Terpenation at Terpene Station

[FatherEarth]

Fatherearth. How much time does it take to complete one full run depending on how many cycles to the final purging?

One run, frozen column, floods until butane runs clear, 4 max, about 30 min, then it sits in the collection pot for final vacuum for a minimum of 5-10 mins or so unless Im in a hurry or switching out columns. Ive done up to 6 columns before collecting and it gets excruciatingly slow. I now do two columns , scrape then reload.


FE

 

[FatherEarth]

Quality Control Concern

Quality Control Concern

So the 'dust' in one of my earlier photos I posted has been proven otherwise. Upon first glance I thought it looked like early crystal formations but reasoning led me to shrug it off. After an extended period in the vac chamber and slow steady ethanol evap I have a solid layer of crystals that formed in the bho. The oil as it dried became crunchy. If you stuck a tool in the oil you could feel the crystals that have attached to the bottom of the perti dish. I would have never seen these crystals if I didnt use petri dishes. My guess as Ive heard anecdotal evidence of silicates contaminating BHO extractions from use during the plant life cycle. This is the first thing that came to mind as Im totally unsure what else these formations could be. The material used for this run was from an indoor crop that had what I would call a Si overdose, resulting in trunk deformities and leaf necrosis. Overall an unusually heavy harvest and a great end product from the crop. So anyone care to guess what this is? Also any recommendations for analytical labs to send this in for testing would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Gray Wolf]

FE, do those dissolve in ethanol and if not, are they removed by a 0.45 or 0.2 micron syringe filter?

 

[FatherEarth]

They do dissolve in ethanol, but it may be that they only dissolve in the water portion. Was thinking of drying out the ethanol with MgSO4 but I would have to be able to work with it under vacuum or else it would just reabsorb the moisture from atmosphere.... No? Any suggestions?

 

[jump117]

So the 'dust' in one of my earlier photos I posted
--
I have a solid layer of crystals that formed in the bho.
--
So anyone care to guess what this is?
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View Image

View Image

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Very interesting observations and perfectly photographed. Thank you!

Rectangular objects, which I asked earlier, were also crystals?

Hey FatherEarth!

Wonder what are the small rectangular objects?
Alient pollution?

They reminded me a photo.
Title: Crystals of THCA synthase Picture Added 08-02-2010 09:09 PM

Unfortunately, I did not write the source in the title.

 

[Hashmasta-Kut]

all i can say is i saw crunchy oil before i thought it was weird as hell. didnt even think it was a butane extract. sounds similar. it was grainy.

 

[Veg N Out]

Father Earth

You don't think that is the capitate stalk of the trichome suspended in the oils ?

 

[FatherEarth]

Father Earth

You don't think that is the capitate stalk of the trichome suspended in the oils ?

No, not at all.

follow the link to my gallery and click the image then click it again, to see it in full size. They get large and you can clearly see. No question, crystals forming.

http://postimg.org/gallery/21n14o5m/

Some science on crystal formations.

http://asdn.net/asdn/chemistry/silicates.shtml

http://staff.imsa.edu/science/si/horrell/materials/silicate_chemistry.htm

This got me all worked up. A quote from a link above.

Aqueous Silicates

The dissolution of silica involves a chemical reaction of hydrolysis:
SiO2 + H2O → Si(OH)4.
It is well known that, the solubility of silica in water under normal conditions is very low: The equilibrium concentration of amorphous SiO2 in water at 25°C is 70 ppm, whereas for crystalline silica, such as quartz, this value is no more than 6 ppm. In order to obtain a supersaturated solution of silica, an elevated temperatures, pressures and a high pH (around 12), should be used [2] The supersaturated solutions are unstable and susceptible to condensation under ambient conditions. Even above pH 7 silicic acid is deprotonated to a high extent and the anion species have a high (negative) surface charge. In the presence of alkaline metals such as Sodium (Na) or Potassium (K) these systems consist of hydrated cations and polysilicic anions (products of polycondensation process) (see eq):

