Is there a practical way to make homemade 3% H2O2?

[M1031]

Dear all,

Just as the title says - is there a practical way to make homemade 3% hydrogen peroxide? I'm looking to move to a remote section of Texas where medical help may be hours away and I know how H2O2 can prevent serious infections and has other medical purposes. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Me.

 

[Borek]

It sis stable enough so that if you buy a new bottle every few months it will survive till the next shop visit.

And no, I am not aware of any simple and reasonable way of making it on your own.

 

[JaredJames]

I'd recommend salt for use on cuts and such to prevent infection.

It's common to use salt water to treat various complains, particularly gargling it with a sore throat.

Certainly a lot simpler and if anything, more to hand.

I believe you could also use it with an IV if required (desperate) but I wouldn't recommend it without knowing what you're doing.

 

[M1031]

I am an EMT. So IVs are no biggie to me. I'm just wanting to figure out if H2O2 is feasible in remote areas. I'm just trying to save some space in my vehicle when I go out there. If I could make it there then I would not have to worry about the availability of some basic medical chemicals.

 

[Borek]

Methods I know of (I don't know too much details) require either other chemicals or both other chemicals and electrolytic cell. Replacing a bottle of H₂O₂ with bottle of something else is not especially space saving

You can take 30% solution with you and dilute in ten times before use.

 

[Studiot]

If you take a concentrated stock I think you will need to keep it in a dark bottle, or at least out of the light.

 

[Proton Soup]

H2O2 isn't as good at killing bacteria as you might think. it's more of a mechanical cleaner than an effective antimicrobial. plus, it'll keep a long time like they say and is cheap cheap cheap. take some iodine and other antiseptics and antibiotics. peroxide isn't a dealbreaker for living in the sticks.

 

[M1031]

Thanks for the heads-up from all of you! I'm just trying to figure if I get isolated out West without any other resouces what I can make with materials at hand and if there is any way of making cheap, renewable, and effective remedies in the wilderness besides bringing stuff with me.

Again, thanks to all who took the time to read this thread and respond to it. I think I have some other ideas about improvised frontier medicine that may be more effective. I could not have developed these ideas without your help.

I'll be back soon with other questions I am sure.

Yours,

M1031
(It's a really cool military truck - google "M1031" for pics)

 

[HopWorks]

I apologize for resurrecting such an old topic, but I also want to know how to make H2O2 as part of my self-sustaining gardening project. H2O2 is a vital part of care and maintenance of my garden, and if the world were to end in an apocalyptic rage, I would want to be able to produce it as mother nature does via rain, should I survive such an event that is.

I am not a physics major, but I find I am able to navigate unknown territory pretty well. Please forgive my educational short-comings.

Thank you so much for your time!Gary Rubin

 

[chemisttree]

http://www.ginerinc.com/products.php?a=H2O2

 

[SteamKing]

A couple of tubes of Neosporin or other triple antibiotic creme would be more effective for treating minor cuts than lugging around H2O2. This stuff will decay easily and you can never be sure that if you start out with 3% concentration that it will be 3% when you use it. Even a bottle of rubbing alcohol would probably be a better disinfectant.

 

[HopWorks]

A couple of tubes of Neosporin or other triple antibiotic creme would be more effective for treating minor cuts than lugging around H2O2. This stuff will decay easily and you can never be sure that if you start out with 3% concentration that it will be 3% when you use it. Even a bottle of rubbing alcohol would probably be a better disinfectant.

I am using it for garden use but thank you for the advice.

 

[Theoden]

If I recall correctly, one technique used to make H2O2 is to bubble pure oxygen up through water while sending electricity through it; as to compound an equal amount of H and O together. You may be able to increase the percentage of H2O2 based on how long this technique is executed. Energy ( such as electricity or sunlight ) will also decompose H2O2, so to keep this solution for long periods of time, keep it somewhere dark and cold.

Hope this helps!

 

[Borek]

If I recall correctly, one technique used to make H2O2 is to bubble pure oxygen up through water while sending electricity through it

Do you have any source for that? I never heard about such a method.

 

[Theoden]

Do you have any source for that? I never heard about such a method.

It is at least what I have heard from a chemistry major. There is a chance it may not be the most efficient way; but I assume it is a working method. A more efficient way would be to use the anthraquinone process (you can buy anthraquinone here ); but it is very expensive.

 

[MRBlizzard]

http://phys.org/news/2016-02-quick-efficient-hydrogen-peroxide-poorest.html