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Pure ZHO extraction solvent

Gray Wolf

A Posse ad Esse. From Possibility to realization.
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Terpp Extractors has agreed to do CLS testing with MZ12X. Rather than wait for complementary cases from Pure ZHO I bought a couple, $120 out of my pocket, just to see this through.

Weirdest thing, Dr Z (Sang Kim) called me just as I was beginning to compose this post, he's looking for a new partner... well in a couple of weeks he may have some really staunch offers.

Just a guess, but dimethyl ether may be more free flowing at deep sub zero temps than butane... :)

My sincere thanks to Austin at Terpp Extractors!

Another pic of Austin and myself at the HT CC.

Careful with the elastomer gaskets and seals with Dimethyl Ether.
 

SkyHighLer

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Australia/New Zealand recently approved food standards for extracting with dimethyl ether,

http://static1.squarespace.com/stat...76e7/1408802214704/Approval+Report+for+DE.pdf


also,

"SCIENTIFIC OPINION

Safety in use of dimethyl ether as an extraction solvent

Scientific Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Food Contact Materials, Enzymes, Flavourings and Processing aids (CEF)

(Question No EFSA-Q-2007-186)

Adopted on 29 January 2009"

http://static1.squarespace.com/stat...2985880/SCIENTIFIC+OPINION+dimethyl+ether.pdf
 

A6 Grower

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Did we ever decide/come to a conclusion about the explosive peroxides that could possibly form when using DME in a closed loop???
 

SkyHighLer

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Did we ever decide/come to a conclusion about the explosive peroxides that could possibly form when using DME in a closed loop???

G.O. Joe's discovery of it's misclassification stands, if you check any of the current references back to to their reference source you'll find dimethyl ether is never listed as a dangerous former of peroxides. There was a 'copy and paste' error that messed up a table, placing dimethyl ether in the wrong category, the messed up table data was then copied by everyone, universities, everyone... Weird and sad.


I was just checking for vapor pressure references, and I'm seeing ~75-85psi at room temperature. As soon as Austin confirms that (remember to bleed off the CO2! dude!) I'll get him enough for full testing.
 
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A6 Grower

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G.O. Joe's discovery of it's misclassification stands, if you check any of the current references back to to their reference source you'll find dimethyl ether is never listed as a dangerous former of peroxides. There was a 'copy and paste' error that messed up a table, placing dimethyl ether in the wrong category, the messed up table data was then copied by everyone, universities, everyone... Weird and sad.


I was just checking for vapor pressure references, and I'm seeing ~75-85psi at room temperature. As soon as Austin confirms that (remember to bleed off the CO2! dude!) I'll get him enough for full testing.

Ahhhh yes now i remember that whole debacle. Cool, well now maybe if i can come up with some time, i still have 2 cases wating to be played with. I did a few open blast with it. Ehhh it was ok. VERY nice color but i think that was the awesome dela haze i ran. Ill let you guys know what i find in my first distill. Im pretty sure i have everything id need to at least do a distill and a simple passive run with just a small amount
 

SkyHighLer

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Ahhhh yes now i remember that whole debacle. Cool, well now maybe if i can come up with some time, i still have 2 cases wating to be played with. I did a few open blast with it. Ehhh it was ok. VERY nice color but i think that was the awesome dela haze i ran. Ill let you guys know what i find in my first distill. Im pretty sure i have everything id need to at least do a distill and a simple passive run with just a small amount

I've been holding out, the shit rocks on dry ice, notice how free flowing it still seams to be at probably far below it's boiling point of about 24C/11F.

http://youtu.be/y9z6BUVBdBU

Sang Kim in the YT 'Comments' is Dr Z from Pure ZHO.

Dimethyl ether is available from traditional internal US suppliers, and if this works out we'll probably have some outfit like EcoGreen selling an inexpensive grade of it... ;-)
 
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SkyHighLer

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I retested what I assume is a current lot of MZ12X.


MZ12X had 0.013g of residue

MZ12X, Korea, 500ml can of DME/dimethyl ether, no date code

The residue had a yellow tint with a fairly strong odor of bio mass that persists even after a couple of vacuum downs of the test bag.

I don't remember the original lot I tested having such a strong odor.
 

