More Chemistry

Speaking of catalysts - I've been trying to find a suitable one for conversion of Ethanol (grain alcohol) to Diethyl Ether (as in anaesthetic ether). If I'm going to endure a post-apocalyptic future, I'm not going to do it without access to anaesthetics.

Of course, there are better ones available on the shelf, if the shelf is in a well-supplied hospital; I'm looking for one that can be produced as required when you don't have worldwide trade routes. I know it can be done with sulfuric acid and careful temperature control, but what I want is something that can be done with a solid catalyst, being easier to handle and recover, and preferably without tight reaction temperature constraints. Ideally, the catalyst would be very easy to make from raw materials; failing that, something that is easy to get and reasonably ubiquitous - that is the more difficult part. Almost as difficult is the reaction conditions. It looks like Alumina (Aluminium Oxide) will do it - at 300C/570F. Ether is gaseous well below this temperature and is highly flammable, so getting it to not explode when you're DIYing... I have some reading to do.... Time to dust off my chemistry textbooks...

If you are a prepper or survivalist, and you do appreciate the value of different people being able to bring different skills to the table, you really should adopt someone with some chemistry knowledge... Or, at least, encourage and assist them in experimenting.

Advanced Chemistry

I have finally found a source of ZSM-5.... But it is $300 a kilogram. I'm trying to decide how much I want it.
It is a compound with a very interesting ability - it will turn methanol and/or ethanol to a mixture of heptane and octane. Basically, you make alcohol, cook it with this, and it becomes gasoline.

Of course, it does need to be cooked at about 250-300 degrees Celcius, and requires a reactor to do that little bit of magic in; it's not out-and-out magic, but it's close.

If you're a raider or a right-wing survivalist, a hippy or a would-be technocrat, this is why you need science and engineering people. Even if you create a monastery for them, you need to protect them. We can do some magical things.

A little bit of research goes a long way...

A friend pointed me toward the tree Moringa oleifera a few months ago. The more I learn, the more I like. It is very edible, prolific, will handle more arid conditions...

The seed oil is edible, can be used as a base for soaps, as a lubricant - and for biodiesel.

All this means is that I'm going to have to get several hand-cranked grinders... Although being able to convert a larger one to wind power would be useful - don't want to waste fuel making fuel. And I want to find a good, easy-to-make-under-bad-conditions catalyst for biodiesel - I'm sorry, but Sodium Methoxide isn't - I can find no evidence that it can be called a catalyst, rather than a reactant. One of the defining characteristics of a catalyst is that they don't get used up in the reaction.

If I can get some more growing from seeds, all good, but apparently, it will shoot easily from cuttings - which makes life so much easier. I did give myself a proverbial kick the other day, however. The obvious problem is fertisiling. Potassium and Sulfur may be a problem, although on decent soil, hopefully not too bad, but Nitrogen is a definite limiter. The obvious solution is to put a Nitrogen-fixing plant in there, and a perennial at that - but what? After not thinking about it for ages, I realised that a Carob tree (would be my third) would be the way to go... I would want to go the expensive route, and get one that could self pollinate, but that would be a nice solution.

It's just a pity, then, that my normal supplier is out of the the particular variety I want. I suppose I could wait a year (or whenever they are next available), or try to grow from seed if and when my two actually start to bear (could be a couple of years)...

Oh well, I will see if TEOTWAWKI or next planting season comes first, I suppose... *tongue firmly lodged in teeth*

Revisiting the ancients

The more I read, the more I appreciate that ancient technologies may lead the way to recovery PSHTF. Little or no international trade, even only limited trade longer than local, means that you have to make do with what little you have. For example, Japan showed major innovations, both technological and social, throughout its history, out of necessity, due to its insular culture.

PSHTF, you aren't going to have all the materials you would want - you will have to make do with what you have. And, yes, socially... It might take centuries for society to recover, if at all... Revisiting how ancient societies organised themselves may help smooth the way.

All this means that much work to not only find potential technologies, but refine them as much as possible, preserve, and spread them.

I have found out some interesting things about how some villages manage their water, and how they de-seeded cotton traditionally... it's... There's so much that could be adapted, and allow a PSHTF-society to survive and thrive...


This would be so much easier if I had some help.... I suppose I can hardly ask for a Great Architect to come down and oversee all these ideas... Truth be known, however, I would prefer a Great Engineer. After all, architects design things, but it's the engineers who take the plans and make them work.