A novel idea in regards to avoiding laboratory detection.

[Frit Buchner]

Someone private messaged me the other day asking me about ways to eliminate the inevitable smells associated with clandestine chemical laboratories. As anyone with experience knows, smells produced during chemical reactions can range from distinctive to downright euthanasia. I went through the list of common methods, like the old hose down the toilet, a water curtain set-up, releasing the fumes out of the chimney to obfuscated the origin etc, then I opened about the potential efficacy of a novel idea I have never seen in practice. Low and behold a product came across my screen in an Amazon add on social media that I had never seen before and here it is for your consideration. A ceramic catalytic combuster. This is for a wood burning stove and uses the heat produced by it to heat the catalyst, but I think a 6" stove burner element strapped to the front would work very well. With this in your output pipe (and the burner element)I believe it would toast just about any smell, and the catalyst, burner and a rheostat to control the temperature should be under $200 USD brand new( and a burner and stove knob could be free for many of us). I just thought I would present the idea and open a dialogue to discuss the potential.

Here's a link to the product on Amazon Protalwell Wood Stove Catalytic Combustor, 6" Round Ceramic Catalytic Combustor Replacement for Wood Stoves https://a.co/d/as9TCeq

 

[Rabidreject]

Surely activated carbon filter? like for growing weed/ that’s what iv seen work…in front of my eyes at home f/e. Probably ahotty but hey ho, I can’t smell anything and iv not had any mentions from my neighbours! Not when I was growing weed or when I do syntheses lol

 

[Rabidreject]

It is cool though but also surely, they would need to be warm reactions for it to activate? I’m doing a load of ice cold reactions at the mo….would it work for that? Or do u mean heat it seperatelay…

 

[Frit Buchner]

It is cool though but also surely, they would need to be warm reactions for it to activate? I’m doing a load of ice cold reactions at the mo….would it work for that? Or do u mean heat it seperatelay…

RabidrejectYeah, you would have to heat it seperately. I think I meantioned a stove burner on the face might work

 

[Rabidreject]

Oh yeh I see sorry. My bad. Pretty cool.
Isn’t it essentially just the same way activated carbon filters work though? I assume the shape of the holes trap the smells? Pretty cool either way.
I guess with charcoal filters if anyone sees it, it can really only be dodgy, in one way or another (I suppose unless you live in a country where you are allowed to grow your own weed (where as no one would know what the above item is!)