So basically you use less solvent and recover faster because you are extracting with a vapor phase?
Definitely liquid phase. Just figured out how to maximize the capacity of our compressors well beyond what everyone is used to. It is specific to our design and tech. It is naturally counter-intuitive in operation.
Absorption chiller as first stage for a higher pressure refrigerant? Propane alone won’t bring much lower than-44 even under vac. I was having fun with the guessing game. Before the dick swinging about through put?… bla bla bla.
It is all relative. There is a seemingly impossible wall to get past -40c and maintain it. I am well aware of the problem from our development phase.
No alternate refrigerants are used within the system. It runs on nothing but propane.
Didn’t intended to be a dick swinging competition, just correcting his statement.
They’re using their WFE skid to increase the available surface area that the mother liquor is on while the Corken sucks all the hydrocarbon off in the WFE itself.
The published lbs/min Corken has are all nearly impossible.
Unless you find a way to increase surface area and allow a quicker evaporative phase.
Im just curious abt how the WFE functions, and if it ever gets clogged with THCa or CBD as the mother liquor reaches its critical phase in the WFE with the hydrocarbons being pulled out so rapidly.
Honestly, bravo @Zack_illuminated.
This is one fine fucking piece of engineering.
I dont necessarily agree with the price, I mean the stainless and UL C1D1 components all cost less than 90k-100k, but the amount of R&D involved to make sure that pos8tive pressure WFE has the proper dimensions and tolerances all around may make it worth it.
You guys truely are bringing new chemical inline processes into the hydrocarbon game that NO ONE else is doing.
I noticed Deutsche Process had some similar ideas about increasing surface area or increasing speed of recovery, but their execution is far from perfect.
I will potentially pick one of these up for my next buildout here.
Hard to resist wanting to play with a hydrocarbon WFE.
FYI, using propane in its vapor and liquid phases to chill, using expansion valves, is a genius idea.
Surprised no one else is trying to utilize thermodynamics of phase changes to chill.
Some of us weirdos do that
Mercurius? Tries something like this. But poorly and only half baked. Lots of folks around with a little refrigeration understanding have been trying to crack this nut, as a thought experiment at least. It cool someone engendered this stuff out to a real system. @Zack_illuminated
Pretty sure @cyclopath has utilized evaporative chilling for chilling solvent according to past threads.
Not in the same way iirc
I like to use the evaporation to chill the outlet of my recovery pump when I don’t have dry ice. No chiller no problem
Not in a peer reviewed mass manufactured design.
This systems literally groundbreaking with how you ditch chillers entirely.
I would use a central process chilling line, going to an outdoor package. To best manage thermal loads for mfg suites. An MTA Tae like they include is honesty probably best suited, so long as its IP54 rated for outdoors.
Honestly, this thermal load management is the ONLY system currently on the market that wont require stupid redundant energy expenditure on chilling/heating various zones using dedicated zone process chilling/heating. Using various heaters and chillers requires managing the BTU’s output by those heaters/chillers too. Most people fail designing systems there. Mfg suites/labs overheat as the facility HVAC can’t keep up with amateur designed systems, not accounting for the massive BTU load their heaters/chillers release into the lab itself.
We all waste WAY too much energy running 2 or 3 chillers that in turn produce heat that we could theoretically apply to heat our recovery vessel.
Using individual chillers is inefficient, but using the phase change directly upon the columns and other cold zones is genius.
@Zack_illuminated are you guys running the propane loop through the Corken to absorb heat from there as well?
These guys basically thought of everything needed to make a CLS as efficient as possible, that positive pressure capable WFE is by far the coolest thing this year in the Cannabis space.
I think integrating a PLC, various C1D1 relays/valves/sensors and a nice C1D1 HMI and you’ve got the best semi-automated system in the market.
Could run this whole machine with a C1D1 tablet eventually, and have a master panel outside the booth.
I am sure @Zack_illuminated is already almost done with a revision with those update options.
And as it turns out, is the fastest way to recover solvent from a thick product with minimal residence time and heat.
The physical surface area may be small when compared to a FFE; it is the physical action that brings about increased surface area in our WFE. Just like shaking a cold lighter to get one last flame or a stir bar in a short-path. The physical area inside the lighter did not change, instead the amount of liquid touching the wall did change and more heat was therefore transferred to the colder molecules in the lighter thereby creating pressure. Stirring is a form of activation energy and can be observed with crystallization processes.
