People concerned about using Red Devil Lye:
No one truly knows what contitute the so-called impurities of Red Devil Lye. Assay level, pharmaceutical grade, re-agent grade? I agree these terms are valid and should be taken literally in chem labs and among chem-speak people.
But as far as GHB synthesis is considered, these loosely-used terms carry little significance.
Consider these points:
1) Red Devil Lye does not contain heavy metals. (Only its factory quality control measures would invalidate this statement.)
2) Impurities people refer to, as far as GHB synthesis is considered, are so generally defined as to preclude a well-founded agreement among lay people. What is exactly an impurity to a chemist? A certain weight measurement of NaOH is not found to be 100% sodium hydroxide, at a molecular level? Or any other minute substances other than NaOH (consider just a sodium- variant that lost its ring attachment to a hydroxide) is in there to define it conclusively an impurity?
I'm confused as hell too...But my three college years of chemistry experience tells me that Red Devil Lye is safe to use...Science Alliance stuff and others of that quality are used as re-agent purposes (as someone mentioned) for high-quality lab-controlled NaOH-agent products involving quality multi-step lab procedures (you're looking at a combination of more than a dozen other chemicals)...Keep in mind that factories use the stuff and if then individuals, in most cases, for experiment purposes (as aforementioned by another).
Also keep in mind that assay and all these grade terms are of liability (possible lawsuits from contamination) and legal-related issues to be faced and recked with by and among companies using NaOH as a re-agent.
My point is this:
NaOH + GBL = GHB...Very simple procedure....What happends when you combine the two? Na of NaOH breaks apart with OH and becomes sodium...this is why it tastes salty......and the fallen OH rearranges itself (with distilled water as a solvent) and attaches to GBL. All the while GBL changes its molecular ring structures and combines with hydro to form gamma hydroxybutyrate....
The most-worse scenario using Red Devil is this, I think: You come up with less GHB than you expected, some unreacted GBL, and and some other inactive chemicals, if any, that were found in Red Devil Lye Container...How dangerous are these inactive chemicals, if they exist in that lye can? probably as dangerous if you were to drink tap water, i think...