Ethanol Extraction Temperature & Soak / Spin Times- Distillate

[RecklessCaution]

Hey everyone,

We’re running a Delta Cup 30 for ethanol extraction and I’d like to compare notes with the community about temperature, soak times, and spin cycles.

Right now, our process is:

Filled bag weight - 16 - 20 lbs.

• Chill: We wait until the ethanol is down to -40 °C before starting.

• Cycle:

  • Place bag → wait for temp → fill & soak

Our Parameters:

• Fill Time: 2:00 min

• Soak & Agitation: 8:00 min @ 250 rpm

• Spin Cycle:

  • 1:00 min @ 500 rpm

  • 1:30 min @ 1000 rpm

  • 0:30 sec @ 1250 rpm

  • 1:00 min @ 1500 rpm

  • 2:00 min @ 2000 rpm

Questions for the group:

1. Temperature – Are you extracting at -40 °C or colder/warmer? Am I wasting time waiting to chill all the way down?

2. Soak/Agitation – How does our 8:00 min soak sound? Should I be extending or reducing?

3. Spin Cycle – Would you recommend bumping up the RPMs, extending time, or cutting it back?

Ultimately, I’m trying to maximize THC recovery and yield while keeping cycle times as short as possible.

Would love to hear what’s working for you guys. Thanks in advance!

[villy]

The only real way to know you are getting all of the “goodies” is to test your biomass between parameter changes.

[WolfeXtracts]

Yup. What they said.

[Lincoln20XX]

It washes the cannabis and then it washes the cannabis some more

Have you heard? It is possible to get damn near perfect crude at -20°C in ethanol. No winterization required, little to no chlorophyll or other gunk that makes your life hard. I saw this: Here: @CollectiveObjective is 100% correct. Reducing your opex in a commodities market is mandatory, not optional. Otherwise you get crushed. It reminded me that I’ve been planning on making a post on this topic for a while now. So here it is. @MagisterChemist managed to produce this with a spray wash …

[cyclopath]

@RecklessCaution

Spin Cycle – Would you recommend bumping up the RPMs, extending time, or cutting it back?

What are you using as a metric?

What could you use to inform this part?

How could you decrease the cannabinoid hold up at this step once spinning harder/longer tends towards asymptote?

(Hint: read thread linked above…)

Suggest the boss acquire In House analytics

[RightRock98]

Can you elaborate on this?

[cyclopath]

Which part of

@villy

test your biomass between parameter changes

are you needing elaboration on?

Testing?
Biomass?
Parameter change?

Test (for cannabinoids!!) your spent (is it?) material after every run.

Easier achieve if you

@cyclopath

acquire In House analytics

Try changing some of the things OP is wondering might effect cannabinoid extraction

@RecklessCaution

• Temperature – Are you extracting at -40 °C or colder/warmer? Am I wasting time waiting to chill all the way down?
• Soak/Agitation – How does our 8:00 min soak sound? Should I be extending or reducing?
• Spin Cycle – Would you recommend bumping up the RPMs, extending time, or cutting it back?

…and then use measured extraction efficiency to optimize your process.

Better?

[villy]

going to need an hplc in house to be accurate. they arent that expensive, could technically pay for itself in the first run….