Question on How To Properly Decarb Crude

did you catch that the patent is expired?

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I have done some digging through the site archives on the subject and am quite interested in the following process, perhaps someone here has performed the experiment with success?

It looks to be fairly straightforward to push the fats and waxes away from your cannabinoids using alkali salts and an alcohol/water blend such as is detailed in the method found in the following post, itā€™s as simple as skimming the undesirables off and correcting the ph:

The referenced patent goes into great detail and has been updated since then and can be found here:

Itā€™s ingenious, but any decarbed cannabinoids might be lost with the waxes as they wonā€™t complex with the salts.

The decarb process is also very interesting but I am more interested in the initial dewaxing step as it seems very efficient to be able to skip winterization during the extraction phase.

Thoughts?

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Before I worked with hemp and cannabis I was focused on tree resin extractions centering on boswellic acids- frankincense.

Many of the patents on boswellic acid isolation use similar techniques to complex the acids with aqueous alkali salts and then flip them back Into an organic layer after filtration using an acid.

I initially used a similar technique to extract hemp but abandoned it as I found that I was losing cannabinoids with the waxes- now that I think about it the material was pretty old and probably had partially decarbed.

@CARTO.GRAPHER When I read the thread you linked to last May I completely skimmed over and skipped the initial dewax step and was focused on the thc removal/selective decarb- I never got around to trying it out though and forgot about it for a few months until I relearned it by accident a few months back, running some undecarbed oil through an alumina column- it started steaming and hissing as it released co2.

This totally clicks now- super cool- thanks for sharing!

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Prv prv prv

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A PRV for PV=nRT is PERVERTED! :stuck_out_tongue:

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Does that stirrer have an explosion proof motor? Iā€™ve been considering this method (stainless pot on an induction heat plate w/ overhead stirrer), but figured Iā€™d need to find a stirrer with an explosion proof motor given the solvent fumes that evolve during decarb.Then got looking at pneumatic mixers, and am now lost in a rabbit hole. (sorry if this was asked and answered already - Iā€™m still reading thru the thread)

the majority of solvent has (should have) been recovered at this point.
AtEx rated motor should not be a requirement.

Running under an exhaust hood is advised, more for odor control that fire safetyā€¦

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Thatā€™s reassuring coming from you. I get the impression that you take safety very seriously. Are you still decarbing by this method? Any downsides aside from potential oxidation from running the reaction in atmosphere? Is the muffin easily controllable? It looks like, between the first and second picture, the volume expansion is pretty significant. Do you find that a container double the volume of the oil is large enough to prevent spill over? Thanks!

this particular setup is not mine. I visit the lab on a regular basis, and asked if I could share these pictures. I have seen evidence that occasionally they do over flow. Seems fairly rare.

maybe @PRSPCT can address how often theyā€™ve seen issues.

Iā€™ve heard that before. being labeled the most safety conscious one in the room always takes me by surpriseā€¦and usually gets raucous laughter from at least one participant.

but yeah, I do try :wink:

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Heating mantel, reflux condenser, and a chiller. Decarb and save the terps. I usually leave the top uncovered so that my residual EtOH can escape.

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We hardly ever get an over boil, with enough agitation the vortex of product keeps the offgassing managed. If you donā€™t have enough product or too high of a speed youā€™ll get some splattering. But this has worked great for us.

We do this before SPD so that we can jump straight to terp stripping and from there we only see about 6% remaining etho. Helps us manage large batches without swapping glass as often.

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Use an air driven stirrer

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Yeah, Iā€™ve been looking at those pneumatic paint mixers too.

Isnt all of the solvent supposed to be removed in the rotovap anyways before SPD? or do you just let your CT catch the ethanol? what if the solv used is hexane or heptane?

ā€œAllā€ is a tricky concept.

As is ā€œsupposed to beā€ with as many ways of skinning this cat as there are.

If you donā€™t decarb in your rotovap, there will still be solvent released whenEver/wherever you do do your decarb. And also If you do. Only less.

If you donā€™t decarb under vacuum, your heads and cold trap will contain more solvent than if you had.

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Do you think you could use propylene glycol as your heat transfer fliud instead of duratherm s? I have a 55 gal drum and just dont want to waste money if i dont need to.

Not recommended in an open bath

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Thanks for your quick response. Im assuming it must evap something harmful off then?

No idea never tried it but i wouldnā€™t take the chance.

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Quick question to something i saw mentioned but couldnā€™t find a follow up-

After being BHO processed, dilute 10:1 200%, we do a room temp pass, 3x winterized passed -80C, decarb at 248f for 45m, 304f 15m while maintaining a hard vac till bubbles cease.

Where the issue occurs is then pouring into the SPD around 120f - 140f the crude oil acts quite volatile and wants to spit up through the condenser. It doesnā€™t happen every time but enough that it has been wanting to find an answer.

Ty

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