Quick answer
Low purity usually means contaminants are still in the batch. Dissolve at the right temperature, remove protein with acid or base, filter with Kotton then a water filter, and evaporate until it is dry. Lab Pure needs 99% or better and all four Chem Finisher upgrades.
On this page
How far to trust these numbers
This page comes from player testing on version 100-Rev5, and we haven't run these recipes ourselves. Chemistry is the most-asked topic in the Steam forums, and guides disagree on some recipes. Where they do, we show both.
Do the maths for you
The Chem Calculator gives your grade, sale price and batch amounts for each product.
Why is my purity so low?
A common complaint is following the in-game recipe exactly and getting about 11%. Purity is the active ingredient's share of whatever reaches the Chem Finisher, so anything left in the batch drags it down.
The fix is usually one of these:
- The batch isn't dry. Water, alcohol and Lipobond must total 0.1 mL or less.
- Protein is still in it. Add acid or base about 1:1 with the protein, then filter out the debris.
- You skipped a filter. Use Kotton Fabric first, then a water filter.
- The temperature is wrong. Dream Cap extract breaks down fast above 50°C.
- The Finisher is adding its own dirt. It adds 12% contamination with no upgrades and 0% with all four.
Keep a Composition Spectrometer open while you add reagents, so you can see what's in the container.
Purity grades and prices
| Purity | Grade | Price change |
|---|---|---|
| 99%+ | Lab Pure | +135% |
| 90 to 99% | Pharma Grade | +85% |
| 80 to 90% | Near-Pharma | +40% |
| 60 to 80% | Street Standard | None |
| 45 to 60% | Cut Product | -45% |
| 30 to 45% | Junk Grade | -75% |
| Under 30% | Starch Grade | -95% |
What each product is worth
| Product | Base value | Contraband | Per item |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nomore Injector | 50 | None | 4 mL |
| Nightmare Dust | 36 | High | 4 mL extract |
| Zyanide Pill | 33 | Medium | 0.6 mL |
| Dream Dust | 18 | Medium | 2 mL extract |
| Birth Control Pill | 15 | None | 0.1 mL |
| Phanta Pill | 12 | High | 0.5 mL |
| Caffeine Pill | 10 | None | 5 mL |
Contraband raises the price: +35% for low, +70% for medium and +100% for high. The reported formula is base × purity modifier × (1 + contraband + market) × bargain. One player's Pharma Grade Nomore sold for about 92 credits, which fits the formula.
Dream Dust
- Blend Dream Caps into mush.
- Add the mush in portions to alcohol, using about 5 times the mush. You can reuse the alcohol.
- Heat to 40 to 49°C until the mush is gone.
- Add acid or base equal to the protein. If more than 0.5 mL is left, add 1 mL of the other.
- Filter with Kotton, then a water filter.
- Evaporate, then finish.
About half the mush becomes extract, and you need 2 mL per dust. Dream Caps are consistent, so a fully upgraded setup can reach Lab Pure.
Nightmare Dust
Follow the Dream Dust steps at 40 to 49°C, using 4 mL of extract per dust. The extract degrades quickly above 50°C.
Caffeine Pill
- Blend coffee beans.
- Add Lipobond at about one-eighth of the fat, before heating.
- Add alcohol at 0.75 times the coffee mush or more.
- Heat until no mush remains.
- Add acid or base equal to the protein, then filter with Kotton and a water filter.
- Evaporate, then finish.
About 75% of the mush becomes caffeine, and you need 5 mL per pill.
Sources disagree on this recipe
The player guide above says 50 to 78°C, because alcohol boils off above 78°C. Wikily lists 3 Alcohol to 4 Coffee Bean Mush at 50°C. Probably Stolen DB says 3 to 6 times the mush at 80°C or more. Check the in-game manual for your version and test a small batch first.
Phanta Pill
This needs an upgraded heating plate.
- Add acid to remove all the Stabilizing Agent.
- Filter with a water filter, then neutralize leftover acid with base.
- Add Reducing Agent at three-quarters of the methylol.
- Heat to 120 to 129°C until methylol reads 0. Phanta breaks down at 130°C or more.
- Add water and a purification tablet, then wait for chlorine to read 0.
- Evaporate, or boil off on the plate under 130°C, then finish.
About 10% of the methylol becomes Phanta. Heavy metal in the bottles holds average purity near 86% unless you clean reagents with fish first. One player reported the best reduction at 130°C, so test this if your yield is poor.
Nomore Injector
You unlock this through a story reward.
- Make Dream Cap extract, following Dream Dust steps 1 to 5.
- Evaporate until alcohol is 10% of the volume or less.
- Add Reducing Agent 1:1 with the extract.
- Add Lipobond at one-third of the extract.
- Heat to 50 to 55°C until the extract reads 0.
- Filter with Kotton, then evaporate and finish.
About 60% of the extract becomes Nomore, so one injector takes roughly 6.7 mL of extract.
Zyanide and Birth Control Pills
You can't synthesize these. You can only refine existing pills, and their starch limits the purity you can reach.
What removes each contaminant
| Contaminant | How to remove it |
|---|---|
| Water, alcohol, Lipobond | Evaporator |
| Plant matter, mush, debris | Kotton Fabric |
| Physical contaminant, mineral | Water filter |
| Microbes | UV Filter, acid or base, alcohol at 40%+ of volume, or heat |
| Protein | Acid or base at about 1:1, then filter the debris |
| Fat | Lipobond at about one-eighth of the fat |
| Stabilizing Agent | Acid or base, then filter the debris |
| Leftover acid or base | The other one, 1:1 |
| Chemical contaminant | Purification tablet plus water, until chlorine reads 0 |
| Heavy metal, starch, sugar | Can't be removed in the lab |
Each bottle of acid, base or Lipobond carries 2 to 8% random impurities. Players in the Steam forums haven't found a way to strip metal out of acid or base, so the practical answer is to test your bottles and keep the cleanest. Don't put chem batches in the water purifier, because it only works on water.
Equipment upgrades
| Machine | What upgrades do |
|---|---|
| Blender | Cut ingredient loss from 35% to 0% |
| Heating Plate | One module raises the limit from 99°C to 160°C; a second gives an exact setpoint |
| Chem Finisher | Cut added contamination: 12, 6, 3, 1, then 0% |
| Evaporator | Clears 300 mL a night; a Solvent Recovery Module recovers alcohol |
The Cartel deal on a Chemist start
The Cartel wants 10 Dream Dust at 40% purity in week 1. Each week the count rises by 5 and the purity by 5%, with purity capped at 70%. Purity is averaged across everything you hand in, and each week pays 150 credits, 3 Dream Caps and a common pack.
Falling short costs reputation: 4 for each missing dust, plus the size of any purity gap. Reaching -100 with the Cartel ends the run.
Selling without getting caught
Every contraband sale adds to your case value, weighted by the buyer. Revolution buyers count one-third, the black market one-half, and the Cartel nothing. At 100 investigation progress an officer arrives. A case under 300 means a fine, 300 or more means arrest, and 1,500 or more means execution.
Sources
- The Complete Chemist Guide (cached copy; Steam has removed it) — lpinch, Steam Community, 2026-10
- Chemistry guide — Probably Stolen DB, 2026-11
- Discussion: removing contaminants from acid and base — Steam Community, 2026-10-31
- Discussion: following a recipe gives about 11% purity — Steam Community, 2026-10-30
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