For what its worth, I ran a 2x5L IES (Hydraulic not Pnuematic Pump) and could never get the chiller or expansion temps to remain consistent throughout a run. I would have some runs with no ice build up and some runs with tons of build up after purging of Co2 (at the ‘same’ parameters)…lots of oil carryover into the accumulator as well. We ended up going through more than a few faulty pumps etc…but I could never get the setpoints to stay where they should after extensive trouble shooting.
We also get oil carry over to the accumulator. Have not had trouble with too much ice now that we changed our parameters. it is difficult now to get the chiller to get cold since the room temp is so hot but Co2 is still in liquid state.
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Glad to hear that the parameter change solved some of the ice build up issues. Chiller was never great but always was close enough…hope that improves for you! As long as it is still in a liquid state shouldnt matter too much
@Backwoodstech How long do you think for 3lbs on an apeks 5L, for the sub critical run @ 1250psi extractor pressure and 75⁰F chiller temp?
So Itis really important for us with our business model to pull as much cbd or thc as possible all while producing terpene rich oil with minimal maxes. We are mainly processing down to distillate. With our machine I have to run 4-6hr /lb and get around 80% of the projected cbd or thc in the biomass.
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What parameters do you recommend to make crumble with CO2?
@clearballerpr @extractartist I also run an Apeks, 20Lx20L 2,000 PSI max, have you had any luck with finding parameters for making crumble/shatter or just parameters to run non decarb material for THCa extracts?
Hello, I was wondering if you could point me in the right direction on how to determine what temperature and pressure to set my separation vessels at to fraction out waxes/cannabinoids/terpenes. Is this generally achieved through trial and error, or is there a chart somewhere showing what compounds will fall out of solution at a certain CO2 density?
Side question: Would turning the heat up in the separators (70C) after extracting to help with collection affect the quality of the cannabinoid fraction in any way?
Are you using straight co2 or are you injecting a cosolvent as well? If a cosolvent, target collecting that in the first separator, in which case the first separator should be nearly at the extraction vessel pressure and temp, just providing a reservoir for the cosolvent to collect via gravity.
Generally speaking, it wi take many r and d runs to fine tune your rig.
From upstream to downstream your separators should step down from high to low pressure, for efficiency’s sake. Temperature should be adjusted based on what you’re trying to condense in that particular separator. Hint: use the compounds collected in the next downstream separator as a limit for the temperature setting.
For example, compound A drops out at P1 T1, Compound B drops out at P1 T1-20*.
Set the temp in separator A at T1-15* or T1-10* so and the temp in separator B at T1-40*. This will help with fully condensing A in one collector and condensing B in another while minimizing overlap.
People keep their separator settings pretty close to their chest, but there’s a lot of scientific data about the solubility of certain compounds or groups of compounds for extraction at certain pressure/temp combinations. Working from High P to Low P, stack them in order and that should give you reasonable starting points.
Its helpful to work backwards from the downstream most point of your system (last separator or vent) at room temp ambient pressure. Temp in the last separator should be above the condensing temp for co2 so that clean co2 gas exits the vent port and will keep liquid co2 out of the separator. Adjust the settings on the separator just upstream until you find a desired breakpoint, then move to the next upstream separator and repeat. Once you’ve mapped out the breakpoints, between ambient conditions and your operating conditions, from those breakpoints choose strategic ones to group certain compounds together based on the amount of separators you have.
A lot of times i see videos emptying collectors mid run with a valve open to ambient pressure. Opening that valve to empty the collection vessel usually lets all the pressure out of that cv as well, at which point all the suspended compounds condense, negating any fractionation effort. Rather than using a valve, get larger collection vessels and empty between runs.
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