Hi all,
I’m in the process of speccing out a lab and I am wondering if I could get some general questions clarified. Please note, I have searched through the forums for a while and have seen a lot of different opinions that somewhat contradict each other and I’m just curious to see some more updated answers.
I am setting up an ethanol based extraction lab that will only be producing edibles. My only experience is with CO2 extraction and ethanol extraction is new to me. The flower being extracted is between 18-22% and we are extracting 20~ kilos a day.
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Should I decarb my flower before extraction similar to how I did with CO2? All oil will be distilled in a shortpath, spinning band or wiped film after extraction so I can decarb in those however, at least in my experience, this adds a decent chunk of time on top of the distillation process. I could be remembering this incorrectly though.
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My understanding is that ethanol extraction at temperatures around -40c or less allows me to retain the undesirables such as waxes in the plant material. Would this eliminate the need for winterisation/post extract wax removal at -40c? Do the temps need to be lower to retain?
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Suggestions for solvent recovery systems at my scale? Rotovap probably won’t cut it.
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Should my material be dried or frozen prior to extraction? (if i don’t decarb prior to ethanol extraction.)
Thank you all for your help.
No decarb before extraction
-40C with short washes (minutes)
Will keep winterizing at bay but will pick. Up chlorofyl (-67C)
A modified 50 liter roto will solve your recovery solvent or a pot still
Biomass should be dried then frozen to (-40) as well lower the better
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have you seen this Ethanol Extraction White Paper yet?
it’s getting a little dated, but should still have a lot of useful info in there.
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Awesome thanks for the help, I’m hoping I can find some equipment that can go a bit lower (ace spinner probably) But if anyone has any suggestions let me know!
Any thoughts on decarbing in the distillation portion? Is it efficient?
I’ve been able to put together a rather efficient cryo etho setup for very cheap with the help of a forum member. Basically the bucket tek but the Gucci version. I think I spent under 5k total and can do 100 lbs a day. Might not be what u need for your lab, but there is an effective and cheap way to run cryo etho extractikn
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As for decarbing in spd, my personal thought (and I’ll say I’m no where near as smart or advanced as others here) is that decarbing In the short path added a lot of time to my run… I could see the gas of the volatiles being ripped out during a lot of the run. Once I started decarbing on a hot plate before shortpath it seems thing went a lot more smooth
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It s a hell of a lot less volume
It can be done easier under vacuum
When done at 140C it takes care of several of the terpene fractions
Wich is beter for the vacuum depth on spd
Stinch is a lot more controllable
And there are probably more things that make it better
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I may raise the temps next go to boot some of those Terps before the spd.
Thanks for the tip
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I have, it’s a great read and I have been referencing it a lot!
I’ve also seen a lot of your posts on the subject and I am wondering what you think of this for a set up.
Ethanol extractor (Delta, ACE,)
Falling film or large scale rotovap for solvent recovery
Suggestions on distillation equipment? I’ve used a few shortpath set ups so that may be a good starting point but perhaps starting out with a wiped film set up would make more sense for the capacity and scale?
I’m also curious about what others do to decarb their concentrate post extraction at large scale.
Thanks for the help!
You can start with a rotovap. But I would recommend aiming at something that can actually keep up with your primary extractor.
A purpose built decarb reactor is ideal. A smallish jacketed vessel with stirring and vac. Ideally with a bottom drain.
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Awesome thanks so much for the additional help and info!
Not sure if you are aware that @cyclopath is a member of the ace spinner team and a respected and resource full dude that can give most of your questions an answer
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I’d be really interested in you Gucci bucket tek. I’m trying to achieve 100lbs processed in an 8 hour shift. Is that feasible or am I day dreaming here.
Well licensed or rogue
100 is easy with 2 pandas and 3 men
Processed as ?
Crude or distillate ?
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