Reduce a liquid to powder?

Question

What is the best way to reduce a liquid to a powder? Is it best to just boil it down?

I think I heard once that you could put the liquid in a pot on an open oven door to let the liquid evaporate. Will that do the job?

Answer 1

the best way to do it is on an electric hot plate

or in a double boiler

or even on your stove on LOW to keep from boiling too fast or destroying the compound you are trying to reduce

Answer 2

if your liquid is water and some kind of salt than yes, boiling is the best way to go, but if it's a volatile liquid (like alcohol) you're screwed because if you let it evaporate (or boil it) nothing will be left at the end.

Yes it will, but it will take awhile.  When you do that you essentially have standing water and that can be placed anywhere as long as it gets heat.