One of the final issues that I am trying to resolve is the KNO3 for the nitric acid. The sulfuric i can pick up in 12M quantities at lowes. The idea is to make everything from ingredients available at common stores, so ebay or pre-purified KNO3 are not what I'm looking for. I was thinking saltpetre if I can find it. I read that it is around 94% KNO3 and I was wondering how I could purify it; would simply heating it in water, decanting, and filtering work? I don't think it should be dangerous at all, if I'm not mistaken KNO3 doesn't melt until up in the 300's ©. As always, the help is appreciated.

 

-Doug

I would actually just take some proper black-powder and dissolve it in water. The sulfur and carbon will remain out of solution so it can be filtered out, and the KNO3 will dissolve in the water. Just evaporate your filtrate and you should be left with KNO3.

Now the matter of the sulfuric. . .I went to the biggest hardware store in the county today and had no luck finding any, only drain cleaners, but they were poisoned with buffers and heat-reducing agents, all of which I assume would hamper my denitrification of the KNO3, which I still haven't found. Is my assumption that the buffers, etc would cause issues in distilling my acid? Can they be purified? Where else could I get some?

 

Thanks,

Doug

Did you try car repair shops, gas stations etc.. Battery acid for cars is around 33.5% sulfuric acid.

the "worst" contaminants you`re likely to encounter from the oldest most rotten of car batts will only be some Lead and possibly EDTA, neither will affect your de-nitrification process.