I would really appriciate some feedback on my closed loop design. Im trying to build an efficient extractor. Here is some info:
I will be running 2 tubes at once. I will have 2 solvent tanks, with 2 6x48 jacketed material columns. Which can hold around 7-10 lbs each , depending if its trim or nugs.
They will drain into collection pot that can hold around 120lbs of butane. Which will have a recovery port, the tubes will aswell so i can recover any residual vapor. Once the collection pot is full, i will close the valves and turn off the pump.
I will be running cryo temps and I heard that the medias work better when the solvent is warm. So i can warm the jacketed collection pot to desired temp.
I will have a 1/2" drain port on the bottom of the first collection pot. Then i will slowly open the valves to my 2 crcs (as pictured). Im still not sure if i should have 2 6" crcs or 2 4", please tell me what you think. I already have 1 4" column with a 5 micron indofab and a 1 micron nboler.
I will have a nitrogen port on the first collection pot so i can add some pressure from the top to speed up the flow. Which will then go through the crcs and into the second fully jacketed collection pot.
Tell me what you think of my design and please give me some feedback on what i can do better or if you think this is a good plan.
I would keep the crc columns seperate individual feed and exit lines with sight glass on exit side
So that when color starts coming treu you can pull out and refresh media
Or isolate it s use
Oeeff. Ok what solvent ratio are you gooing to use i have 55 liter biomass
tank with a 6" filter plate with B80
And i open the valve competly
gooing to a 150 liter receiving tank
There the solvent is pushes treu 2 x3"x24" crc columns with b80
By having all my solvent 1:10
In the receiving tank i can start eevacuating my biomass tank and proceed
also about the crc’s —- i would get 1 crc before the first collection then 1 after. 2 6” crc’s depending on spool size i think is overkill for 2 columns imo. if the color isnt displayed as satisfactory after going through crc #1 into collection pot #1…you can hit it again while going through collection #2. if it is then you can just bypass the 2nd crc by installing some kind of valve.
this is in a setup where you are going to be stacking your runs and doing color quality control with 2 honey pots.
the thing about running 2 crcs at 1 time…if 1 channels then arent you kinda screwed…maybe im not packing my stuff right —- sometimes my crc pack channels.
Thats a another thing im wondering about. I see most people have there mol sieve vertical, and thats the way i have been running but is there any downsides to having it horizontally ?
The reason why i want to have the 2 crcs like in the design is because i want to be able to do runs faster and do multiple runs on the same filters. Right now i just have 1 6x48 column going into a 4" crc and it slows me down quite a bit.
Also i lose more solvent with the way my setup is right now because the solvent sits in the material for longer.
Thats why I designed this system like that so i can run 2 tubes into the first collection pot like a normal run without crc. Then i can also use one of my pumps to recover the rest of the solvent in the material columns. Once the first collection pot is full i can use nitrogen from the top to push the solvent through the crcs faster.
I think with this design i should be able to run 30-50lbs a day if i can do 3 runs on the same filters. Thats why im thinking of getting two 6" crcs.
I will most likely need the first collection pot to be bigger as well because i will be doing 10 to 1 solvent to material. I have noticed lower yield if i dont use enough solvent. Another thing i always experience is that i get a way higher yield on the second run on the same filter, even when i use 10 to 1
Having it horizontal in my opinion works yust a slight inclination to make sure there can not
be a void space on the top inside the tube
For everything likes the path of least resistance
What diameter hose do you run ?
Wetting crc powders with clean solvent
Has helpen me with the losses
This is dependent on how the compound to be adsorbed interacts with the adsorption sites in your media. If the mechanism of adsorption is exothermic then colder temperatures are beneficial to the adsorption process. If the adsorption is endothermic then higher temps will be beneficial.
Physisorption is typically exothermic. Chemisorption can vary.
Interesting, do you inject solvent into your Crc after you’ve collected your run? If not than I think the reason for a bigger yield on that second one is because it’s pulling out the oil that’s saturated on the clay or Crc mix. If you run another 12-15lbs or so after you’ve collected your first run you’ll notice you’ll get more oil out of the crc clay/mix.
That’s exactly what I’m trying to figure out too, this is how I reconfigured ours the other day! Ignore the 90000 filter plates, we now have a 6x12 spool. Instead. This was the first edition… I realized I wanted/ needed a way to switch to the other honey pot if I saw the color change… so I could keep recovering / get everything out of the crc to change it… I call one the “dirty honey pot” and the other the “clean honey pot” and I also added a hose from the dip tube back to the dirty just Incase I wanted to run it again. So I keep collecting until I have the dirty 80% full, build some pressure and then just barely crack the crc lines into the clean and let it do its thing… I still haven’t been able to run a whole honey pot on one crc, so I’m trying to figure out what I need more of and what I can live with out.
Edit: had to change it up, needed to put a pressure regulator for safety and a couple other components for compliance I’ll let you know when it’s finalized… having it made now.
i used the same setup as you (2 6x48), 1 crc, 1 honey pot on mvp and was able to get 30-50 lbs done. how tall will your crc spool be? i have a 9”…and i think its overkill. i only use half the spool (i have a way of keeping the cake down). i am able to run 2 columns through it and get a nice gold color. i do this bc i noticed the same thing as you guys — 2nd run through the crc yields a lot more.
having a 2nd crc i feel wont really speed things up too much, you are still going to have to pack the same amount of crcs. but i guess it will make it easier on you between runs.
to clarify, my theory is that if the crc cake is too thick, the amount of solvent needed to grab all of the thc will be alot more, in turn you are recovering a lot more solvent prolonging the run — adding a port and injecting tane is a great idea.
I have done these things also and noticed the same results. The second run is a larger yield every time but it is darker than the first. I have a plenum where I can inject clean butane into the crcbegore and after a run. I don’t niti6sny help with the yield by running clean solvent before the run. When I flush the CRC after a run is collected all I get is nasty sludge. 6 by 12in CRC. 6 by 48in column. 5 or 6 to 1 material to solvent running 100g powder per lb biomass. Either b80 or perform 6000. Sometimes as much as 200g per lb of bio if it’s known dark material but then I get terpene isomerization unfortunately. It has a mint flavor from terpenes converting to limonene.
I know it’s an old thread but any thoughts about any of this?
