BUTANE EXTRACTION AND RECOVERY SYSTEM

[AmeriSkunk]

I understand what you mean. For me the frozen material would be best for me since I mostly only vape my oils but that's not possible atm, I can't imagine oil tasting any better, I'm grow feinding right now just because I want some fresh buds to extract, lol.

Thank you for the clarification on the n-butane atom chain and the butane atom chain water solubility, I now fully understand the differences in the two and why the n-butane is better.

Thank you man, your kick ass, lol

 

[jump117]

Remember the frost on the frozen material in contact with warm air, it is better to freeze loaded extractor, to avoid locking trichomes.

 

[AmeriSkunk]

^^good idea man

 

[dope_roor]

I don't want to jack Greywolf's thread, so I'll most likely start one when I have some free time. But in short, I sampled two different CO2 extracts in a med state (with packaging, and assurance they were both made with the Edenlabs equipment).

They were both extremely expensive, one 60/g, and the other 75/g.

Each of the samples smelled and tasted of "generic hash product."
This could be chalked up to the producers using garbage stale trim for extraction material, which is likely. However, I also have a hunch that CO2 is simply not capable of making as tasty of an extract as butane is.
It costs tens of thousands of dollarss to acquire and safely use a CO2 apparatus, yet a better extract can be obtained with a 7 dollar turkey baster. Go figure...

agreed until i witness some prime flowers go into CO2 and taste it, eveyrthing ive tried so far paled in comparison to BHO in the flavor dpt

 

[medicalgreen]

I have a question for you, Graywolf,
On another thread you mentioned the use of activated carbon. Do you recommend taking the BHO as it's evaporating at room temps, and soaking some activated carbon it in, before running it through a filter, or would you recommend taking the BHO, dissolving it in ethanol first, then taking that and soaking it, then filtering?
I'm just wondering whether I should soak the Butane extract in the carbon, or the alcohol after freezing for separation of waxes etc. ?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Gray Wolf]

I have a question for you, Graywolf,
On another thread you mentioned the use of activated carbon. Do you recommend taking the BHO as it's evaporating at room temps, and soaking some activated carbon it in, before running it through a filter, or would you recommend taking the BHO, dissolving it in ethanol first, then taking that and soaking it, then filtering?
I'm just wondering whether I should soak the Butane extract in the carbon, or the alcohol after freezing for separation of waxes etc. ?
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

I would re-dissolve it in alcohol and run a freeze/filter cycle to get rid of the less polar waxes first.

 

[Double Kindness]

Grey- Check out my new bho recovery extractor unit... seems we are kinda on the same page.

 

[Phaeton]

I also do butane extractions with a recovery system, but not much translates.

I normally do hexane extractions and solvent recovery with a vacuum distiller I fabricated.

For butane I take the condenser and heater outside when it is -40 and colder. The condenser is filled with hexane and dry ice blocks.
The heater is set at +5, all temps are in degrees F.

The boiling container is filled with butane, I use a can opener and pour in 6 oz refills, takes about 40 to fill the 6 quart cantainer. The butane pours readily with almost zero fumes.

The container is in a heated brine solution kept at +5 degrees, the butane boils quite nicely.

The distilling is straightforward, only real difference is the parka, mittens, and boots.
The last cup or so of butane begins turning yellow, at this point the process is stopped and that bit of leftover butane contains the stink and contamination (valve lube mostly). I toss it downwind as it will stink horribly for hours.

The clean butane is poured over a container of trimmed bud and gently agitated for 2 minutes, poured through a coffee filter and returned to the distiller. The butane is recovered and the oil is in the bottom. Most bud I use runs about 10 percent oil, the oil product is just over 90 percent THC.

As the purity goes up the oil gets thinner. I have made 99+ percent (1% yield from start) and the consistancy approached 3-in-1 lubricating oil, very thin, would not stick to the end of a paper clip. Too low a yield and too hard to smoke. Not made twice.

At no time does the oil ever go above ambient temperature. This is part of what makes butane extracts so much better than methods requiring heat.

Probably not too useful in warmer climates, but I just had to share.

 

[Gray Wolf]

Grey- Check out my new bho recovery extractor unit... seems we are kinda on the same page.

Yes it does. Nice Job!

What are you using for a pump?

 

[Gray Wolf]

I also do butane extractions with a recovery system, but not much translates.

I normally do hexane extractions and solvent recovery with a vacuum distiller I fabricated.

For butane I take the condenser and heater outside when it is -40 and colder. The condenser is filled with hexane and dry ice blocks.
The heater is set at +5, all temps are in degrees F.

The boiling container is filled with butane, I use a can opener and pour in 6 oz refills, takes about 40 to fill the 6 quart cantainer. The butane pours readily with almost zero fumes.

The container is in a heated brine solution kept at +5 degrees, the butane boils quite nicely.

The distilling is straightforward, only real difference is the parka, mittens, and boots.
The last cup or so of butane begins turning yellow, at this point the process is stopped and that bit of leftover butane contains the stink and contamination (valve lube mostly). I toss it downwind as it will stink horribly for hours.

The clean butane is poured over a container of trimmed bud and gently agitated for 2 minutes, poured through a coffee filter and returned to the distiller. The butane is recovered and the oil is in the bottom. Most bud I use runs about 10 percent oil, the oil product is just over 90 percent THC.

