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Cleaning before distilling. What carbon to use? And how to diatomacious earth?

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ButterCup

Member
Hi I am relatively new to making thc distillate. I am getting decent color but I would like to up my game a bit.

I want to carbon scrub my bho along with degumming using diatomacious earth.


Below are the carbons and diatomacious earth I bought

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LT296A8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DCO4IQC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Safer-Brand-51702-Diatomaceous-Earth/dp/B004TJ5UOE


1. I don't know if the carbon I bought is the right kind and if it is doing anything?

2. I am not able to filter out the diatomacious earth with a 4 micron filter. What do I need to do to filter out the diatomacious earth.

3. Any instructions on what kind of carbon and diatomacious earth and how to use it would be appreciated.

THANKS IN ADVANCE.

I have attached a pic of the last batch of distillate I made without carbon scrubbing. It tested at 82 THCD9 and 88 Total cannabinoids
 

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SkyHighLer

SkyHighLer

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I would think powder, rather than granules, the first one,

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LT296A8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Did you notice their are differences in diatomaceous earth quality, here's another, notice what they say about it,

"Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth is Safe Enough for Human or Animal Consumption
- Listed with the Organic Materials Review Institute

Diatomaceous Earth is made up of the fossilized remains of ancient fresh water, hard-shelled algae. The unique shape of Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth and its very high silica content create a powder that has many household uses including homemade deodorant, toothpaste, facial masks and scrubs and many more. Vi-Olivia Diatomaceous Earth is sourced from one of the purest deposits in the world.

- 89 - 95% amorphous silica
- Contains less than one half of 1% of crystalline silica
- Vi-Olivia DE is almost pure white. Darker colored Diatomaceous Earth often contains impurities such as iron and clay"

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DBCW822?th=1

How about 2.5 micron? You can get generic lab filter paper from Amazon, but I just checked and the product titles still don't match with the full description, been this way for years.... here's my post explaining in full,

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=6720203&postcount=5
 
B

brown_thumb

Active member
Sorry to interrupt your thread but...

What does carbon scrubbing and degumming do? Will either decrease resin content? How much material is lost in those filtering processes? Should this be done before evaporating ethyl alcohol after cold resin dissolving (tincture)? Should the resins be flushed from the filters after use?
 
SkyHighLer

SkyHighLer

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ButterCup said:
Thank you for your feedback.

Have you used diatomaceous earth before, it got through a 4 micron filter really easily. So I wonder if 2.5 micron will be enough.

What about this silica stuff from summit research

http://summit-research.tech/products/ultra-high-purity-silicate-filter-aide
Click to expand...

That could well be an honest product worth the extra money... I don't know, there's little feedback at this forum on the type of filtration under discussion.

I've never filtered solvent/oil with DE or activated carbon powder, but I have both, I bought them a couple of years ago to test whether the 'Mystery Oi' residue could be filtered out from canned butane.

I use the 2.5 micron filters for my BHO quick soaks, and they were tight enough to fully hold back the powdered carbon during my testing, I'd really be surprised if any DE could get through them.

Here's an example of the ongoing confusion at Amazon,

Title says,

"by SEOH
Filter Paper, Qualitative, Slow, 11cm"

But down below is stated,

"Product Features

Diameter (cm) 11 , Pk/100 Circles
Alpha Cotton Cellulose
Qualitative with Fast Flow Rate
Ash Content ~0.15%
Whatman Equivalent Grade 4"

https://www.amazon.com/Filter-Paper...6285727&sr=8-1&keywords=lab+filter+paper+slow

Order the above and you'll get 'Slow' paper, 2.5 micron (Whatman #5 equivalent.)

Seems it got so bad another retailer is posting a picture and short, tight, accurate titles/descriptions,

https://www.amazon.com/12-5-103-Qua...6285727&sr=8-2&keywords=lab+filter+paper+slow


I proposed a simple, cheap way to greatly increase the efficiency of this type of heavy filtration, spin up the filter...

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=7631360&postcount=144

I made other posts there filling out the idea.
 
SkyHighLer

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Last edited:
T

Thomas@LRL

Member
Summit's product is getting really solid reviews from the processors I know using it in conjunction with the Hochstrom filter. I intend to use it as well, the intention is a high flow rate while maintaining a high rejection rate as well as a mix of carbons to utilize if you suspect pesticide contamination though no indication of what pesticides it will remove. I have two on the way that I can contribute feedback on but there are videos and posts on the Advanced CLS Tech FB Group that show some interesting results.
 
SkyHighLer

SkyHighLer

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^ Thanks!

Video of it in use,

https://youtu.be/_F65D3Skmj0

Advanced CLS Tech FB Group seems to be closed??


And after seeing the video I think my idea of using a centrifugal juicer like the Acme 6001 or Omega 1000 instead of vacuum assist standard filtering methods certainly deserves to be checked out.
 
T

Thomas@LRL

Member
SkyHighLer said:
^ Thanks!

Video of it in use,

https://youtu.be/_F65D3Skmj0

Advanced CLS Tech FB Group seems to be closed??


And after seeing the video I think my idea of using a centrifugal juicer like the Acme 6001 or Omega 1000 instead of vacuum assist standard filtering methods certainly deserves to be checked out.
Click to expand...

Yes it is a closed group, most of us are verified recreational processors in Washington, Oregon or CO, some equipment manufacturers and then the odd ne'er-do-well from CA :p There is usually worthwhile discussion focused around large scale recreational processing.
 
