Hey
Can you tell me please How i can calculate pressure, temp, kg co2/hour for 5l extraction vessel to 300kg/m3?
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Proverde will treat you right. Also I have to say, I bloody love the terpenes you offer and am glad your site is back up.
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Iām at this point rn, Iāve be running an apeks 5Lx2000psi and Iāve just started to locate and isolate pure terpene and cannabinoid fractions. Iām just now starting to dive in density and solubility. Any resources would be the most appreciated I can provide my email in pm if needed. @CriticalPoint @Ray
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Hey, I use a co2 density/phase calculator that I found from google. Also a conversion chart that I found off of google too.
I track what the density/Phase that is in both my extractor and my sep.
Start with your best parameters and measure your density, understand what phase the Co2 is in during your run. only adjust one variable at a time.
*there was a point that I was trying 24hr runsā¦ not that I needed to but to know how far I could take it.
(run time, temp, pressure, orifice size)
Personally I found my best run parameters and then focused on run time, pulled every 10-15 mins to dial in timing. When did i start pulling undesirables? What was the density at that point?
Colder and subcritical for terps is in my experience better
Longer sub runs for cleaner canabinoid fractions
supercritical runs for bulk canabinoids. But can pull a lot of waxes also so run time is a big factor. Higher pressures=shorter runs for the most part.
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Ok I appreciate it, I use peace software calculator for COĀ² phase / density. I have dialed in terpene runs and beautiful cannabinoid rich runs with very little unwanteds(~80%). I did this based on extraction experience and research. Iām currently working on bettering my understanding of COĀ² density and how that pulls/effects terpenes/cannabinoids. My thoughts are to calculate density of extraction column and separator column for my specific parameters; for both terpene and cannabinoid runs. Then analyze. I just donāt fully understand what density I should be aiming for, for each specific fraction.
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Honestly it sounds like your process is pretty damn on point. Kudos to you sir. 
if you can, post a pic of the terps and bulk oil before any post processing. The Peace software calculator is really nice, Iāve never used that one. So thanks for that, I will be in the future.
But anyway from what Iāve read the Density for THC-A is 1.1Ā±0.1 g/cm3 and THC is 1.0Ā±0.1 g/cm3 so depending on if you decarb your flower before might change things slightly. (THCA clogs things up a lot of the time)
I have a waters BBES also and that allows me to run at higher extraction vessel pressures and also have a step gradient seperation (3 Seps). I have been able to get my density up as high as .90g/cm3 maybe a little higher and gotten really good THCA results because of multiple separators. But the waters is also limited because of the line size and THCA clogging it up.
The Apeks has its limitations also:
(this is assuming you pulled terps already)
The Apeks you run is probably limited to 2000psi. It might be harder to really get selective with specific cannabinoid fractions while using SCCO2.
They are also kind of limited with production efficiency vs. fractionating (because of having to shutdown and pull every few minutes), so if it is at all possible I would recommend having a ball valve installed at the bottom of your separator. This will allow you to pull a sample while running, and help dial in the run time while also allowing you to make pressure/temp adjustments mid run if its not what you are looking for.
As far as understanding the solubility of the solute your looking to extract and its relativity the density of your CO2, I have gotten a lot of my knowledge from reading through patents, white papers, and articles. I am not sure how far down that rabbit hole you have gotten but this article that Iām going to attach is a good starting point and might at least give a basic understanding of the solute to co2 relationship.
I will also attach where I have found the density of specific canabinoids and hopefully this helps on your journey. If you ever want to dm me please feel free, I think we could both pick each others brains for a while.
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This is still my favorite density/saturation calculator and the cheapest way Iāve found to get the Span and Wagner EoS in an accessible manner
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I run a 20L Eden labs CO2 machine. I pull straight oil terpenes at a avg of 1% yield on trim and up to 4% from flower. Like all great inventions, I stumbled upon it by accident lol.
The key is your pressure and flow rate.
Heat bath is usually ~45C
Extraction vessel should be between 41C -46C
Pressure needs to be between 1300-1400 max.
Terps come out looking foggy but if you let it sit in room temp overnight the CO2 in the Terps will leave and your left with a clear Terpene oil.
Also, your flow rate should be around 96 pumps per minute. This works best for me.
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I have tried almost identical parameters, but struggled to collect liquid. Canāt seem to get much other than dry ice coming out of the separators. Got a little bit of liquid, a little bit of waxes/cannabinoids, and a lot of dry ice. Any advice?
What machine are you running? If its a edens lab, what kind?
After messing around on this machine for over a year, there are a few possibilities.
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Your flow rate might be too high going into the Extraction Vessel when your filling, pressurizing the EV, or during the run. I fill slow, pressurize slow, and start slow. After about 10 mins into the run, I speed up just a bit. I keep the pumps per minute at a range of 76 - 89. This helps prevent channeling and giving the CO2 time to soak and capture the terpenes.
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if your pulling nothing, your either channeling (which could be from above) or not in range for the fraction. EV temp should read between 42 - 47C. EV pressure should be 1300 - 1400psi, when i hit 1500psi I start to pull crude/terpenes so i never go over 1400psi.
Give me some more details if you can.
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Also the best advice is DATA DATA and more DATA.
Track your fill pressures, your temperatures, your run pressures, your pump speed, your needle valve open rotations, your run times and ect.
I came into this industry with understanding of analytical chemistry and laboratory equipment. Iāve tracked logs and logs of data, only then was i able to zero in on what works. Iām still going back to past logs with new perceptions of data that could be used with new formulas. Its a never ending battle for efficiency. Also, get to know people in other companies, especially people that are in the same job as you. Iāve been introduced to new ways of thinking about extractions that always lead to adjusting what you already know into better outputs. (this also counts as sharing ideas i guess lol)
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Subcritical (liquid) CO2 solvent density does not exist at 300 kg/m^3
What density would cause a lot of waxes to be pulled in my stg2 cannbinoid extraction? Iāve had a few runs now pulling waxes.
waxes are in between the terps and cannabinoids, theyāre either coming in your terp fraction or your cannabinoid one, unless you want to dial in a wax stripping run and then do a cannabinoid runā¦
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Been running into the same issue lately. Pulling added material in our terps and they are dark. Using a waters sfe and have been using the same method since i started working. Did some routine maintenance and flushes. Terps were nice golden color forever and now dark and waxy. I assume maybe some etoh left in lines or some sort of clog in line making them dark? Any thoughts would be great. Settings are the same as most have talked about in the thread.
Soā¦ Iāve been noticing wierd little things similar to this issue. I donāt extract co2 terps, but similar types of issues with a different sop.
Iām starting to think this is the result of oxidizers in the grows. Things like AirOs, ProGuard, etc. This combined with other forms of ālow impactā IPM specifically revolving around mold, and the extremely strict CFU limits in some markets.
I have a grow running ProGuard right now that I will be comparing side by side for TAC and Terps. My suspicion is there will be a marked difference.
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When it doubt itās usually something the grower sprayed but growers that spray shady shot arenāt usually the most forthcoming so itās a damn game of clue to find out who killed professor mustard in the library with the candlestick