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Extraction Pr0n - The Terpenator Essential Oil Extractor


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Read more here: http://skunkpharmresearch.com/projects/

 

This thing is wild.

 

Our main project and the one closest to completion is our volatile gas (butane) essential oil extraction apparatus. This project started when we realized how expensive large quantities of butane are and how environmentally damaging it is to volatilize that butane into the atmosphere. We began to think of a passive recovery device that anyone could DIY with a little help from a local machine shop.

While that was in the brainstorming phase we learned of a DIY active recovery unit designed and built by FOAF, that made use of a refrigerant recovery pump.

 

.....................................

 

After increasing our systems bottom heat and adding column heat in the final recovery, we have noted little loss of performance on the new rebuild.

We were also able to cut the process time in about half, by having our collection pot sitting in boiling water, while we kept our butane recovery and storage vessel in an ice bath.

Presently the test sled is running ten flood and soak cycles over a 30 minute period, using about 10 column volumes of butane, with full recovery in about 15 minutes. The unit has extracted in excess of 25% essential oil extract Absolute by weight, and averages in excess of 20%. A full cycle has a sample floor to floor time of 45 minutes.

 

With the 24″ column in place, it holds about 240 grams of material, which provides an average production rate of about 80 grams per hour plus raw essential oil extract.

 

..................................

 

 

butane-extraction-and-reclaim-system-dia-1.jpg?w=570&h=385

 

extraction-system-11.jpg?w=278&h=300

 

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I like the machine i have, http://i44.tinypic.com/ei5l4l.jpg

Is that a stainless steel version of the Thai Power iso2? I'll be getting the yellow one in a few days, just in time to figure it out before I harvest. :) What do you use in yours, chemical wise. The one I am getting doesn't have directions, read about it on the net but wouldn't mind some pointers directly from someone who owns one. The one you have is a beauty. One of these days when I win the lottery I would love to own this one http://tamisiumextractors.com/images/stories/large/te700.jpg
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the tamisim is where I started. after researching the parts they use I couldn't make myself pay that much for crap. namely their quick connects and especially their cheap needle valves. maybe THEY are special but I couldn't source those valves with the proper seals. they ALL use food-grade seals. no good for solvents or oils.

 

I was able to get rid of all those valves by using quick connects that have a 4000psi valve built into each end, built for high pressure commercial carpet cleaners. safe for all solvents

 

 

I'm still missing the bottom collection vessel, a vacuum pump and a lab-grade hot plate

 

when I FINELY get it done I'll make up a complete post on all the pieces and how it works. for now here's a couple pic's!!

 

the med chamber is 2.5" x 18"

 

 

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/longhairBri/2012-05-23_15-37-19_689.jpg

 

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/longhairBri/2012-05-23_15-37-46_912.jpg

 

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r200/longhairBri/photobucket-3854-1337298343693.jpg

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the tamisim is where I started. after researching the parts they use I couldn't make myself pay that much for crap. namely their quick connects and especially their cheap needle valves. maybe THEY are special but I couldn't source those valves with the proper seals. they ALL use food-grade seals. no good for solvents or oils.

 

I was able to get rid of all those valves by using quick connects that have a 4000psi valve built into each end, built for high pressure commercial carpet cleaners. safe for all solvents

 

 

I'm still missing the bottom collection vessel, a vacuum pump and a lab-grade hot plate

 

when I FINELY get it done I'll make up a complete post on all the pieces and how it works. for now here's a couple pic's!!

 

the med chamber is 2.5" x 18"

 

 

http://i144.photobuc...5-37-19_689.jpg

 

http://i144.photobuc...5-37-46_912.jpg

 

http://i144.photobuc...37298343693.jpg

That is beautiful, you do good work! How long did it take you to make this, truly it is stunning.

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the tamisim is where I started. after researching the parts they use I couldn't make myself pay that much for crap. namely their quick connects and especially their cheap needle valves. maybe THEY are special but I couldn't source those valves with the proper seals. they ALL use food-grade seals. no good for solvents or oils.

 

I was able to get rid of all those valves by using quick connects that have a 4000psi valve built into each end, built for high pressure commercial carpet cleaners. safe for all solvents

 

 

I'm still missing the bottom collection vessel, a vacuum pump and a lab-grade hot plate

 

when I FINELY get it done I'll make up a complete post on all the pieces and how it works. for now here's a couple pic's!!

 

the med chamber is 2.5" x 18"

 

 

http://i144.photobuc...5-37-19_689.jpg

 

http://i144.photobuc...5-37-46_912.jpg

 

http://i144.photobuc...37298343693.jpg

 

Nice man! Let me know if you need any fittings or tubing for that. I have all kinds of Tri-clamps plus I got a great S.S. Tube fitter. GL!

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the tamisim is where I started. after researching the parts they use I couldn't make myself pay that much for crap. namely their quick connects and especially their cheap needle valves. maybe THEY are special but I couldn't source those valves with the proper seals. they ALL use food-grade seals. no good for solvents or oils.

 

I was able to get rid of all those valves by using quick connects that have a 4000psi valve built into each end, built for high pressure commercial carpet cleaners. safe for all solvents

 

 

I'm still missing the bottom collection vessel, a vacuum pump and a lab-grade hot plate

 

when I FINELY get it done I'll make up a complete post on all the pieces and how it works. for now here's a couple pic's!!

 

the med chamber is 2.5" x 18"

 

 

http://i144.photobuc...5-37-19_689.jpg

 

http://i144.photobuc...5-37-46_912.jpg

 

http://i144.photobuc...37298343693.jpg

 

Beautiful! lookiing forward to seein it finished!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did some research on this subject and I felt called to build a Michigan modified version of the Terpenator, so...