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SkyHighLer

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Sodoex had 0.004g of residue

Sodoex, Korea, 300ml can of DME/dimethyl ether, no date of manufacture

The residue had a light yellow tint with a repulsive peaty shitty odor that persisted after twice vacuuming down the test bag.


I've found DME to be a superb solvent, it's a shame this unrefined crap coming out of Korea is all that's available.

If a solvent supplier like Sean at Ecogreen, or Adam at BVV is able to obtain sample USA sourced bulk tanks, I'd love to test it. :biggrin:

http://www2.dupont.com/inclusive-in...les/Dimethyl Ether Product Safety Summary.pdf

http://www.praxair.com/gases/buy-dimethyl-ether
 

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Loc Dog

Hobbies include "drinkin', smokin' weed, and all k
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I bought all the stuff to make a lil terp a couple of years ago, and used it once, after reading BHO disasters thread. Is pure ZHO or something else a safe replacement for butane. I know you are the expert. What is best solvent to run in Lil Terp, that can be bought in the USA, and is there any difference in using it, compared to butane?? Such as temperatures or gasket materials.

Any idea what the residue is?

I have trouble getting dry ice in my area. Would a recovery pump eliminate the need for heating and cooling?

Thanks!!

P.S. I apologize for being an asshole in the past, about the MSDS saying it forms peroxides. I could not live with myself if I produced something that would harm people. Probably would not be nearly as bad as the methylene chloride they used in extractors in the 1970's.
 

Gray Wolf

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I bought all the stuff to make a lil terp a couple of years ago, and used it once, after reading BHO disasters thread. Is pure ZHO or something else a safe replacement for butane. I know you are the expert. What is best solvent to run in Lil Terp, that can be bought in the USA, and is there any difference in using it, compared to butane?? Such as temperatures or gasket materials.

Any idea what the residue is?

I have trouble getting dry ice in my area. Would a recovery pump eliminate the need for heating and cooling?

Thanks!!

Dimethylether is also flammable, plus it is hard on polymer seals.

I don't know of a recovery pump suitable for DME, and have yet to run it passively.
 

SkyHighLer

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Back a few posts are the results of recent dimethyl ether/DME testing, the residue from the 300ml cans of Sodoex has a repulsive odor. I see at their site they have dealers, and also offer it in 500ml cans.

I ordered a six pack of the 500ml cans for residual test.

They should have sent me sample cans to test before going forward with shipping any lot from overseas. I've offered to do this repeatedly, for free.
 

Stihmata

New member
Hi Skyhighler
Just wondering, I heard through the grape vie you may be reviewing the ISO3
Any idea when you are starting a new thread ?
Just wondering what you thought about it?
Thanks
Stig
 

SkyHighLer

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I'm finishing up some mystery oil testing/retesting, and have been in the mean time purchasing the best solvents I can get my hands on for a comprehensive evaluation of the ISO-3's recovery abilities. The results will be posted up at the ISO-3 thread started by Gray Wolf over the next couple of months.

The 500ml cans of Sodoex DME/dimethyl ether are scheduled to arrive today, test results probably tomorrow.
 

Stihmata

New member
I'm finishing up some mystery oil testing/retesting, and have been in the mean time purchasing the best solvents I can get my hands on for a comprehensive evaluation of the ISO-3's recovery abilities. The results will be posted up at the ISO-3 thread started by Gray Wolf over the next couple of months.

The 500ml cans of Sodoex DME/dimethyl ether are scheduled to arrive today, test results probably tomorrow.

Great Thank You
 

SkyHighLer

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Sodoex had 0.006g of residue

Sodoex, Korea, 500ml can of DME/dimethyl ether, no date of manufacture

The residue had a light yellow tint with a repulsive peaty shitty odor that persisted after twice vacuuming down the test bag.


The 500ml cans seem to contain the same lot of gas as the 300ml's.


DME/dimethyl ether is a superb solvent, and the odor is as ethereal as it gets.

I'm willing to work with the importers to get clean product.


Since there's no date code, you get alot of pictures, notice the carton reads 540ml, and the cans 500ml.
 

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SkyHighLer

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I just spoke at length with Sang Kim the MZ12X importer, I've decided to partner with him to make clean DME/dimethyl ether available.

He's relocating to SoCal, and we'll be heading to Korea if necessary.

