Saltpeter?

I've just extracted what I believe to be Saltpeter from an old brick wall in my late aunt's barn.
Now, is it Saltpeter? How can I extract it from the dirt? The contents of the let test tube are very white, while the right has more dirt and therefore is more grey.ish.

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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efflorescence
youtube.com/watch?v=VaGykqoNhJk
youtube.com/watch?v=pT14fvtHSXU
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Bumping my own thread.
Come on Veeky Forums

Anyone?

>I've just extracted what I believe to be Saltpeter from an old brick wall

How?

unlikely

explain why you think that

why?

Just buy a packet at you local supermarket.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Efflorescence
Where I live, you can't buy Saltpeter in shops. Besides, I want to do this the medivial way.

My bad, I mistook you for The way I did it was simple: I brushed it off the wall.

>you can't buy Saltpeter in shops
what.

Its used to make processed meat, you should be able to get it from any butchery

OP here.
Let me just rephrase my question:
How do I purify potassium nitrate?

You buy pure potassium nitrate from a butchery.

So, in short, you have no idea, correct?

no, but I do have enough money to buy pure saltpeter when I want it to make fuses or shit.

Sure, but this is not a question of money or cost effectiveness.

youtube.com/watch?v=VaGykqoNhJk

Your never going to be a good engineer thinking like that

Damn, I forgot about that one.
OP out

[eqn]3 NO^{-}3 + 8 Al + 5 OH^{-} + 18 H2O -> 3 NH3 + 8 [Al(OH)4]^{-}[/eqn]

add aluminium in a sodium hydroxide (lye) solution to produce ammonia

the ammonia can be detected by smell

aluminium forms an oxide layer so you might need to find an alloy for this method to be effective

youtube.com/watch?v=pT14fvtHSXU
This one looks like it'll work even better. I don't think you have enough to use a huge filter like that so you'll have to MacGyver something else.

I would boil the contents of the tubes in some water and then run it through a coffee filter to get some of the dirt and rocks out. The KNO3 should recrystallize after you allow the water to evaporate off under gentle heat for a bit. It'll be dirty still, but then you can continue on with a chemical method of purification.

Also, salt peter has a pretty distinct taste if you're familiar with it or have a more pure sample that you can use as a reference. It's hard to explain, but it's got a mild "salt" taste and should dissolve quickly on your tongue.

Veeky Forums ...please stop teaching ISIS how to make bombs.

this

are you sure it's not gypsum, which is a common component of mortar?

>BUY GASOLINE
>GET LOTS OF STYROFOAM
>MIX EM UP LOTS
>NOT ENOUGH STYROFOAM USE MORE
>IT SHOULD MAKE A SUPER THICK
>ADD A BIT MORE STYROFOAM
>K ENOUGH
>LIGHT THAT SHIT UP
>NAPALM MOTHAFUCKA