You should extract something with similar properties to cannabinoids then (assuming that is your end goal). Extracting water solubles like caffeine would be no different than making an enormous batch of tea or coffee. Might not teach you a whole lot and without knowing the concentration of caffeine the end product may be very dangerous. I don’t know how quickly caffeine absorbs through the skin but it’s able to so I wouldn’t assume it’s an inherently safe starting point.
If you want to experiment, just buy a bunch of cheap outdoor hemp from someone in the northwest and try to extract some CBD. This time of year it’s hilariously cheap especially if you get untrimmed material. It’s probably cheaper than most things you can experiment with in this context.
This is a pretty nice techniques book. It covers acid base extractions and crystallization, among many other techniques. Also explains how to do stuff on the microchemistry scale too!
Oh damn, here is a whole PDF that can be downloaded that is also a techniques textbook! Haha, right off the bat it talks about using ethyl acetate as a greener alternative to caffeine extraction when giving an example of “greener” methods in the lab:
My plan is to buy a CLS and SPD to start on cannabinoids
I want to hire someone to watch me do it my first few runs however just in case I fuck up as its pretty stupid to go blind into a run for the first time with no professional next to you to tell you “yea dont do that” or “yea do that” just to make sure I’m safe
Wear two pairs of gloves and closed goggles. Keep a bottle of eye wash near you. The double gloves is to remove large spills without the risk of touching the spill with bare hands when you remove your gloves. I believe they use this compound in cs spray. Also you’re room or house is going to feel, smell and taste spicy
I plan on setting my garage up into a small “lab” and work area as well with a big ass expensive fridge and big cheap deep freezer. One side dedicated to chemicals and extraction and the other for packaging, carts, edibles, etc.
Whole garage will be temp controlled, insulated and clean as fuck. I’ll have a switch planned to turn on a ventilation fan as well to exhaust any bullshit outside, my neighbors will love me, and that’s about it.
I have hella gloves and goggles already, goggles I accidentally brought home with me from Home Depot so ey they’ll be temporary more for shattering glass or breaking stuff then chemical use
seriously though.
