027 How to make Potassium Nitrate

Published in

· 28 Dec 2019

  

How to make Potassium Nitrate                   by The Jolly Roger 

Potassium Nitrate is an ingredient in making fuses, among other  
things. Here is how you make it: 

Materials needed: 

 -3.5 gallons of nitrate bearing earth or other material 
 -1/2 cup of wood ashes 
 -Bucket or other similar container about 4-5 gallons in volume 
 -2 pieces of finely woven cloth, each a bit bigger than the  
  bottom of the bucket 
 -Shallow dish or pan at least as large in diameter as the bucket 
 -Shallow, heat resistant container 
 -2 gallons of water 
 -Something to punch holes in the bottom of the bucket 
 -1 gallon of any type of alcohol 
 -A heat source 
 -Paper & tape 

Procedure: 

 - Punch holes on the inside bottom of the bucket, so that the  
metal is"puckered" outward from the bottom 

 - Spread cloth over the holes from the bottom 

 - Place wood ashes on the cloth. Spread it out so that it covers  
the entire cloth and has about the same thickness. 

 - Place 2nd cloth on top of the wood ashes 

 - Place the dirt or other material in the bucket 

 - Place the bucket over the shallow container. NOTE: It may need  
support on the bottom so that the holes on the bottom are not  
blocked. 

 - Boil water and pour it over the earth very slowly. Do NOT pour  
it all at once, as this will clog the filter on the bottom. 

 - Allow water to run through holes into the shallow dish on the  
bottom. 

 - Be sure that the water goes through ALL of the earth! 

 - Allow water in dish to cool for an hour or so 

 - Carefully drain the liquid in the dish away, and discard the  
sludge in the bottom 

 - Boil this liquid over a fire for at least two hours. Small  
grains of salt will form - scoop these out with the paper as they  
form 

 - When the liquid has boiled down to 1/2 its original volume let  
it sit 

 - After 1/2 hour, add equal volume of the alcohol; when this  
mixture is poured through paper, small white crystals appear. This  
is the posassium nitrate. 

Purification: 

 - Redissolve crystals in small amount of boiling water 

 - Remove any crystals that appear 

 - Pour through improvised filter then heat concentrated solution  
to dryness. 

 - Spread out crystals and allow to dry