AQUA REGIA AND SPIRIT OF NITRE

Aqua Regia (1)

Their base is the Spirit of Nitre, or the Aqua Fortis, the one that becomes Regal for addition of purified Ammoniac Salt, or of common salt, on the following way:

Put on four ounces of purified and powdered Ammoniac Salt in a flask and add one pound of canonical Aqua Fortis.

Warm in bath of sand at soft heat so that the Ammoniac Salt is dissolved.

It is necessary to work at open flask, in ventilated place and inside the smoke bell because there is abundant gas detachment.

At the end of the reaction allow cooling, keeping the resulting liquid in a flask well close.

Aqua Regia (2)

Put half pound of marine salt in a retort or of Salt Gem. Adding a pound of Spirit of Nitre or of Aqua Fortis and distil to dryness in bath of sand.

Pick up the distilled and keep it in flask very close.

Aqua Regia (3)

(Rubellus Petrinus: " A Grande Obra Alquímica" Page. 94; links of this homepage)

Put inside a balloon flask of one litter 250 ml of Spirit of nitre preheated at 30o C, in an electric furnace of controllable temperature and in bath of sand.

Move the flask with the Spirit of Nitre preheated to a ventilated place so that the vapours leave freely to the exterior.

Add little by little and shaking 60 g of Salt ammonia. The chemical reaction could not begin immediately, after than it is uncontrollable, for that reason the liquid won't occupy more than ¼ of the capacity in volume of the balloon.

After the chemical reaction and that have just been dissolved the whole Salt Ammonia, the water will have a beautiful yellow colour. Leaving it cools and keeps it in flask with smerilated plug.

SPIRIT OF NITRE

(Rubellus Petrinus," A Grande Obra Alquímica" Page. 92-94; links of this homepage)

In order to prepare it is necessary distil in an alembic of good glass, or better still ceramic, in an oven to gas with controlled temperature and in bath of sand, a mixture of two pounds of Vitriol of Mars or of Venus and a pound of revivificated intro, powdered fine.

Beginning the distillation to soft fire, in order to extract the phlegm, and later increase the temperature, until distil the Spirit of Nitre, it can be seen for the detachment of vapours brown colour that they fill the cucurbit completely.

Then that the whole Spirit of Nitre has passed the collector, the heating of the alembic is suspended, allow cooling and drawing back from the cucurbit the grounds, with a wooden spoon.

Repeating the same operation in order to getting a liter of the Spirit of Nitre.

Rectifying it until obtain a stronger spirit to more than 30o Baumé.

Lixandram


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