T5, T41, and Crystal Resistance

Where about are you?

Haha i haven’t heard those brought up in a few years. I used to run DSC and TGA every day when i was in plastics. I was actually hoping to get some runs done with cbd soon.

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Hah! Me too, @MagisterChemist and @NoHeatNoVacuum! Glass transition temperatures of polymers on DSC are pretty fun, and I always enjoyed doing TGA on my clay samples to find different calcining temperatures!

To a point, @ScoobyDoobie , acids and bases can dissociate (ionize) in small alcohol solutions, but this is usually due to the presence of water in the solution. When water is not present, those small alcohols can actually turn into different molecules in the presence of strong enough acids or bases, especially with other solutes like cannabinoids, their acids, and terpene/terpenoids present, and you really don’t want to start reactions happening unintentionally!

@Kingofthekush420 , If you read my first (admittedly probably TLDR) blurb, you can see why such a thing as “latent pH” shifting can occur, like in your example of magsil. You must realize that magsil, silica, alumina, and aluminosilicates (traditional clays) can all do one or more of the following:
A. aDsorb water
B. aBsorb water
C. contain previously intercalated water that was not removed by calcination
D. form crystalline or amorphous hydrates
Once you understand the nature of all these oxides and their water loving chemistry, you will begin to see exactly how the latent pH of your resin might change.
It is also important to recognize that other thing I mentioned about functional group polarity and interactions, even without the presence of water.

@NoHeatNoVacuum mentioned protonation/deprotonation in non-polar solutions, and said that was the “idea of pH” for them… he is correct that those things can happen in non-polar solutions in the absence of water (after all, isomerization is an example of that)… but this type of occurrence happens through very short-lived intermediate compounds like carbocations, and it does NOT emulate pH in that it does not persist in the solution as any sort of measurable degree of ionization/dissociation. It is a reaction mechanism rather than a state.

@StoneD, yes, it sounds like you filtered the oarticles out sufficiently, and therefore got a solution that took an extra long time to nucleate. That is good, because it means fewer impurities, and you can speed up nucleation (or bypass it, rather) by seeding such clean solutions with a THCa crystal. That is the opposite situation as when particles escape and autobuddering (aka nucleated af) happens all over them! I am not dissing @Killa12345 or anyone’s filter game, and autobuddering can certainly happen for other reasons. However, when a CRC seems to be the only variable between “to budder or not to budder”, then particle escape is a very likely culprit and it can be confirmed or ruled out, easily! :wink:

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In the center of the the country surrounded by it, waiting for our turn in the next year or two. Just consulting out of state right now. We have consulted in all but one of the surrounding states and a few times in the NE.

The DSC is just so precise with temp and energy and non destructive. You can analyze the sample after running it. The TGA will give you all sorts of realistic information about the heated compounds. Run it in air and feed the gas into a GC-MS. Beat pharma to that step and open source it. That’s what I see as the most important thing right now.

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@Photon_noir DMA is my favorite technique for polymers… so much info can be had from a run beyond Tg! DSC is cool too though!

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I can get you, and anyone else, NMR time. I just need 100 mg samples mailed to me and payment for the NMR time.

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I did a cold ethanol extraction using -80 freezer and liquid nitrogen to help get things very cold. After the extraction the pH of my oleoresin solution is low, about 5.5 prior to using any filter media. How can i raise the pH to help aide with crystalization? is a neutral pH best for crystallization?

If you read above were talking about a lower ph to speed up crystallization

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thanks for clarifying, I misunderstood what was being said above. So good to know low pH is good fro crystallization.

I would also check the pH of your pure ethanol before you extract with it. That way you can see if you are pulling something from the plant that is acidic, and will give you another data point to compare to after filtration.

Ethanol is kinda weird when trying to measure its pH, depending on what method you use, you can get values from 3-7, but as long as you know what your pure ethanol starting pH is, you can determine if you made your solution more acidic or not.

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Using the brand Hydrion pH test strips. The 190 proof ethanol tests at 5.5 . So it’s not that much different than post extraction pH.

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I’m just trying to pin point why sometimes I can make ETOH crumble or shatter no problem, and then other times the crumble wont crystlize or the shatter comes out tacky. I thought that it may have been due to the t5 that i’m using, possibly making the solution more acidic, but as you said low pH increases crystallization.

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Interesting, i have been having ph ideas also. Is the acidity of crystalization just an etho thing or would it also apply to hydrocarbon extractions also

It applies in any solvent, I’ve noticed t5 makes it harder to crystallize which is why I made this post. T41 makes crystallization easier because it acidic

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In my experience, the bigger culprit is the amount of terpenes in the extract. If your shatter is tacky, then it is either too decarbed, or there are lots of terps in it. How are you trying to get your crumble to crystallize? are you using the pull and stretch method?

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T5 is neutral, I’ve noticed it can raise your ph when enough is used

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It’s hard for me to pinpoint the variable because I’m constantly using different strains, and I dont have control over which strain i get or how fresh or old the plant material may be.

I use T5 to absorb the presummed ash that precipitates from the AC. when i dont use t5, the extract is cloudy. Do you think the T41 will have the same effect as the t5 in absorbing the ash?

Where are you sourcing your t41?