Heidolph rotary evaporators
- Thread starter Gray Wolf
- Start date
Neither the Krugelrohr or rotovape are high thru-put systems, nor do they upsize well.
The food and pharmaceutical concentrates industries moved to thin film molecular distillation in their efforts for higher thru-put.
If the Heidolph is capable of holding the required vacuum levels, it was our plan to use their dry ice cold finger, as the Graham style cold finger appears hard to clean without solvent, in an application producing a thick resin.
For use with the -10C chiller that they supplied, and most of our planned experiments, we chose the coil instead of the well.
We actually didn't borrow the unit with the intention of using it as a thin film short path system for making clear, as we have other Krugelrohr and molecular distillation irons in the fire for that purpose.
Sadly they haven't progressed as splendidly well as the Heidolph project, but I still hold great hope for them.
What we do hope to do with it, is explore the traditional uses for which the Heidolph was made, and apply them to our industry.
We picked the Heidolph because it is a smacking beautiful piece of precision equipment and we've been impressed by the attitude and customer support we've received from Heidolph.
Not only have they responded with alacrity, but their catalog is like a candy store to us'n giddy skunk pharmers. Hee, hee, hee, twitch, jerk, snort..........
Flash evaportation is another method commonly employed when you reach the stage of large scale production. If/when cannabis becomes legal nationwide the big companies will be using all the industrial tech available to increase the profit margin on concentrate production.
"Flash (or partial) evaporation is the partial vapor that occurs when a saturated liquid stream undergoes a reduction in pressure by passing through a throttling valve or other throttling device. This process is one of the simplest unit operations. If the throttling valve or device is located at the entry into a pressure vessel so that the flash evaporation occurs within the vessel, then the vessel is often referred to as a flash drum.[1][2]
If the saturated liquid is a single-component liquid (for example, liquid propane or liquid ammonia), a part of the liquid immediately "flashes" into vapor. Both the vapor and the residual liquid are cooled to the saturation temperature of the liquid at the reduced pressure. This is often referred to as "auto-refrigeration" and is the basis of most conventional vapor compression refrigeration systems.
If the saturated liquid is a multi-component liquid (for example, a mixture of propane, isobutane and normal butane), the flashed vapor is richer in the more volatile components than is the remaining liquid.
Uncontrolled flash evaporation can result in a boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE)."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_evaporation
SquattingBull
Member
No obviously not and I totally agree that thin film molecular stills are clearly the end came if you want to do some serious weight. However, getting to work with the product and experiment with it in reasonable quantities would be much more affordable with a roto or Krug than buying a Meyer or a Pope off the bat. If they can produce the same product.
Pure777Extracts
Member
why do you even come on this forum anymore? just to show pics and tell people nothing?
Pure777Extracts
Member
lol ok I cant be mad at that. Nice work
Pure777Extracts
Member
lol, Im not mad just curious, but this is a forum...
I wonder if he'll be giving one word pronouncements in a month. Love you Roji!
All in good fun
They are amazing, but taxed. We've been using the dry ice condenser and it's pretty efficient.
I'm out of town for the next couple of days, but I'll update on my return.
The Heidolph has worked well and flawlessly, but the chiller not so well, so we are hung up waiting for a replacement, before continuing the backlog of experiments.
We used it to reduce winterized solutions for a Krugelrohr Saturday, to produce some clear.
We currently have the Graham style cold finger and a -10C chiller, but plan to also try out the dry ice cold finger. Their catalog makes me feel a little like a kid in a candy store.
So true, a very high end candy store
Seriously though, rotavap'n has never been so fun
thegreenman91
Member
Hey GW... As a newer member of this forum I want to say thanks for always giving consistent and concise information on these boards. It is a refreshing change from all of the secrecy in this industry.
I was wondering if you always winterize prior to distillation and what your reasoning was for doing this. Does it provide a clearer end product?
Also it seems that the product of some distillations has a somewhat latexy rubberey smell (best way i can describe it) to it that is certainly different from the foul burnt smell discussed in other threads. What is your opinion on this and have you experienced it yourself?
And lastly, Is there a vacuum gauge on the Krugelrohr, if so how deep of a vacuum do you run your distillations.
And thanks again for your support on these forums, its a huge help for the entire community.
