| BORN 1981.
PLAN TO DIE A.S.A.P.
1. A process for selectively extracting morphine from opium, comprising the steps of:
extracting opium with a basic solution of a C.sub.1 -C.sub.6 alcohol capable of dissolving morphine in its neutral, cationic, or anionic form,
filtering the alcohol solution,
removing the alcohol from filtrate to leave a residue,
extracting the residue with a basic aqueous solution having a pH of at least 11,
optionally filtering the basic aqueous solution to remove any solid matter remaining after the aqueous extraction step,
optionally stirring the basic aqueous solution with a sufficient amount of a salt to avoid emulsion formation,
extracting the basic aqueous solution with a substantially water-immiscible organic solvent to remove non-morphine alkaloids from the solution,
adjusting the pH of the basic aqueous filtrate to pH 8.5 to 9.5 to precipitate morphine, and
recovering the morphine.
2. A process of claim 1, comprising the steps of:
extracting opium by refluxing in a basic methanol solution having a pH of about 9,
filtering the methanol solution to remove any particulate matter remaining from the methanol extraction,
removing the methanol from filtrate to leave a residue,
extracting the residue with an aqueous solution of alkali hydroxide having a pH of at least 11,
optionally filtering the basic aqueous solution to remove any solid matter remaining after the aqueous extraction step,
optionally stirring the basic aqueous solution with a sufficient amount of a salt selected from lithium chloride, lithium bromide, lithium acetate, sodium chloride, sodium bromide, sodium acetate, potassium chloride, potassium bromide, and potassium acetate, to avoid emulsion formation,
extracting the basic aqueous solution with a substantially water-immiscible organic solvent selected from benzene, toluene, xylene, diethyl ether, chloroform, and mixtures thereof, to remove non-morphine alkaloids from the solution,
adjusting the pH of the basic aqueous filtrate to pH 8.5 to 9.5 to precipitate morphine, and
recovering the morphine.
optionally filtering the basic aqueous solution to remove any solid matter remaining after the aqueous extraction step,
optionally stirring the basic aqueous solution with a sufficient amount of a salt selected from lithium chloride, lithium bromide, lithium acetate, sodium chloride, sodium bromide, sodium acetate, potassium chloride, potassium bromide, and potassium acetate, to avoid emulsion formation,
extracting the basic aqueous solution with a substantially water-immiscible organic solvent selected from benzene, toluene, xylene, diethyl ether, chloroform, and mixtures thereof
adjusting the pH of the basic aqueous filtrate to pH 8.5 to 9.5 to precipitate morphine, and recovering the morphine.
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