≡Si – OH + OH- → ≡ SiO- + H2O
≡SiO- + HO–Si → ≡Si – O – Si≡ + OH-​

The anion species can be represented by monomers, oligomers, and polymeric three dimensional structures. The hydrated cations are involved in the formation of an electric double layer. The electric double layer and steric factor (the decreasing of monomers attachment probability to branched particles) are the causes of the aggregative stability of such systems [3]. Supersaturated solutions of silicic acid can be used in sol-gel processing as precursors along with the more widely used system: TEOS (TMOS)-H2O-ROH, where ROH is an alcohol. Aqueous silicate solutions can provide aerogels and xerogels or dense ceramics after solvent extraction, evaporation of solvent or heating respectively. One of the most widely used examples of alkaline silicates solutions is water glass. Commercial water glasses are concentrated (around 40 wt. % of silicate). Their composition can be expressed as: R2O•mSiO2•xH2O, where, R2O is sodium oxide or potassium oxide and m is the mole ratio silicon oxide to the alkaline metal oxide. Water glasses are applied in technology of acid-resisting concrete and other construction materials.

 

[FatherEarth]

Very interesting observations and perfectly photographed. Thank you!

Rectangular objects, which I asked earlier, were also crystals?

Yes indeed, they were the 'seed' crystals forming.
That pic was before I dissolved in ethanol.

The last microscope pics were after ethanol purging under vacuum for aprox 4 days with a deep oil layer. The oil was still a bit runny with a gritty grainy feel. If you held the pertri sideways the oil would slowly run to one side. Still had water in it and a slight Ethanol smell.

Interesting on the THCA formations, I think I just opened Pandora's box. Fun stuff. Thanks for sharing.

Respectfully,

FE

 

[Lebniis]

Random question, what size air compressor are you using to blow out the tubes? What's the smallest/ cheapest one that we could get away with to clear a 1.5x24" spool?

 

[Gray Wolf]

I'm using a cheap brad gun pancake compressor. If you have a tank attached, to build up a charge, a very small compressor would work. You could even fill an air tank at the service station and use that.

 

[icdog]

Anybody know of a place to find a can tapper in Canada? Or the name of manufacturers of them so I can hopefully find one?

 

[Hash Man]

I'm using a cheap brad gun pancake compressor. If you have a tank attached, to build up a charge, a very small compressor would work. You could even fill an air tank at the service station and use that.

I have an air compresser that will do 110 psi, it worked on a lightly packed tube but not on a tightly packed tube. Should i hrow a ball valve between the tube and the compressor?

 

[Gray Wolf]

Anybody know of a place to find a can tapper in Canada? Or the name of manufacturers of them so I can hopefully find one?

Robinair makes a good refrigerant can side tapper.

http://findnsave.macon.com/offer/RobinAir-Multi-Purpose-Refrigerant-Side-Can-Tap/27477711/

 

[Gray Wolf]

I have an air compresser that will do 110 psi, it worked on a lightly packed tube but not on a tightly packed tube. Should i hrow a ball valve between the tube and the compressor?

I use a ball valve to allow the compressor to build up pressure and open it suddenly, to expel the packed material.

 

[icdog]

Thanks GW. I've found some name brands, now to find them in Canada somehow.

 

[Veg N Out]

So I got my can tapper and recovered a bunch of butane then I opened the liquid valve to do the burping, not the vapor valve and blasted off half the butane I recovered in to my tank!

Good thing I'm not playing with the ULTRA expensive mixed gas blend yet!

Glad I'm still alive, too!

 

[Gray Wolf]

So I got my can tapper and recovered a bunch of butane then I opened the liquid valve to do the burping, not the vapor valve and blasted off half the butane I recovered in to my tank!

Good thing I'm not playing with the ULTRA expensive mixed gas blend yet!

Glad I'm still alive, too!

Hee, hee, hee, experience is an expensive bitch, with the test first and the lesson afterwards.

Glad you're OK too!

 

[Veg N Out]

Thanks Gray Wolf. I'd like to reiterate a point you made in the BHO class.

Be careful about over tightening things! I fucked up a gasket in my recovery hose, it was basically tied in a knot, after I unscrewed it.

Take care to inspect everything before and after you hook everything up!

 

[FatherEarth]

Ive got a cheap 3 gal compressor from harbor freight, goes to 110 psi and sometimes still wont blow a tube if its packed too tight. I have a ball valve between the compressor and the tube works 60% of the time. Ive been blowing all my material into a bucket with a lid to re run later. Im pretty sure there is still more gold in the material...