We have seen these mystery crystals twice now. A brief overview of the process:
-50C extraction of Fresh frozen flower that when cured is normally about 18%THCA 2%CBGA and no CBD or other cannabinoids.
70/30 butane/propane
Ran through our CRC with only W1 powder.
Left the extract extremely solvent heavy, and emptied into a large beaker until we were ready to pour it into another container to make sugar/diamonds.
After pouring it out of this container, we see these crystals at the bottom. The solvent heavy mixture had been sitting out for around about 4 hours before changing containers.
These crystals were at the bottom of the initial container. They are not water. I would not have thought there would be a high enough concentration of any cannabinoids at that point to grow any crystals as the solvent was so heavy.
Any body experience anything like this? I can only think that it might be THCA, but that seems a little unusual to me.
I’ve had crystals this shape show up in our rotovap ball before and I noticed they’re not very soluble in heptane. Given the discussion about solubility of CBG in hep/hex I suspect that might be the culprit. Preface: could be talking out my ass here.
@mj_martini. What you make of this ?
Think you have seen plenty cbg / cbg-a crystelizing
I personally think it s none of the above
The shards do not resemble any morphology that are familiar to cannabinoids but
It s very possible I am wrong
I have similar results in my collection pot if it chills if i let the water bath get super cold and freeze as the solvent reduces to the perfect saturation . I haven’t tried any FF flowers only dry trim . Your solution is extremely pure and that’s why this is happening imo .
We ran across the same crystals today, and much more of them, on Monday we will scrape them off and send it out for testing. Stay tuned! These solutions that the crystals are growing in are probably about 60% butane when the pics were taken. just FYI
Could these be forming under pressure in your collection before the pour off? I sometimes see ‘wall’ diamonds forming like a geode on the collection if i am running a lot of the same material over the course of a day or two. The little spatters from passing over a column to collection always hits the top portion of the jacketed column, and cycles up and down with pressure and heat. Usually it leaves a ring of crystal clear diamonds. I’ll try and find a picture for reference.
All of these crystals have formed on the inside of a beaker that we poured a very butane heavy solution into. As the butane levels began to drop, we started to see these pretty immediately. They began forming when the solution was still more than 60%butane.
gotta be cannabinoids. CBGa and THCa… might take a while to gather enough for a test, but I am definitely curious as to what it is, so if ya test it, please let us know!
When things are cold and saturated in a hydrocarbon that has undergone a properly cold extraction on fresh material after having gone through an acidic media you can start spontaneously Crystalizing. The combination of these factors creates higher saturation at the same concentrations (ie less solubility)
Fenchol crystals have a very high aspect ratio, they actually look more like long splinters at about 98%+ purity. I realize this was just an example of many possible terpene alcohols but I think it’s more likely cannabinoids. Some oxygenated terpenes look more like that but I’ve never heard of them form like that on their own in butane. Caryophyllene oxide is in all cannabis so we’d see it a lot more if it was that.
2% CBG makes me agree with whoever suggested CBG. I’ve seen CBG form similar crystals on its own when it’s just a trace cannabinoid. Maybe swish around a bit of solvent and collect a sample to test? Does the color change when you leave them in open air?
Maybe you accidentally created a new way to convert a new cannabinoid.
is in place