As the purity goes up the oil gets thinner. I have made 99+ percent (1% yield from start) and the consistancy approached 3-in-1 lubricating oil, very thin, would not stick to the end of a paper clip. Too low a yield and too hard to smoke. Not made twice.

At no time does the oil ever go above ambient temperature. This is part of what makes butane extracts so much better than methods requiring heat.

Probably not too useful in warmer climates, but I just had to share.

Cool! Any pictures to share?

 

[strictlybongz]

I also do butane extractions with a recovery system, but not much translates.

I normally do hexane extractions and solvent recovery with a vacuum distiller I fabricated.

For butane I take the condenser and heater outside when it is -40 and colder. The condenser is filled with hexane and dry ice blocks.
The heater is set at +5, all temps are in degrees F.

The boiling container is filled with butane, I use a can opener and pour in 6 oz refills, takes about 40 to fill the 6 quart cantainer. The butane pours readily with almost zero fumes.

The container is in a heated brine solution kept at +5 degrees, the butane boils quite nicely.

The distilling is straightforward, only real difference is the parka, mittens, and boots.
The last cup or so of butane begins turning yellow, at this point the process is stopped and that bit of leftover butane contains the stink and contamination (valve lube mostly). I toss it downwind as it will stink horribly for hours.

The clean butane is poured over a container of trimmed bud and gently agitated for 2 minutes, poured through a coffee filter and returned to the distiller. The butane is recovered and the oil is in the bottom. Most bud I use runs about 10 percent oil, the oil product is just over 90 percent THC.

As the purity goes up the oil gets thinner. I have made 99+ percent (1% yield from start) and the consistancy approached 3-in-1 lubricating oil, very thin, would not stick to the end of a paper clip. Too low a yield and too hard to smoke. Not made twice.

At no time does the oil ever go above ambient temperature. This is part of what makes butane extracts so much better than methods requiring heat.

Probably not too useful in warmer climates, but I just had to share.

This sounds pretty exciting a cohort and I were recently discussing the merits of a controlled below freezing environment for cold boiled solvent extractions.

 

[Gray Wolf]

As an update on our system, I ordered a replacement pump and will be trying out the pump suggested by RB.

http://www.centurytool.net/G5_Twin_Appion_Oilless_Recovery_Unit_p/g5-twin.htm

Does anyone else have a reclaim pump that has worked well for them recovering butane and that they recommend?

 

[foaf]

the promax that I have has only had one minor issue over several years, the switch that converts from recover to purge began to leak, but a seal kit was available for almost nothing, and just replacing the oring fixed it for now.

 

[jump117]

Hey foaf ! Hey Gray Wolf ! Hey Double Kindness !

What temperature is liquid butane during extraction?

 

[wco68]

nice !!! i see your in the refrigeration busines

 

[Gray Wolf]

Hey foaf ! Hey Gray Wolf ! Hey Double Kindness !

What temperature is liquid butane during extraction?

Don't know for sure bro, but the evaporation under vacuum appears to plunge it below the boiling point without added heat.

 

[jump117]

Let me explain my question.

The effectiveness of the solvent depends on temperature. Dissolution goes faster with higher temperature of the solvent.

Liquid butane can be heated only to boiling point, which increases with increasing pressure.
At atmospheric pressure the boiling point of butane -0,5 ° C.
Under pressure in the can butane remains liquid at room temperature.

The higher the pressure in the extractor, the higher the temperature at which butane is a liquid solvent,
the better the efficiency of dissolution.

When using a simple tubular extractor, dense packing not only increases the pressure, but also lengthens the duration of extraction.

 

[foaf]

unlike the blowthrough techniques where the butane expands and chills during the extraction, when you use a closed system, the butane is at room temperature for the extraction because there is little or no pressure change as you go from the holding tank to the extraction vessel. the way I do it there may be a bit because I use the pump to do a so called "push pull" to speed the transfer, but the vessel doesnt cool off much at all. It does get quite cold as you evaporate it with the pump, unless you warm the evaporation vessel, which I do now.

 

[Gray Wolf]

Let me explain my question.

The effectiveness of the solvent depends on temperature. Dissolution goes faster with higher temperature of the solvent.

Liquid butane can be heated only to boiling point, which increases with increasing pressure.
At atmospheric pressure the boiling point of butane -0,5 ° C.
Under pressure in the can butane remains liquid at room temperature.

The higher the pressure in the extractor, the higher the temperature at which butane is a liquid solvent,
the better the efficiency of dissolution.

When using a simple tubular extractor, dense packing not only increases the pressure, but also lengthens the duration of extraction.

Design pressure on my extractor is 80 psi, but I haven't seen more than 25 psi so far, during our cool (~40/50F) winter months, so I'm guessing in the neighborhood of 15C boiling point so far and 26C as my upper design limit.

The column and valves are actually capable of 150 psi design pressure, but not the pot.

 

[jump117]

our cool (~40/50F) winter months

for the laugh! Let me ask a few questions.

Lengthening the duration of extraction at atmospheric pressure does not damage the quality and increases the amount of good extract.
Have you experimented with the duration?

Solvent should wash material. In still solvent effect of saturation of the contact layer slows down the extraction.
Certainly need to stir. How do you solve this problem?