 

Here it is:

 

2012-06-19_23-06-01_735.jpg

 

2012-06-19_23-09-50_352.jpg

 

 

The column assembly is modular so we can extract anywhere from 2.5 to 15 ounces of material at a time. The process vessel, all fittings and tubing are 304 or 316 stainless steel, all seals are either PTFE or Buna. We used 1.5" sanitary spools for the column, a painter's pressure pot for the vessel, and convoluted all stainless steel hoses for the recovery/injection manifold. The system is protected from over-pressure by a small pressure relief valve. The only things I am waiting on is a heat source for our process vessel, which should be in this week, and butane because airgas takes FOREVER.

 

We plan on working out the bugs and getting it up and running by next week sometime. We're very excited about this!

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I did some research on this subject and I felt called to build a Michigan modified version of the Terpenator, so...

 

Here it is:

 

2012-06-19_23-06-01_735.jpg

 

2012-06-19_23-09-50_352.jpg

 

 

The column assembly is modular so we can extract anywhere from 2.5 to 15 ounces of material at a time. The process vessel, all fittings and tubing are 304 or 316 stainless steel, all seals are either PTFE or Buna. We used 1.5" sanitary spools for the column, a painter's pressure pot for the vessel, and convoluted all stainless steel hoses for the recovery/injection manifold. The system is protected from over-pressure by a small pressure relief valve. The only things I am waiting on is a heat source for our process vessel, which should be in this week, and butane because airgas takes FOREVER.

 

We plan on working out the bugs and getting it up and running by next week sometime. We're very excited about this!

That is something else! Very cool indeed

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  • 3 weeks later...

Cristinew, it's definitely not something for your average caregiver or patient for sure. I had to sell my first born into bondage to finance the project, lol.

 

After quite a few runs of trim material to shakedown the process, we have our extractor up and running. So far we've been able to achieve an average of 2+ grams/ounce (7-8% return by weight) of Absolute Amber from trim (tiny buds, sugar leaves, fan leaves). The original designer of our system is claiming 25%+ return by weight of Absolute Amber using top notch bud material. We have not run buds yet, but we are waiting on pins and needles for our next harvest. If anyone is in our area and is willing to be our guinea pig and let us make a run on some of their buds, we'd be happy to work out a sweet deal with you. We can process as little as 2.5 ounces or as much as 15 ounces at a time. If we used 2.5 oz of top notch quality bud, and achieved 25% return by weight, we should end up with about 18 grams of AA.

 

The flavor is definitely not as prominent with trim as it is with buds, it's more of a general hashy flavor, but the potency is definitley there. We're seeing total cannabinoid levels up around the 80% range. We're also working on a formulation that will allow us to add back some flavor to trim oils using food grade terpenes, so there isn't a need to sacrifice good buds to the oil gods, unless you want to. :)

 

This is a photo of approx 36 grams of Raw BHO from 15 ounces of trim. We ended up with about 33 grams of Absolute Amber after winterization:

 

2012-07-06_13-21-40_662.jpg

 

The leftover 'duff' material post extraction was very dry and powdery, and tested at less than 1% total cannabinoids after extraction. We believe this is about as good as it gets without pulling out undesirable compounds into the extract.

 

It takes roughly 45 minutes to get 15 ounces of trim down to 30+ grams of raw BHO oleoresin. Winterization and purging the winterzing solvent off takes about a day, after which you are left with pristine Absolute Amber extract.

 

I know a lot of folks prefer to use bud only,to make RSO due to the vast amount of solvent required. With our system, we can process trim for days without wasting any appreciable amount of solvent, and without sacrificing solvent strength. Good news for those of you wanting to donate trim to a cancer patient but cannot due to the vast amounts of solvent required.

 

Your move, cancer!

 

:drinking-coffee:

Edited by Northern Lab
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nice work Dan.

 

how much did you spent on that freon pump? also. whats the little pump for?

 

Thanks Bri! The yellow pump is a lightly used oil-less Appion G5 (you probably knew that, but I figured I'd be clear) that I scored off ebay for about $400. New they're about $700.

 

The little pump is a 3 cfm 75 micron hard vac pump (~$130 on ebay) we use to vac the vessel down to -29.9" Hg to start the process and to perform the final purge on the oleoresin and the winterized extract. We only turn it on after the rec pump has pulled the vessel back down to -22" Hg, so we lose a tiny bit of butane to atmosphere doing that, but it protects the Appion from heavy wear by running it under deep vacuum. instrument grade n-Butane is still cheaper than a rebuild on the Appion. :)

Edited by Northern Lab
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:startle:

 

 

:bow::goodjob:

 

i will be getting a hold of u Dan as soon as i can find a chance to sneak over your way my friend...i have a couple of friends over your way i have been neglecting.. been so crazy around here... but i will find time soon to get that way...

thanks for all your hard work!

great Job bud!

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:startle:

 

 

:bow::goodjob:

 

i will be getting a hold of u Dan as soon as i can find a chance to sneak over your way my friend...i have a couple of friends over your way i have been neglecting.. been so crazy around here... but i will find time soon to get that way...

thanks for all your hard work!

great Job bud!

 

look forward to seeing you John!

 

 

2r3laiq.jpg

 

100%

decarboxylation

 

ready to eat

 

made with this http://iso2-7.com/ RSO oil we keep on trying,, could be filtered more bring it up to 90 % but this good,

 

That's beautiful stuff for sure!

 

Just goes to show that you can make top notch extract a number of different ways. :thumbsu:

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