Funny thing is, Corkens published values have been dampened down to make it more possible to hit. When calculated, there are many variables to take into account. It is pretty unlikely that typical systems can hit and maintain the requirements so it is fairly unlikely you will experience the published values. Corken is aware of this and have tried to make the numbers manageable for typical end users, yet they still seem difficult to hit.
Our design enables us to take full advantage of maintaining the required conditions indefinitely and therefore its result. What the compressor moves is based on RPM, CFM, inlet/outlet psi, inlet temperature, and gas specific gravity. If you can maintain the conditions, you will maintain the volume.
The easiest way is with our GD1 wiper as we can clean our solvent while we extract, thereby keeping the boiling point down. As you introduce impurities (crude) you also increase the boiling point of the solvent and have to either add more heat or take the crude out of the liquid. This is one of the reasons your recovery rate hits the floor towards the end of a run - as the crude concentrates; more and more heat is needed.
Thus far we have not yet maxed out the recovery rate of our GD1. Previously the hot water heater was the limiting factor; which we have gotten away from.
The only place that can clog is the exit hose but is really simple to clear out. For the most part, the pressure keeps product from crashing completely during operation and it remains fluid until you drain or get too low in pressure.
Should a clog occur and you don’t have the pressure to push it out, just squirt a little solvent in the WFE and let it warm up. Can easily get the pressure you need to clear the line. Alternately, it can be connected back to our system and we can push-pull solvent through the line until clean.
Our systems have a built in CIP function for all sections to enable self-cleaning.
I suspect many will try to follow suit now that we have paved the way. Won’t be the first time its happened.
It all starts there… The problem is clearly identified: the solution is not what you would think.
That is pretty much what kicked it off. We had made a huge machine that requires an absolute ton of cooling. Chiller cost nearly matches the machine. You solve one problem yet create another. Yeah it can run fast - but now how do you heat and cool it?
…using a compressor to cool a refrigerant, to cool a heat transfer fluid, to cool a refrigerant, ran by a compressor…
Sounds logical right?
No, we do not run cooling through the corken. You really want the gas to stay vapor in the compressor. Compressing condensed liquid is a fast way to blow your rings.
We actually first released the GD1 three years ago and have since made a couple upgrades. Last year we released our Rotary Basin Miner-Reactor rated to 350psi for use with propane / iso-butane / butane.
Our exaction process eliminates the need for atomizers, can control the solvent temperature internally, has its own thermal control system to eliminate co2/chillers, can move solvent at rates over 100lbs per minute (Behemoth XL R800), can remove crude while injecting, is a continuous operation design, does not use nitrogen to operate… The list goes on and on.
For every problem there was, I have found a solution and will continue to find solutions for new problems which surface over time: as one solution might create a new problem. It is an inevitable cycle.
It is in the works. We are going to utilize my patented DaVinci Sensor to detect general concentration in our liquid stream via a Beer-Lambert curve and use that data along with my operating procedures to fully automate extraction. It is also a key component in our upcoming development.
As it stands, one person can operate every machine we make. The Behemoth we suggest 2 guys for loading/unloading socks plus the one driver to minimize the operators workload. Starting out we typically see 2 drivers on the Behemoth until they get the hang of it. Its a big machine and is easy to get overwhelmed if your not used to running the process.
The base GD1 is under 30k, while the TCS base models are all well under 100k - priced to replace chillers.
Our machines range from 40k and up, depending on scale and components used. Many upgrade options are available. All systems carry a 50 state third party engineering peer review via Pressure Safety Inspectors.
We quote everything as a turn-key setup. From there the price can come down substantially - do you want CRC? do you want crash columns? do you want filtration? etc. We matched the base compressor to the extractor so as to minimize upfront cost while maximizing output. We do offer compressor upgrades should they be desired.
It is preferred to quote in solvent capacity rather than lbs/hr bio extracted as each user’s operational method is different. Regardless of how you like to extract, the limiting factor as to how much you can extract is how much solvent you can move. We run a 10:1 to 15:1 ratio with propane, you might like to run a 3:1 to 5:1 with butane. Both are savvy methods, some may be faster than others. A compressors capacity for butane tends to be slightly more than half that of propane. For example our Behemoth R600 can move an average of up to 22-35lbs per minute propane or 15-20lbs per minute of butane and may be less depending on user operation. It is possible to go beyond these numbers but is not usually seen with typical operation.
