Florida Ethanol Extraction Questions

Hello guys, as of January 1, 2020 all hemp processors in Florida are required to obtain a wholesale food establishment permit. Due to plumbing limitations at my current space, I must move into a new facility. Currently I mainly process consumer products with distillate and isolate. But I also do coconut oil extractions with Magic Butter Machines and Pandas.
I am wondering if anyone can help me with a few questions.

  1. I currently use a few magic butter machines with 140g of hemp in 750ml coconut/mct oil.
    Can anyone suggest a more scaled solution for coconut/mct oil extraction?

  2. Ideally I would like to move away from this method of extraction and towards ethanol extraction and distillation.
    I can not find any information on standard requirements for non volatile extraction in my state.
    Is C1D2 a federal requirment?
    Is my best bet to contact my local building code agency?
    I really want to start extracting with ethanol in the new facility, but as my lab will be licensed with the department of agriculture I want to make sure I wont run into any trouble.
    Thank you to anyone who can share any insight.

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  1. Not too aware of the magic butter machine, but you could probably perform this extraction in a jacketed reactor w/ heater followed by filtration.
  2. Contact your local fire marshal. Regardless of what they say, C1D2 is going to be a requirement for ethanol extraction as more scrutiny is placed on the industry, so plan for it. Overregulation (i.e. a C1D1 requirement) is also possibility. Getting a prefabbed unit (C1D1 Labs, Podtronix, Flexmod, Hal, etc) is a great option if you are starting from scratch, as you can move it if you ever have move to another location (again).

Do you have a preferred prefab company you like?
Also, could you provide a link for a jacketed reactor with heater?

if I were you, I’d look on eBay for a cheap reactor to start. a reactor is a fairly simple piece of equipment. that being said you can get away with buying a cheap unit. you’ll want a recirculating heater as well.

Something like this?
https://www.amazon.com/lab1st-Jacketed-Chemical-Reactor-Reaction/dp/B07F721FL5/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=5l+jacketed+reactor&qid=1579221187&sr=8-1#customerReviews

https://www.amazon.com/KOLERFLO-Recirculating-Circulating-Heater-System/dp/B07F25CH5R/ref=sr_1_9?keywords=water+recirculator&qid=1579221579&sr=8-9

Not much of a scale up…

“A few” x 750ml vs one 5000ml.

Look at jacketed stainless vessels from the brewing industry. Add an agitator.

20gal would be where I’d go next…may cost you 4x what that 1.5gal glass reactor is going for.

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This is a very fair point. Probably smarter to go for a truly scaled unit the first time around. At this point, I’m just trying to make sure I understand the process. I cant really find any use videos, everything on youtube is install videos. Ive heard people say that you need a lift reactor to do solid-liquid extractions. But Im not sure if this is a valid concern.
If I understand correctly, the water heater circulating pump connects to the port on the side of the reactor vessel, still not sure how temp is controlled.
Then coconut/mct oil and hemp biomass go in main chamber. Agitator rod is controlled by main display panel?
Please let me know if I am connecting the dots.
https://shop.scisolinc.com/products/ai-20l-single-dual-jacketed-glass-reactor

Is that not overkill? I mean, I’d love to have one but you could save about 5,800$ or more by using a pot, spoon, stovetop and thermometer, am I right?
What’s the magic butter machine, is it pressurized? Automatic stirring?

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even a used fast food fryer seems like an upgrade.

a NEW one can be had for less than a magic butter machine…

makes finding operators trivial. :wink:

Use one of these to avoid making cannafritters

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07VMQRX6Y/

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Thank you!
Definitely getting one of these!

Any suggestion for an agitator? The main reason I use the Magic Butter vs a crock pot is the propeller.
Maybe one of these?
https://www.amazon.com/Auxcuiso-Immersion-Powerful-Attachment-Included/dp/B07G9VKGX5/ref=sr_1_10?crid=390O6BI68O4F6&keywords=immersion+hand+mixer&qid=1579392437&sprefix=immersion+h%2Caps%2C185&sr=8-10

I imagine you’d want to keep it simple and just stir it with a spoon occasionally

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And I was gonna suggest

https://www.amazon.com/Digital-Powerful-Stirrer-2000RPM-10000mPas/dp/B01IXXSWLE

They are awesome for decarb

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Actually I own one of these already that I haven’t been using the last few months. Perfect.
But my thought was fryer and lab stirrer extraction.
Then filter in panda. Pour extract into into beaker and decarb on a hotplate.

That stirrer, a 5gal stainless “bucket” and an induction burner makes a great decarb setup.

In your case the decarb and extraction could easily be performed in the same apparatus.

Would you suggest skipping the fryer and getting something like this to use under a hotplate and with stirrer for extraction, panda, then decarb?
Or use the fryer and stirrer for the same process?

How hot and how long do you run your extractions in the Magic Butter thingy?

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1 hour at 160f