My intention is to get closed loop testing done and posted up, and correcting the inaccurate advertising claims. :dance013:
 

SkyHighLer

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A few major errors in this Blog from Best Value Vacs,

"BEWARE OF THESE 3 CLAIMS ABOUT CANNED SOLVENT

07.10.2018 Posted By Best Value Vacs

Periodically, a canned Dimethyl ether (DME) is marketed to our industry as a butane/propane alternative. Sellers claim it’s a better solvent for extraction of plant material that is non-toxic, without residual, and that it can be purged faster. DME marketers especially like to push that the solvent is organic and non-explosive, implying it’s a safer alternative.

Let’s analyze these claims a bit deeper.

#1: “This Is An Overall Better Solvent.”

DME does, in fact, do a better job at stripping components from plant material. It does such a good job that other industries use it at low temperatures to remove chlorophyll and fats from plant material.

While this may be good for other industries, it is unsuitable for our application, since both of these are contaminates in an extract. As the cited article also states, DME is used to remove water from plant material, as water can be devastating for the integrity of extract. We need ultra-low temperatures for DME to be useful for our application specifically, which can be difficult to achieve.

#2: “It Can Purge Faster.”

The claim that canned solvent can purge faster comes from the boiling point of -8F. While this is true when compared to n-butane, it will have similar purging times to iso-butane and slower purging times than propane.

#3: “It Is The Safer Solvent.”

So, about those safety claims; is this canned solvent really safer?

“It’s organic.”

Saying it’s organic doesn’t hold as much weight as it seems - butane and propane are also organic compounds. It’s a simple buzzword that catches people’s attention and feeds the perception that it is superior in safety.

“There’s no residual.”

When spraying the gas onto a surface, it leaves a clear residual. A less visible residual, but a residual nonetheless. It also has a strong odor similar to grill propane.

“It’s non-toxic and non-explosive.”

They also claim non-toxic. From this chemical data sheet, we can see that it is slightly toxic, and carries a rating of “2” for health on the diamond. The lower explosive limit is at two percent, which is extremely close to butane (1.86%) and lower than propane (2.1%). The gas behaves nearly identical to butane. There is also the possibility for the formation of explosive peroxides if exposed to oxygen.

While DME is frequently used as an extraction solvent, it requires more energy and care to get a quality extract from it. It needs ultra-low temperatures and constant monitoring to preserve plant pigments and is more likely to pull water and fats. The claims that it is safer than butane or propane are therefore false, as it could potentially have increased risk.

Contact us with questions about canned solvent and other recommendations for a solvent."

https://www.bestvaluevacs.com/blog/Claims-About-Canned-Solvent/




Wikipedia has fairly straight info on it,

"Unlike other alkyl ethers, dimethyl ether resists autoxidation. Dimethyl ether is also relatively non-toxic, although it is highly flammable."

"Ethereal odor"

"From biomass
Dimethyl ether is a synthetic second generation biofuel (BioDME), which can be produced from lignocellulosic biomass. The EU is considering BioDME in its potential biofuel mix in 2030; It can also be made from biogas or methane from animal, food, and agricultural waste, or even from shale gas or natural gas."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_ether


G.O. Joe provided ample authoritative evidence it doesn't produce peroxides, here's a post from this thread with much of his presentation included on the subject.

https://www.icmag.com/ic/showpost.php?p=6308235&postcount=228


The 'mirror test' is highly inaccurate for determining non-volatile residue content, I developed a test for canned butane, and the canned DME has comparable levels of NVR's as compared to canned butane refills (see my Best to Worst Canned Butane List found in my Signature, that thread has more info on testing for non-volatile residue than can be found anywhere else, I even acquired and posted up the ASTM Standard testing procedures.)


BTW, if anyone could use my services, I need some supplemental income to my Social Security Disability check of <$900/month (my brother's kicking me out of the house I took care of my mother in come 1/1/'19, the deal was I was to be able to live out the rest of my life here.) I spent the nest egg my mom left me on cannabis concentrate research thinking I'd have passed on by now or we'd all be toast from WWIII. I'm looking at dumping my equipment and solvent cache, and going into a board and care or out on the street or whatever, I'm scarred to paralysis as I have zero street smarts. All I need is a few hundred bucks a month so I can afford an apartment, a consultation/lab tech position would be fine. I'm willing to relocate. TIA!! :)
 
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