I’ve referred about 5 ppl total. In the dm I specifically tell them to search, search, then search once more before asking a question. 80% of the time it’s been covered, answered, then derailed after the 20th post (lol)
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all depends on your goal, if cannabinoid distillation is your goal then yes.
Distillation is a method, this method can be applied to many things.
For example, you could run h20 through your system is your goal was distilled water.
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Definitely a good website to learn from, although based on the amount of information you need. I would recommend a “QUALIFIED” consultant. Just get someone a few regulars here would recommend, even if someone’s got bad ass lab posts on their ig don’t mean shit. They can be packing columns telling you they run the lab. Once again great place to learn but if your already operating it’ll probly be more profitable to pay it forward.
You need to hire someone who knows what they are doing or preferably a team.
Buying equipment before then is a waste of money.
You also need testing equipment and SOPs, not just a few machines - and the professionals to run them.
Vertical integration requires a TEAM of professionals who know what they are doing.
Equipment + Facility + Team quickly turns into $100,000s before you make a cent.
What’s your revenue model for “vertical integration”?
How much can you spend before you go broke. Who is buying your product?
In the meantime buy some crude, distillate and finished products so you understand what they are and what you can do with them. Or buy a small setup and LEARN before you try to “vertically integrate” - it’s not the right decision for most companies.
Honestly, otherwise you’ll just lose money. The market is well supplied with quality product and you won’t be able to keep up unless you are smart about it.
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Hi,
you may want to start with extraction.
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first you will choose a method of extracting said cannabinoids.
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evaporation, you must evaporate your primary extraction solvent. At this stage the product is called “crude”.
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pre process, you will need to remove lipids and other non desirable components at this stage.
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decarboxylation/ devolatize you will need to decarb and devolatize the crude before feeding it to your distillation apperatus.
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post processing/ second pass. you may need more than one pass though your distillation apparatus and or post processing to clean the distillate up to the point where it is marketable.
this can include removals of pesticides, color compounds, and other impurities.
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I can hold you hand and walk you through the whole thing.
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I can help!
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I’d advice not buying anything until you hire a lab director or someone with a background in this industry or chemistry experience. Too often to owners buy shit that’s either not the right tool for the job, or way more expensive than it needs to be, before they hire people who know how to use the equipment. Either that or spend more time reading on here or just pay someone for a consult.
Crude - Distillate
- [ ] Depending quality of crude use winterization steps first to clean undesirable & unwwanted compounds. ( I will make additional steps below for winterization tek.)
- [ ] After crude is up to par for proper clean distillation, pre decarb crude in boiler pot on heating mantel with either magnetic spin bar accessory or an over head immersion shear mixer 3-4” into the body of crude to break surface tension during decarb. Turn mantel to 125c for 2-2.5 hours( or until oil is smooth is viscosity & no long percolating.) rpms for spin bar at 600-800just enough to make a surface tension break.
- [ ] Remove now pre decarbed crude from mantel & add to pre set up distillation apparatus or store till ready to use for run.( make sure to not over fill holding vessels for distillation ie. Spd boiling flask or holding tank for wfe/ffe.)
- [ ] Once ready to use in spd add to boiling flask via funnel with vacuum assist from auxiliary vacuum setup off dual gas ballast, or hot pour into funnel. ( can also use heated feed tank/lines.)
- [ ] Once distillation boiling flask is filled to 3/4 volume that should be adequate for a run. Start pulling vacuum with auxiliary vacuum pump(dual stage with explosion proof spec & vapor mist filter.) at around 1000 micron which will allow the volatiles to boil off & not condense in a flask, right to the cold trap. (If flask is inline flip up if possible shoutout to @anon42519203!) rpms at 600-650 depending on the mantel. Head temp of 90-95c
- [ ] Once volatiles are ran through you will have a drop in vacuum depth to below 100 micron, you can then switch from auxiliary vacuum setup to main vacuum via dual gas ballast by first turning on main pump, then opening the main pump ballast, then closing the auxiliary pump ballast & proceeding to turn off the auxiliary pump. ( keep in mind use the auxiliary pump when switching flasks for vapor run off, don’t flood your main vacuum, save your pockets.)
- [ ] Now that main vacuum is running, your micron depth will go to 350 micron to 450 micron & you will then be in you heads/ terp fraction ( if you have no water present you won’t be pulling azulene.) your mantel should be around 165-170c. Rpms at 600 depending on mantel & aggressiveness of crude boiling. (Don’t over boil it will break yeilds/ time efficiency.) head temp of 100c
- [ ] After collecting heads/terp fraction you will start to see a trickling & slow of the compound running through the head, you should also note color change & viscosity of compound coming through at this time. At this time you should be switching to a main collection flask following protocol of proper flask change out.
