. Put it in a suitable container.The 
nitroglycerin can now be put seperated in the seperatory funnel just as before. You then put 
the nitroglycerin into contact with the salt solution. There should be about two volumes of 
salt solution added to one volume of nitroglycerin. After sitting together for a few hours, the 
salt will get all the water out of the nitroglycerin, resulting in a Clear product. 

The yield of nitroglycerin is about 50mL. This is not alot of nitroglycerin, but enough to 
have some fun with.

Well, that's how to do it!
