Problems with distillation

Hash and Stuff Distillation
,
1

Hi all, over the past couple weeks we have sent out non-detect material (LOQ < 0.02%) to be distilled for aesthetic purposes (color and consistency improvements). While we have used several different distillers, our material has come back between 0.1% and up to 2.0% THC. We are trying to find the reason as to why this is occurring. Because of the low yield loss (< 5%), we are assuming a conversion is occurring.

A few additional details:

  • Very slight solvent (methanol and water) remains in the material being distilled
  • Kept it under 190 C degrees all the time
  • Pressure between 50-70 micron
  • Residency time between 6-10 hours

Any help or guidance from the community is appreciated. Thanks!

2

If you’re concentrating a solution the percentage of the solution that is rich in one of the concentrated elements increases.

I.E. your total mass decreases but the relative mass of thc to the whole distillate increases

1 Like
3

Correct me if I am wrong, but a starting THC concentration of under 0.02% and a yield loss of under 5% should not result in such an increase in THC. Its too big of increment from our math.

4

Your taking crude to distillate and only getting 5% loss? And there’s water and methanol in your material when it comes back?

Neither of those things should ever be happening. Normal loss is 15-30% and there should never ever be ANY residual solvent never the less water In the material

1 Like
5

Hi @Siosis sorry this was confusing. We receive remediated distillate with a dark color and residual solvent, and we send it off for distillation for color and clarity improvement. The material is tested before sending it to distillation and after. The THC potency increases from below 0.02% to the mentioned range of 0.1 - 2.0%.

We are trying to figure if we should keep using a post processing distillation process to get the color and clarity improvement results? If so, is there something else we can ask our distillation guys to change to lower the chance of conversion?

Is there any other recommendations about how to improve the color and clarity without having it distilled? Like a color remediation service or process?

6

Get a new remediatior. Your saying the thc stripping is what is darkening it? Or you make dark disti and want to clean it up?

7

@Siosis we have dark disti and want to clean it up

8

So that’s mainly a fuck up on distillation. You should be able to make nice disti from rly any starting material.

Now you can do a color remediation scrub using bleaching clays and carbon and what not. Or go colder on your crude extraction and filter better.

So If tour making it yourself I’d look at your process. I’d someone else is I’d get a new processor.

Thc or hemp?

1 Like
9

Hemp.

10

image
image3024×4032 2 MB
I haven’t seen this before in thc distillate any ideas? Fats, essential oils like neem or vac grease were my initial thoughts, anyone seen this before.?

1 Like
11

Neem would turn extracts black.

It looks like vac grease

2 Likes