- [ ] You will not ie once starting mains your microns will be at 100 micron & below. This is a great tight fractioning. Mantel should be around 180c-215c depending on volume of oil for main body. Head temp at 100c. Rpms at 650-700. (Remember if going about 180c I advise if switching flasks to cool the still via auxiliary vacuum pull & rpms still going as well as no heat to the mantel until at 145c-150c for safe reintroduction of atmosphere.)
- [ ] Once mains have been ran through & collected you will have trickling & slowing of compound running through to flask & then you will have tails. You can either decide to dump tails out or continue distillation & pull heavier higher boiling point cannabanoid, I advise using a cleaned for distillation copper scrubber to keep the walls from gunking up to bad & to retain any unwanteds during this distillation, do not do this in a ffe/wfe it will ruin your equipment. Head temp will need to be upwards of 150c-180c to keep compounds/ vapor flowing in head, these are dangerous temps do not under any circumstances disregard your safety during this part if taking it into consideration.
- [ ] Once main body is collected, weigh in tared storing vessels that can be sealed from atmosphere or backfilled to reduce oxidization factors. Store in cool dry place once data is recorded.
Winterization tek/color tek / lle
- [ ] Carbon powder
- [ ] Carbon fine grain
- [ ] Carbon coarse grain
- [ ] Ethanol or food grade grain alcohol
- [ ] Silica powder
- [ ] Filter plate or Büchner funnel for fats lipids & wax separation.
- [ ] Stage 1,2,&3 paper micron filters.
- [ ] Large mason jars 64oz wide mouth
- [ ] Filter plate from bvv or one similar.
- [ ] Vacuum trap ( head piece)
- [ ] Conical flask (with or without extra vac port)
- [ ] Rubber lines
- [ ] Heating plate
- [ ] Water circulation pump
- [ ] 24/40 vacuum adapter head( single or dual port)
- [ ] Rubber cone grommets for glassware connections( safety)
SOP FOR WINTERIZATION & remediation.
First pass, second pass, & third pass.
- [ ] Prep 1000-1500grams of crude into mason jars.
- [ ] Fill mason jars rest of way to the top line 1500ml (there is a line above that.) with ethanol or grain alcohol. (Can be done with iso but have to roto as specific temp & heat to remove moisture content.) (other hydrocarbon/organics usable if needed but parameters differ.)
- [ ] Heat jars to dilute crude into solvent, completely dissolved takes minimum 30 minutes of constant rotating & shaking while being heated.(can do large quantity in reactor just use math to calculate for input/media/time if need formulation I can assist.)
- [ ] After dilution of crude let jars sit in cryo overnight.next day you will begin to add carbon & filter out.(minimum -45c) (use heat transfer rules here they apply, don’t break glass jars.)
- [ ] After jars have been heated & dissolved let cool to hand touch & add activated carbon
- [ ] You’ll need to prepare 15-30 grams powder, 9.5 grams fine grain, 9.5 grams coarse grain, can all added at same time to mason jar, careful of powder it will flop about. (Think dust cloud use proper ppe when handling any fine powder media or solvents.) ( I weigh them all in a solo cup then pour into mason jar)
- [ ] Once carbon is added, you’ll need to heat the jars again for an additional 30- 45 minutes to completely activate the carbon. Let sit overnight. Dry storage room 75f temp.
- [ ] After overnight cleansing you now may start first pass filtering
- [ ] Filter player or Buchner set up as following 1-2 stage 1 micron filter papers stacked as they come out of box( this is important for proper flow of liquid through mesh.) 1 stage 2 filter then on the bottom 1 stage 3 filter. With line connecting to the vacuum adapter (in). The adapter seats on top of collection vessel( conical flask 5000ml or whatever size you prefer.) add vacuum line from out port connecting to the in side of water circulation pump,(can use other side to run vacuum on rotovap, dual work boy!) pull maximum vacuum on pump before adding liquid to filtering plate or Buchner.((If applicable use a sambo creek or drain droyd/ 400 mm table top Buchner to filter with for a major efficiency increase.) use adequate filtrate storage of course to. Can use pump of choice but keep solvent/ volatiles in mind.
- [ ] Let the pump do all the work for you, you may need to “stir” contents in the Buchner or plate, I use a spoon, round edges don’t rip the filter papers.
- [ ] After first pass is done you will repeat the carbon winterization process to begin second pass. Only thing that changes is your filter setup stack a stage 1 on top of a stage 2 as they come from box, & begin filtering once you have completed carbon winterization.(this will ensure no presence of fats lipids waxes or any other impurities.)
- [ ] Once complete with 1st & 2nd passes, repeat process for 3rd pass but again filter setup will change. This time to a stage 2 on top of the stage 3 filter paper, now this is where it gets tricky & the silica comes in. With 2-3 oz of silica powder mix together in a jar with enough ethanol or grain alcohol to form a slurry. Pour slurry onto filter setup as you would for passes, let patty settle, begin 3rd pass.
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SOP WITH JUST Saline wash & magasil.
