Hello my cannabis family, I have another question for you.
I am operating a CO2 extraction lab and use 200 proof Ethanol to winterize. Currently we are only using reclaimed Ethanol for this process up to 3 times before sending it off to be cleaned up by our solvent supplier.
I have ran my own post processing lab in the past where I would remediate my Ethanol in house by utilizing a process which included redistilling in rotovap, filtering with filtration media (Activated Carbon, Bentonite Clay) and then passing through a 3A molecular sieve.
I am wondering what the difference in processing would be between what I can do in house versus what my solvent supplier would do to clean the Ethanol and restore it to an anhydrous state.
I know there are probably thousands of answers laying in between the posts of Future4200 however after trying multiple keywords I have yet to have found a definitive answer. One thing I did find while looking through posts was that the pH of Ethanol is important. I found a consensus that a more acidic pH could lead to pulling of more undesirable materials from the crude and could possibly lead to some conversion.
I know molecular sieves can alter the pH of liquids and am wondering if pH is an important factor in Ethanol reuse, how can I affectively adjust the pH back to around 7.3
Any help on this topic would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again and hoping to hear from you all soon.
I do know that 190 proof assists with the winterization process however where I am located we are supposed to be using anhydrous Ethanol. If we do need to adjust the proof we need to add distilled water on our own so that we know the source of the water being added. I know that pretty much as soon as you expose Ethanol to air it will absorb moisture but we need to be sure that the 5% moisture is coming from an uncontaminated source and not just from the air or moisture that was introduced from previous CO2 runs. There is a strict policy against contaminants from different lots where I am located.
Long story short, we need to refine our Ethanol as much as possible and bring it as close to 99.99% as as we can.
I don’t believe they would want to share that information as refining Ethanol is where most of their profits come from. Just a tricky situation because of all the government requirements needed to be put in place where I am located.
I am hoping that if I can affectively refine the Ethanol in house, it would no longer contain any contaminants (Terps, Water, Trace Elements, Ect) and once sent or testing I can have it approved for continual use.
we did an in-house test on this a couple months ago, using a very fancy proofing meter (electronic, not the bobber in a column). We found that 200-proof does indeed absorb some water once it’s opened, but very little and at a very low rate. We left both caps off of a 55gal barrel, new from our supplier, and after a 3 hours of being left open, sampled every hour, it got no lower than 99.5%. And that’s in Humboldt Co. CA, very close to the bay and very humid in general.
I’d love to know if anyone else has run similar tests, and if their results corroborate or disagree with ours
I’d ask. It might surprise you. I’m wondering if @GasLogix-Adam or @BigM want to chime in. Certainly this prices isn’t crazily proprietary, is it? What’s your experience?
Our processing facility is only for hydrocarbons so unfortunately I’m no help here. Interesting thread though. We’ve been looking into recapturing and recleaning dirty gas from facilities that want to ensure they’re always starting pure. If you’re working with someone that actually does the processing versus just repackaging/reselling then I’d assume the capability is there and it’s just a matter of whether the logistics make financial sense.
We get our ethanol already ready already from our supplier, so we don’t need to do any purification in-house. We do carry 3A, 4A, and 10A molseive to help re-proof by removing moisture and possibly other contaminates depending on which seive size you choose.
If high purity is the goal, I would think fractional distillation through a packed column with lots of theoretical plates would be the final step. After coming out of the roto pass it through some carbon and clay, then toss in the molseive to dry, followed by the final fractional distillation.
Depending on the impurities you’re trying to remove, some level of vacuum during distillation may prove very helpful. In-house analytics will be very helpful of course in fine tuning your process. The main difference between what @ReeferRep was doing before and what a large processor would do would be the scale.
With the packed column and appropriate temp profile you can check most of the solvents we commonly use for purity. Down to ppm levels.
In the case of terpenes in ethanol, you would probably need to use the other column (mxt-500 in the case of the 310 MM), and if you find a used unit with a TCD, you can also look at water content (I’ve been told).
@anon64373531 is correct that an maratek automagic recycler may be a viable option, for you.
you’ll find some useful discussion on the subject behind