Is the 10:1 ethanol to crude a must for winterization? What’s the benefit of that compare to just guessing volume?
What grade filter paper are you using after winterization?
I do 8:1 the less alcohol the more fats get pushed out but it’s harder to filter
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When winterizing I start with a 20 micron filter paper and do a room temp filtration to remove as much fats and lipids as possible before hitting the freezer. I then do a cold filtration with celite as the filter media, this ensure you get anything smaller then a 3 micron out ( 3 micron is the finest filter paper j have)
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I read through and didn’t really see this question answered clearly. Has anyone tried this process with denatured EtOH (5% hexane 95% etoh)? I want to, but I’m wondering if anyone has any first hand experience.
Thanks,
HK
I’m not sure I’d use denatured alcohol after reading the Ethanol Azeotropes thread started by @Photon_noir.
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Agreed. It would be a hastle.
Do you guys think the fine filtration is necessary if the crude is going into a SPD downstream?
I’m wondering if I can get by without the AC/Bentonite scrub, or if it’s necessary to knock out the residual contaminants regardless of the final post-processing.
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If your color is already on then yes you can get away with it
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My general philosophy is that the more compounds you can get out prior to distillation the easier it is to make high testing distillate. But, yes, in theory, you could get away with it.
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I would always do some kind of fine filter to remove the very fine plant matter. A bentonite cake will do the trick, but a glass fritted filter would work too. If you don’t remove the fines, they are going to make cleaning out your boiling flask a PAIN. Spend a little more time in pre processing so you don’t have to spend a day trying to clean muck from your boiling flask
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I read through this read again and maybe I missed it but… I saw a recommended thickness for the AC section of the filter, is there any recommendation of how thick the bentonite section should be in the filter column?
While he doesn’t mention anything beyond cover the bottom and a bit up the side I’ve been playing with it and can tell you personally that anything more than maybe 1/4", or even an 1/8" really, reduces flow rate outrageously. After playing with it for a while I honestly can’t say running thicker has any real advantage. Definitely swap your carbon once you notice it stops working. I separate my carbon from my t5 with a filter paper to help keep separation between layers for somewhat easy changes.
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Well, it would be easier if you started weighing your media. I can say that going from 100g bento 1/8 inch to 400g 1/2 didn’t slow speeds that much, cause I’m doing carbon and bento separate now. The 400g pulls pink compounds and the spent bento is clearly pink. You can increase the speed by using a larger funnel. There is a vid on my insta with 150g bento, 100g celite and 50g t41 DUMPING etho through it. I only crack my valve half open for the vac now which has increased the flow too. When doing the separate carbon I use celite as a base cake to filter through.
@CuriousChemist22
That’s smart the the filter paper separator.
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Can I ask what diameter filter you’re using? mine is 250mm and I want to be able to scale your weight measurements to my filter if you’re seeing good results.
Mine is 240mm, so you should be good
Do you add the dry ingredients to a filter paper base and then rinse with ethanol until clear? or create a slurry then pass that over the filter paper? trying to get an idea of the best way to make the filter puck.
I make individual slurries and pour one at a time. The amount of etho used varies from media to media. I like to over use etho, cause it allows for an even distribution. But it varies from run to run. Lately I’ve been trying to use less, cause I’m running out of etho atm. I think 250g bento in a 2l beaker when filled with etho and bento went up to the 500ml mark. With the carbon I try to use enough etho so there isn’t any black sticking to the walls, it’s normally a 1 to 10 ratio. But you’ll have to play around to see what fits your needs. Again I’m most likely overusing it.
Edit: I’d follow the curiouschemist advice and switch out the carbon as soon as you see amber come through. Save the carbon for washing later.
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I personally don’t even make slurry first. I put in a filter paper, wet it with minimal etho, draw a weak vacuum just to pull my paper down, then I add my measured amount of t5(lately that’s been 100g), spread it, tap the outside edges of the funnel with my spreader, then cover with a filter paper and apply enough etho to wet my bed. I then check the bed for channeling and press the edges one more time before running about 50-100ml of etho through to ensure no more powders are clearing the filter. Then I just add my carbon and one more filter paper and start filtering. The carbon will quickly spread itself evenly across the surface of your filter paper without any need for spreading ahead of time.
I’m always trying to use the least amount of ethanol I can for every step.
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