question for uncle graywolf

[satchmo]

first off thank you so much for sharing all of your tek and knowledge.
for all the interweb's info, wisdom is in short supply.
i have come up with a bit of a "huh/hmm" moment whilst pulling hash.
can naptha reach a saturation point when extracting?
i dont have reclaim ability when boiling off so i was getting bummed at evaping all that solvent off into the air.
so in the interest of efficiency in both cost and pollution, i am trying to figure out how much of a load can the fluid hold?
current way:
1. putting dried and crushed material into a 10k ml pyrex with enough warm solvent to cover.
2. shake for a minute and decant thru filter into warm salt saturated distilled water.
3. shake and allow to separate.
4. pour off appropriate layer.
5. warm till all solvent gone.
6. 99% iso and water wash till clear of petro chem scent.

can i reuse the same solvent on the next wash before evap?
if so how often or what is the load rate?

oh and as always, do you see any way to bring my methods up to at least jr skunk standing?
we ingest 50% and vape the rest.
thank you for your help and direction!

satchmo Reviewed by satchmo on 03-25-2011. question for uncle graywolf first off thank you so much for sharing all of your tek and knowledge. for all the interweb's info, wisdom is in short supply. i have come up with a bit of a "huh/hmm" moment whilst pulling hash. can naptha reach a saturation point when extracting? i dont have reclaim ability when boiling off so i was getting bummed at evaping all that solvent off into the air. so in the interest of efficiency in both cost and pollution, i am trying to figure out how much of a load can the fluid hold? Rating: 5

[Graywolf]

Sorry, just noticed this. I infer I am the avuncular person to whom you speak.

Yes you can re-use the same solvent, but as you imply, it will be less aggressive as it loads up.

Not sure how much it will hold in mg/liter or if that is really the issue. Both the cannabis oil and the naphtha are equally miscible in one another at any ratio, so I'm thinking it will be more of an issue of how long it takes for the weakened solvent to dissolve the remaining material as the concentration of cannabis oil rises.

Naphtha is highly non polar and non water soluble, so I use 3 minutes, but have used up to 12 hours at ambient summer temperatures without loading up on non active water solubles like chlorophyll and plant alkaloids.

You can cascade runs, by soaking material in one batch of naphtha and then after straining through a wire strainer, add fresh naphtha to the first batch of material to glean the remaining cannabinoids rapidly, and add fresh material to the first batch of naphtha to build up its saturation.

I suspect after about the third batch, of fresh material, for all practical purposes the solvent is loaded, because it would no longer be aggressive.

Looks like you have the idea down. If you use a separatory funnel instead of pouring off, it is easier. You can mock one up with Ziploc bags if you don't have one.

Good to see you getting your feet wet and trying new stuff bro!

[satchmo]

wonderful! thank you for the help. while i do get a few ideas its kind of hard to apply them due to infrequency and differing quality of available materials.
ive found the 5 minute mark to be my soak time by watching the color of the liquid. good to hear your experience falls in the quick to moderate wash times also.

"Not sure how much it will hold in mg/liter or if that is really the issue. Both the cannabis oil and the naphtha are equally miscible in one another at any ratio, so I'm thinking it will be more of an issue of how long it takes for the weakened solvent to dissolve the remaining material as the concentration of cannabis oil rises."

That was my underlying if some what convoluted question.
The top off sounds like a great way to keep the "fresh" naptha strength going.

THANK YOU!
without help and inspiration i would still be soaking in buckets of 70% iso. eewww.