G.O. Joe

G.O. Joe

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The sort of DE you're looking for is called Celite, and how it's used can be found by searching youtube or google with that. Likewise AC brands that chemists would use would be a Norit or Darco from Sigma-Aldrich instead of some crap from amazon no one has ever heard of.

Answers lie only in lab testing the results from the different carbons, because of the high likelihood of a carbon not doing what you intended.
 
SkyHighLer

SkyHighLer

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^ Too funny:

At Sigma-Aldrich, "Celite is a registered trademark of Imerys Minerals California, Inc."

http://www.sigmaaldrich.com/catalog/product/sigald/06858?lang=en&region=US

And then at Imerys' Celite Edible Oils and Biodiesel Filtration page,

"Celite 545 VO filter aid was designed for dewaxing, also called “winterization”. By increasing the number and size of wax crystals, it facilitates removal of wax from the biodiesel. This step is necessary in cold climates where biodiesel requires stability at low temperatures and high wax content would make the biodiesel unusable in cold weather."

http://worldminerals.com/Markets_edible_oils_biodiesel.html
 
B

ButterCup

Member
Thank you everybody for responding I greatly appreciate the input.

Has anyone tried celite? If so then how does one go about using it? What is the solubility in ethanol ?
 
B

ButterCup

Member
G.O. Joe said:
The sort of DE you're looking for is called Celite, and how it's used can be found by searching youtube or google with that. Likewise AC brands that chemists would use would be a Norit or Darco from Sigma-Aldrich instead of some crap from amazon no one has ever heard of.

Answers lie only in lab testing the results from the different carbons, because of the high likelihood of a carbon not doing what you intended.
Click to expand...


Thank you so much for your feedback. Which carbon do you recommend?
 
S

shortwave360

Member
Chiming in that the Summit Research stuff is awesome. Will post pictures eventually, lab is under construction and I won't be operating again for at least a month.
 
G.O. Joe

G.O. Joe

Well-known member
Veteran
ButterCup said:
Thank you so much for your feedback. Which carbon do you recommend?
Click to expand...

I use Norit A and boneblack for decolorizing in my amateur chemistry - which usually has nothing to do with pot, since I don't even grow enough to keep me high much less fool around with. That is not a recommendation and all my thoughts are generally never directed towards application to the cannabiz, which does not legally exist in these flatlands. All I know is it might be wise to start with carbon that is known in the science world instead of unsubstantiated self-hype label claims that could in fact be unmerited and designed to entice nonprofessional users to buy. They are all worth testing out though but there are several significant experimental variables like mass ratio, surface area, temperature, dilution, solvent, contact time, stirring/sonication/packed column etc. that affect all the components in your extract.
 
D

Digital Man

Member
G.O. Joe said:
I use Norit A and boneblack for decolorizing in my amateur chemistry - which usually has nothing to do with pot, since I don't even grow enough to keep me high much less fool around with. That is not a recommendation and all my thoughts are generally never directed towards application to the cannabiz, which does not legally exist in these flatlands. All I know is it might be wise to start with carbon that is known in the science world instead of unsubstantiated self-hype label claims that could in fact be unmerited and designed to entice nonprofessional users to buy. They are all worth testing out though but there are several significant experimental variables like mass ratio, surface area, temperature, dilution, solvent, contact time, stirring/sonication/packed column etc. that affect all the components in your extract.
Click to expand...

Which begs the question ......... why bother really ? What is the goal ?
 
T

Thomas@LRL

Member
G.O. Joe said:
I use Norit A and boneblack for decolorizing in my amateur chemistry - which usually has nothing to do with pot, since I don't even grow enough to keep me high much less fool around with. That is not a recommendation and all my thoughts are generally never directed towards application to the cannabiz, which does not legally exist in these flatlands. All I know is it might be wise to start with carbon that is known in the science world instead of unsubstantiated self-hype label claims that could in fact be unmerited and designed to entice nonprofessional users to buy. They are all worth testing out though but there are several significant experimental variables like mass ratio, surface area, temperature, dilution, solvent, contact time, stirring/sonication/packed column etc. that affect all the components in your extract.
Click to expand...

The reason given for the Summit Research product is that supplies of Carbon from Sigma-Aldrich are allegedly too broad use for our application and don't allow for the flow rate and rejection rate that we are looking for while sequestering some percentage of cannabinoids. The claims made are that it has been engineered at the angstrom level to specifically match the shape of the desirable molecules in the raw oleoresin while trapping undesirables. The silica is said to have been chosen as a superior filtration bed to prevent carbon from carrying through into your extract. (Avitas in WA State for instance carbon filters, but you will occasionally find small black flecks of carbon in their product).

Used together they're supposed to be superior to the standard Whatman filters people have been using while dramatically increasing flow rate. Regardless of the claims made about the carbon, the flow rate bit appears to be on point and indeed dramatically improved. Whether it does a better job in a side by side comparison will require testing on some crude product but the feedback I'm seeing is very positive. I'll let you guys know how my first few uses go assuming I can get this absurd 50L Senco Rotary Evaporator up and running efficiently.
 
SkyHighLer

SkyHighLer

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^ I wouldn't take anyone's advice but G.O. Joe's... do your own experiments with a variety of mediums. :biggrin:
 
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