Hey guys, I’m managing a 50L extraction machine for a company that uses R134a as the solvent (I know, weird choice, I wasn’t around when they chose to buy this unit). The product I’m getting is very, very rich in terpenes, I’m waiting on some COAs any day now. The company is vertically integrated and I’ve been processing flower and trim from the farm.
Right now we don’t have any downstream processing equipment - the crude extract from this unit is adequate to go directly to cartridges so the owners have been fixated on making carts, even though that market is completely crashed in my state.
Excuse my ignorance, but can anyone fill me in on the strategies used to turn a solvent free crude into dabbable products? is this even possible? what equipment would be required? I could sell the owners on buying a rotovap, vac oven, short path, etc. if it would allow us to make more products than just cartridges.
I wish they had just bought a BHO system instead, lol.
Whatever do you mean? So if you cook the terps away before extracting them you can’t have an HTE? It must be the compressor lubrication adding that skunky pine smell!
Yes, I’m working on obtaining cascade ovens for decarbing. the only advantage is a 10-30 percent yield increase, but it’s absolutely not a requirement to decarb. Also, if done incorrectly, you just lose all the terps which is supposed to be the advantage of this solvent.
viscosity, smell, and flavor are the reasons I belive in the high terp content. I’ve seen COAs from other similar R134 units that suggest the same. It is speculation at this point, I’ll have analytical data in a couple days.