Powers that be are demanding that I pick a flash purification system, not just for THC removal of CBD disty but for isolation of various herbal compounds that we work with here eg AKBA and azulene
These two systems seem to have very comparable prices, comparable throughput, and features.
Anynone here used both?
Which would you choose?
Why?
Buchi has a one of the best reputations in the chemistry instrument industry. They also have the price to match.
Have used Buchi flash systems, have talked to interchim at a couple conventions and read their literature.
As @broken_glassware said, Buchi has a solid and long standing reputation. Their customer service for me has always been good, their sales and tech guys are usually pretty solid. They’re definitely one of the most common brands found in any lab at a price point generally under heidolph. I found their flash systems to be fairly robust and user friendly.
I have met few people who have used interchim myself but they seem to get decent reviews. French owned company so you should expect European build quality, but YMMV. The sales people I’ve talked to seem to be undereducated on the product, but that could just be my experience. I’ve gotten quotes from them that are competitive.
Flash LC is a decent method, but you’re gonna want a big column and an injection system. Or maybe I’m the only one who hates injecting LC by hand. Don’t know what your desired throughput is, but small columns will bottleneck even in a fairly small labs processing .
I have talked with both companies and they have comparable products although the columns for Interchim are about double the cost of those from Buchi. Also, Interchim took a couple weeks to reply to an initial list of questions after giving me a quote and when they did answer they only answered 3 of the 12 questions asked. So I haven’t been impressed with their pre-sales skills. Buchi on the other hand has been stellar in that area.
Agreed,
Interchim has given me a “cannabis mark up” vibe.
Buchi is more accurate and repeatable. The interchem has alot more waste.
I have one of the first Buchi Pure 810’s in the US running reverse phase C18. It is a sweet little instrument, suitable for small scale. We’re using it really just for method development. Capacity isn’t high-enough for any major through-put. My suggestion… order one to play, and then build your own larger capacity unit. No rocket science is required!
I concur.
Short of going back to school and getting a degree in O-Chem, what could you advise on getting up to that post rocket science level to do this? Links, books, courses, anything really. Thanks bud.
schlacht -
What capacity are you looking at?
And do you, or any close friends, have any skills as a machinist or welder? C-18 media is expensive, but reverse phase is easiest to do with more acceptable chemicals. I’ve seen costs at about $1,200 to $1,500 per kg, but I’m sure that you can pay more. This is really about flow through a porous media, and understanding solvent elution curves. I hope to post a lay person tech here soon. But start with the DIY fraction find posted elsewhere. Once you can see the fractions, the rest falls into place pretty easy.
Thanks for reply PM,
I am focused on creating THC Free from a full spec Hemp derived CBD distillate. Fairly large scale is my goal, and the Buchi, Interchim, Biotage, etc … seem more lab level, small throughput. The Biotage Flash 400 seems what the target is.
The challenge with the Flash 400 is the cost of the column replacement. The whole system seems pretty pricy to me for what you get. And, if you want to get into minor cannabinoid recovery, probably need to upgrade to a full industrial scale HPLC, with dynamic axial compression. I hope to have something on the scale of a Biotage 150 shortly, without the radial compression schtick.
I understand what you mean, the Btage is pricy for sure, but I’m looking to get this project off the ground and once we have production underway we can explore Custom built systems. Well have a Hemp derived full spectrum CBD distillate flowing by late October and we’ll need to convert to THC free by creating this isolate. What through put will you expect from your Btage 150 variant? I need a throughput of more than 1kg of distillate per hour.
The 150 is much slower than 1 kilo/hour, check out the throughput listed on the web page:
https://www.biotage.com/product-page/biotage-flash-150-system
Thanks Nomad!!! Hoping I can make the Biotage 400 happen if I can get the funding:
Not an expert in FC or that I’m a Interchim fan but they have a new solution for packing columns for the 800, a hydraulic column packing system allows you to replace a column in an hour or so I’m told. And I think 1 Kg / Hr is doable. The 800 is like 200$K with all bells and whistles. Biotage can outperform Interchim but the cost of biotage columns is $$$$$. Biotage will only “guarantee” columns for 10 runs but with proper cleaning and care they will tell you you can get 100 runs, but not in writing.
With the Biotage Flash 150, you are looking at about 3.6 kilos of input per 24hrs.
We are looking for a Chromatography solution for CBD remediation. Could you share your experience with Buchi (or other equipment). What kind of throughput can one expect?. We will be making a lot of distillate. Estimated 50 kilos daily and are concerned about chokepoints.
What should I be looking at for a true production unit?
Thanks for your input !
Inskaflame (Bryan)
I would build a large custom flash chroma and invest in a serious solvent recovery and storage system. Recovery for chromatography will be your biggest bottleneck, and you need to have a separate unit for each elution or else you’re going to have to constantly swap out processes.
GE makes a unit that would handle your needs but it’s sort of massively expensive, should handle 150kg a day
Yo Row …
What is that GE unit you mentioned? I’ve been digging around and finding nothing on it!
The Biotage Flash 400 price of $90k motivates me to search for alternatives if at all possible.