Ok im not endorsing this idea because its has not been tested or anything. Just something that popped in my head in one the many eureka! moments i have in any given day. Just thought it was worth putting it out. I like the simplicity but again, no tests yet.
So it goes like this: Many fruit seeds contain amygdalin. Plums pits in particular seem to be particularly rich, with a 15 mg/gram concentration. Amygdalin is not cyanide but contains cyanide, and it can be released from the molecule. About 6% of the weight of amygdalin is cyanide, so about 1 mg of cyanide per gram of plum pits, if the molecule actually gets broken.
The molecule needs enzimes to break down, some are in your gut but some are included in the pits as well, and activate when the pit is crushed in water. Now, its hard to swallow down enough crushed seeds to make sure you get a proper dose. But if you just make a water mash, and rinse the water, you can just drink the cyanide water rather than a nasty crushed seed gruel, and all the cyanide should be dissolved.
But then it hit me: I dont have to drink anything! It should be possible to releasing cyanide gas just by boiling the cyanide water. You can go into overdrive with this, just crush 20 kg of seeds in a big soup pot, pour a gallon of vinegar to acidify, boil it and it should release up to 20 grams of hydrogen cyanide in the fumes, 100 times the LD50 dose. The vinegar might be unnecessary, not sure, and sulfuric acid might work better because it does not give off fumes. But the point is to have an acidic solution where the HCN stays as HCN and not ionized.
I dont know if it works, but if it does it could be easier than carbon monoxide from a BBQ. Just need a lot of fruit, vinegar, an electric stove and a big soup pot.
So it goes like this: Many fruit seeds contain amygdalin. Plums pits in particular seem to be particularly rich, with a 15 mg/gram concentration. Amygdalin is not cyanide but contains cyanide, and it can be released from the molecule. About 6% of the weight of amygdalin is cyanide, so about 1 mg of cyanide per gram of plum pits, if the molecule actually gets broken.
The molecule needs enzimes to break down, some are in your gut but some are included in the pits as well, and activate when the pit is crushed in water. Now, its hard to swallow down enough crushed seeds to make sure you get a proper dose. But if you just make a water mash, and rinse the water, you can just drink the cyanide water rather than a nasty crushed seed gruel, and all the cyanide should be dissolved.
But then it hit me: I dont have to drink anything! It should be possible to releasing cyanide gas just by boiling the cyanide water. You can go into overdrive with this, just crush 20 kg of seeds in a big soup pot, pour a gallon of vinegar to acidify, boil it and it should release up to 20 grams of hydrogen cyanide in the fumes, 100 times the LD50 dose. The vinegar might be unnecessary, not sure, and sulfuric acid might work better because it does not give off fumes. But the point is to have an acidic solution where the HCN stays as HCN and not ionized.
I dont know if it works, but if it does it could be easier than carbon monoxide from a BBQ. Just need a lot of fruit, vinegar, an electric stove and a big soup pot.
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