Also, different ratios of various solvents require different volumes to achieve the same goal. Such as butane tends to be more soluble and pulls more impurities while using less and propane tends to be less soluble and pulls less impurities and therefore requires more propane to achieve the same extraction as butane. Therefore, a butane extraction can be performed with much less solvent than a propane extraction for the same extraction efficiency but due to its pressure will move slightly less volume per minute.
In the end, butane extraction is faster than propane but has the potential to pull more impurities. We recommend a 70/30 blend, propane heavy for cannabis users. It leaves just enough butane behind for easy liquid pour outs and maximizes the operational pressure of the system. It does however get consumed faster than pure propane.
Equipment manufacturers are mostly not innovators but instead tend to be imitators. All of the systems currently on the market are very similar to one another as they are using the same technologies. There is nothing really new coming out, just throwing more heat and more cold at the same system hoping to get it going faster.
I took a different approach in just about every way. The grass can be greener on the other side of the street. Less heat is needed to move more solvent. Less power is needed to refrigerate. Can move more solvent than listed capacities. Made a WFE for hydrocarbon gases. Made a 350psi rotary basin.
Have always thought to myself, why fight the system? Why not apply the problems as solutions? Just because no one else does is no reason to follow suit. Just because its thought to be “impossible” is no reason not to try. That word alone can be enough to stop people in their tracks.
Paving the way for the future of our industry.
Often imitated, never duplicated.
Does anyone have your unit operating and producing live resin, in a facility, yet?
Like any sized unit, I am wondering if you have ran this enough to be sure of the stated claims abt throughput and actual product quality on the output end.
Yes, we have the Behemoth R600 out in the world cranking out live resin.
With our older model of the Behemoth we have ran over 300k lbs at just one of our local facilities. There are multiple of these units in operation; however, they do not feature the thermal control upgrade. There is not much of a difference between the two units. One can get to -60c, the other cannot. Both move the same volume of solvent per minute and feature our GD1 evaporators for solvent removal.
In fact, it was with the old model that we figured out how to isolate CBDa with our crystallization columns over a year ago. We were the first to have CBDa diamonds and isolate at any scale via this process that was t-free directly out of our machine.
You might be surprised to find out that there are ways around getting cold for dewaxing purposes. Pressure is not always the enemy.
Both the old and new systems have the ability to internally control the solvent temperature. We have ran the old model at -30c without the TCS but depreciated the quality of our recovery. It was a sacrifice for cold. This is one aspect of our original patent pending extraction technology that we have taken even further and applied in an entirely new way to form our Thermal Control System.
Behemoth R600 refrigeration / live resin:
You have any videos of that wfe working? Are there any sight glasses on it?
There are two site glasses on every unit and are used to control the injection rate plus monitor fill level.
We have in the past ran an entire Behemoth days run into a single GD1 with no issue other than as it becomes full you have to reduce the injection rate slightly. It is not advised to run this way. The Behemoth comes with two GD1’s so you can split the day between the two units and maximize solvent recovery.
The GD1 comes with all of our systems except the smallest unit we make the E4k Pro, but can be easily adapted to it as this was our v1 prototype of the Turbo Unit.
So you are recovering your hydrocarbon, as its being fed into the WFE?
As I asked before, the collection/return line on the bottom pf the wfe, how do you mitigate clogging? If the bottom heated/jacketed as well?
How does the collection work on these systems, does the GD1 feed the concentrate into a final collection vessel?
Yes, it is a constant swap. As liquid comes in, vapor goes out at an equal rate for non-stop operation.
Yes we can do a heated bottom to speed removal, though is not required. Clogs are a matter of bumping a little solvent in or hooking up to the extractor to clear the line. The only place that can clog is the hose.
Direct pour into trays / buckets / drums and allow to off gas in the room a little to finish up. We can do a secondary pressurized vessel though have never really needed one. For crystallization we would pull from the basin instead.
Drums are good for the hemp guys, usually takes about 3-5 days to fill one.