-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                       The Matchbook Red Phosphorus Bible
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Materials:

- 5 Gallon Bucket
- Drill (1/2" chuck)
- Mud/Paint/Concrete Mixer
- Coffie Filters
- Strainer (big enough to fit over pot and bucket opening)
- 2 gallon Cooking Pot
- Tin Snips or Siszers

- 200 Matchbook Boxes
- 2 Gallons Acetone
- Sulfuric Acid
- Hydrochloric Acid
- Water
- Iodine



EXTRACTING RED PHOSPHORUS FROM MATCHBOOKS:

<1> Ripp off matchbook covers. Line up as many matchbook covers as you can cut
    through with tin snips or good, sharp siszers.  Cut out and save all the
    striking strips.

<2> Drill 3/4" hole in the lid of the 5 gallon bucket. Put the mud mixer through
    3/4" hole in lid and into the drill.

<3> Dump the 200 matchbook boxes worth of striking strips (10,000 striking
    strips) into the 5 gallon bucket. Pour 1.5 gallons of acetone into the
    bucket. Cover bucket by inserting mud mixer then snaping on lid.

<4> Mix Contents for about 5 minuates. Check to see if strips are mostly white.
    If not then continue mixing.

<5> Take off lid and pull out mixer. Put the strainer on the cooking pot and
    pour all the actone in. Pull out all strips from strainer and bucket and
    place on clean table or in a bowl. The strips will be covered in red
    phosphorus, rinse them by placing the strainer on bucket and throwing a
    handful of strips in it. Then slowly pour some of the acetone in the cooking
    pot, through the strainer untill strips are clean. Empty strainer into
    garbage. Continue untill all strips are rinsed.

<6> Pour all the acetone/RP into the cooking pot. Let the RP settle for about 15
    minuates. SLOWLY pour off the acetone into your local lake. Keep pouring as
    long as the acetone is pretty clear. The last bit of acetone will be redish
    colored. Filter this through a coffie filter in the strainer. Scrape the
    mushy RP back into the pot or dry the filters, roll and ball them up well,
    then unfold. All the RP will fall right out in a dust.

Cleaning Matchbook Red Phosphorus:

SULFURIC/HYDROCHLORIC WASH: (This can be done as 2 different washes) With mushy
RP in cooking pot, pour enough 1:1 water/sulfuric to cover the glob. (It's
optional now to add heat or not. If so then add no more then enough for a light
boil) Mix contents for 5 to 10 minuates. Add an equal amout of hydrochloric acid
and continue mixing for 5 to 10 minuates. If heat was applied take off now. Add
an equal amount of cold water. Filter through a coffie filter in the strainer.
Scrape the chunky RP off the filters back into the cooking pot. (This will eat
up alot of small paper fibers, hair, cotten, lint or whatever.)

ACETONE WASH: Add enough acetone to cover the globs and chunks of RP. (Again you
can add heat if you like. Bring it to a controlled boil.)  Mix for 5 to 10
minuates. Let cool or add a little cold water. Filter RP same way and return it
to pot. (This will remove any glues or other acetone solvent junk.)

WATER WASH: Add enough distilled water to cover the RP globs. Bring this to a
boil for 5 to 10 minuates. Filter out the RP and leave in filters to dry out.
When dry roll and ball up filters then brush out dust. Collect dust in a baggie
and store.  (This is a general cleaning to remove any chemical residue.)

OTHER WASHES: Any of the following solvents have been safely used to wash RP...
Methanol, Ethanol, Denatured alcohal, Isopropynol, Toluene, Xylene. These would
be done the same as written above.

SCREENING: Put RP in stainless steel screen or coffie filter with metal screen
and run acetone through it.  (Removes anything that non-soluable to acetone and
too big for screen.)

WASHING ORDER: The order does not matter as long as the RP is finished off with
an acetone wash then a distilled water wash.

Prefiring Red Phosphorus:

REACT RP/I2: Weigh out your RP and put it into a bottle. Add half as much I2 to
it and shake it up. Add (dropwise) H2O2 when not reacting. Continue shaking and
adding drops of H2O2 untill it's done reacting.

FILTER OUT RP: After prefiring add water and shake. If it won't loosen up then
put the bottle in boiling water for 5 minuates. Filter the water/RP/I mix. Wash
the RP with acetone then water. Dry it out, baggie and save for a rainy day.

NOTE: - Make sure drill has a 1/2" chuck.

     +-----+
     |     |
     |     |<---------- Drill
     |     |
     +-----+
        |
        |
        |
________|___<---------- Lid
|       <       |
|       |       |
|       |       | <---------- Bucket
|   ____|____   |
|   |   |   |   |
|   |   |   | <---------- Mixer
|   |___|___|   |
|               |
|               |
+---------------+


This was compiled from many sources and through trial and error was refined to
what you see.  It was written to be printed up and used as a reference for
anyone like swim that hasn't been able to get lab grade RP. Swim's current run
was scaled down using a 2 gallon bucket with 114 boxes!  It took over 3/4 gallon
of acetone to extract the RP.  Clean up will be H2SO4/HCL, ACETONE, H2O,
PREFIRE, ACETONE, H2O DONE!

Swim is expecting to yield about 250mg per box.  Their hoping to end up with an
even ounce.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