- [ ] 30-60 gallons h20
- [ ] As much salt as possible
- [ ] Citric acid (ph down)
- [ ] 3 20 gallons to split up mix of 30-60gal h20 /salt for saline solution.
- [ ] Sodium hydroxide crystals (ph up)
- [ ] Separatory funnel or reactor is applicable.
- [ ] Solids filter setup (just incase.)
Starting:
- [ ] Add oleo resin to heptane via diluted homogenization.
- [ ] Once fully homogenized add solution to vessel of choice for lle at 1/2 full, leave enough room for wash solution.
Follow these wash steps for very thorough cleaning process
In total washed will equate to 15-18 in total, sets of 3,3,4,5 or 5,5,3,5.
- [ ] First washes are high high ph to neutralize the acids first to 12ph.
- [ ] then with low 3-3.5ph to have A swing for other unwanted compounds that weren’t soluble in previous wash.
- [ ] then brine with saline solution to wash out any solubles that may still be in the soution.
- [ ] then finally 5.5-7ph wash & remove organic layer(s) (layers depending the size of their sep funnel or if their in the reactor it’s easier to do washes then seperate.) the bases for ph will be sodium bicarbonate or hydroxide & citric acid or baking soda. (Ph accordingly with bases of choice.)
Now off to rotovap work.
If y’all need a sop for that I can gladly oblige.
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kindly help me to understand the working principle behind saline wash.
target is NOT water soluble.
many non-target compounds ARE.
dissolve material in solvent that is immiscible with water (eg heptane).
add water, shake, and let separate.
target stays in heptane. non-target compounds that are water soluble don’t.
the salt is mostly there to reduce emulsification.
wooks are allergic to water.
however, if you put enough salt in there they mistake it for the bag of crisps they left on the couch, and will dive straight into it.
it’s the only way to get them clean…
can you help me as well? I want to know how to make crude oil for a short path
do you grow?
Repeating this response seems appropriate…
Especially as I responded over here already… How to make home Crude oil for distillate - #3 by cyclopath
Why 4kg vs 10kg? Dispensary weed is generally better than 10% cannabinoids…
This was the kind and informative comment that lad came for 
. Good on you.
I am curious on if you always must decarb before running crude. Is there any scenario you suggest running something that’s not been decarbed?
Crude in my understanding is a broad term meaning “the starting material you haven’t distilled yet”
Also I have same question with winterizing. Is it 100% always required? Is there ever a situation you’d Suggest not winterizing?
Winterizing to my knowledge is removing fats/lipids from your extract or crude
(Probably already been covered)
(I run a Prescott wipe film setup)
(I’ve decarbed BHO and ran it successfully)
(Have a roto and ethanol but most of my material is either FF. I have access to trash/trim/floor buds too and want to utilize it. I’m thinking I want to run the dry stuff through ethanol and into distillation. But is there a benefit of doing that instead of running it through butane and decarbing it then?)
Thankful for you goons!
Yep.
Yep. We load our decarbed crude into carts…
Decarb before distill is a requirement. The CO2 produced by decarb will make pulling vacuum non-trivial in an spd, and cause splashing in a wiper.
Throughput is better with EtOH, but if you’re already doing BHO-> wfe then it may be less work to continue down that road.
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Thank you,
Always decarb your input oil, noted.
I worded my post funky, is there a situation where you don’t need to winterize?
We have not winterized at all (but we use only fresh frozen right now which should prevent fats)?
I want to start using the dried material/trim that I have access to. That’s why I was debating on starting up me rotovap and using etoh and then winterizing.
I do have access to an apeks CO2 setup BUT my lab had a safety incident before hiring me on with that one, and I am not trying to learn that untill all our other equipment is running safely and steadily. And I view the etoh and roto as a safer bet for now.
(I still have more research to do!! I gotta practice reading before posting. So much to learn🤣)
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Reading before posting is helpful, but if you’re new and don’t know the lingo, or how to query, it can be frustrating.
Imo, more important is reading AFTER you post, and responding to the follow up questions invariably required to get at the solution.
You can lead a horse to a fire hydrant, but experience says many will spook the moment you turn the #^>€€ing thing on…
Eg: @eatbroccoli94 didn’t do their due diligence before purchasing an spd, and posted looking for an assist…but they don’t seem to have come back and done the required reading to dig themselves out of that hole.
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If it’s all you got, you can make crude IN a short path.
Although purchasing a Graham condenser is recommended
See: Ethanol recovery using Graham condenser under vacuum @ 40C
As recommended previously, Bucket Tek (Cold Ethanol Extraction on a Budget) is a decent place to start.
a clever bugger could probably use stuff learned over in Optimizing your RotoVap to continuously feed a 2l spd the required 10+ gallons of tincture.
A really clever one might even grok how to set that up to dump the recovered solvent directly into a keg.
…and, you can even extract 7kg IN a keg
So for $200 (and 5kg of weed) you could be on your way…
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