Pump options for pentane.

Thanks man! Doing the lords work :pray:

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I’ll tell you what i hear back. Of course a situation with half the charts saying the opposite of the other half only gives us the condition of doubt. I’ll do what i can to try and prove this definitively one way or the other.

To me the idea of one alkane in the middle of all the others showing completely different chemical behavior doesn’t pass the smell test (adding to that the absurdity pointes out earlier in the thread, namely that pentane is stored and shipped in steel by it’s own manufacturers) The people on r/chemistry are as confused as we are lol:

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Ive never head of pentane eating anything steel. It certainly dissolves grease, which might contribute to wear if you have pentane contacting some berrings on a moving part - but that situation would be ill-advised from the start.

Also, has no one mentioned a conductive PTFE/PE air operated diaphragm pump yet? They can be grounded (as should be the drum of pentane and the crystallization vessel) and purged with nitrogen pretty easily, the pump rate can be set very low by adjusting the air pressure and they don’t create a strong vacuum suction at the inlet so cavitation/phase change would be as low as possible for a pump suction head pulling pentane. I love these pumps, you can use them for pretty much any chemical transfer.

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Sure but that logic should apply to hexane just as easily as pentane. I can’t think of any reason for a compatibility difference between the two.

I didnt read deep enough to know we were talking about hexane all of the sudden. Yea, functionally equivalent solvents in most ways, mhm.

Edit: oh I see, like 18 days ago something something hexane. Yeah, pentane is not some sort of outlier of the light hydrocarbons…SS is fine

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So what’s the consensus on the best Pentane pump at this point? What about Pentane and crude? We just burned through one rated for Pentane but not Pentane and crude.

I have pentane safe pumps. They are gmp pumps.

I believe I provided a pretty adequate and descriptive answer to this above: conductive PTFE air operated diaphragm pump. It’s about then highest chemical compatibility you’ll find, especially for under $1500. It’s able to be grounded, is C1D1 compatible, and if you wanted to validate a GMP cleaning procedure for it, you probably could. But no one’s ever gonna ask you too, so it’s a moot point.

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Should have been more clear, we have one of those too. And yeah they seem to be the best option for moving large amounts rather quickly. We need a smaller pump for our crc column though. That’s where our pump issue has come up.

Interesting, this is not a closed loop CRC that isnt attached to your extraction device? You load the column with crude and just need sufficient pressure to push through the column? You might want to look into metering pumps, of the piston driven variety. They can provide high pressures, precise volume flowrates, and an even flow rate (because multiple Pistons reciprocate, the pulsation of flow is dampened).

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We extract, dewax, then CRC but run different media depending on the starting material and the end product.

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can’t you just vacuum down the reactor and dispense with the whole pump thing?

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That’s what I ended up doing in the end; inwas overcomplicating it!

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Are you building this “reactor” as a selfcontained cart, or pallet?
The are differences in CLASS1 DIV1 between storage and dispensing
areas. This would be “dispensing”…you have to meet this code.
Depending on the product and whether it is for human consumption,
it may be that USDA may require the process to be contained inside
a suitable building.

No matter what…something akin to a Haskel air drive pump with
Class1Div 1 rating will work. The control system over it is another issue.
they also meet FDA food specs being SS on pump side.
OR:
Take a look at SIXCON milspec 304 SS 900gal fuel resevoirs.
If you have fork lifts they can be stacked to appropriate heigth for
gravity flow. (find an unused one).

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I am in need of an electric pump to recirculate hexane + CBD solution out of my reactor, through a triclamp spool, and back into the reactor. I have used AODDPs but I do not trust them to run for 12+ hrs without stalling due to dirty air. I have looked online and have found different pumps in varying price ranges. I don’t foresee this application requiring >20psi or >10gpm. Anyone have any suggestions?

I found this one from mcmaster for 730$ but it seems overkill.

I have also considered using a magdrive pump but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.

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got you sorted if you’re looking to measure Pentane flow rates… www.aBHOutit.com.

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God damn 5 racks

Small price to pay for accuracy.

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I see $1500 pumps with $730 replacement impellers…

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So Mr. KOTK informed me that the pump that I was looking for is a peristaltic. I am banking on the little bugger I ordered to produce the pressure to get the job done. We shall see. I would love to get your input on suggestions for gear pumps. I have seen videos on YouTube describing their simplicity, and I have also spent 40+hrs (no joke) the past 6 months trying to find something that isn’t greentaxed™️ to hell and back. Do you have any suggestions for a budget minded ( <2k) gear pump that would operate from vac to atm at 1-5L/hr? I have found abs vac rated check valves in 1/4in which should prevent vac leaks, but I don’t know how crucial the tolerances in the pump weighs in to the application. I see 3k psi hydraulic gear pumps all the time but I wonder whether they would work or not.