Hey Everyone,
The Tao of Rue Extraction calls for making "a lye or sodium carb solution." Can someone please explain this process for both lye and sodium carb? I know the base is added slowly to distilled water but how much base:H2O for this particular purpose?
Thanks for any help!

"After you have filtered the brew, we'll make a lye or sodium carbonate solution. I don't mind using lye in this step because we're going to filter our alks and then redissolve them into some more vinegar to filter them some more. On the final base, I prefer to use sodium carbonate to keep things safe."

Lye and sodium carbonate are 'alkaline' (basic), as opposed to 'acidic', compounds.
pH 0 thru 6 are acidic
pH 7 is Neutral (water)
pH 8 thru 14 are alkaline

pH Scale 0-----7-----14



Add enough Lye (stronger/more caustic) or Sodium Carbonate (less strong) to water to reach pH 10-11 and you will have a sufficiently 'basic' solution.

Are you trying to ask how to make a solution of sodium carbonate or lye, and of how much to use?

Yes, how much of either would I add to water to make the solution for this purpose. Am I trying to completely saturate the water or a certain amount per volumn of water? Or should I add until a ph test shows 10-11?

The aim is to make the solution containing harmala alkaloid salts basic enough to case to alkaloids to turn into freebase alkaloids and precipitate out of solution.

How much you need depends on the amount of alkaloid salts present that need to be freebased and the residual amount of free acid in the tea that also needs to be neutralized.

With lye, you would need at least 1/5th the expected weight of alkaloids, plus extra to neutralize any acidity of the tea. With sodium carbonate, possibly at twice the weight (if you have the decahydrate).

You could add this directly to the tea, or dissolve in a minimal amount of water and then add the solution to the tea. Be very careful with lye. Any inadvertent splashes into your eye may cause permanent damage. Splashes happen. Wear safety glasses.

In practice, it actually works rather simple:
- make a concentrated solution of lye or carbonate;
- poor some into the harmala tea while stirring;
- keep pooring and stirring until the tea turns into something resembling a snowstorm;
- add some more and stir a little;
- stop stirring and let it settle;
- decant most of the solution into another container;
- add plenty more lye or carbonate solution to the second container.
- if it still clouds, you did not add enough the first time. No bad, just add the precipitates and remember to use more base next time you do this.

Again, be careful with lye.