Steam Distilled Essential Oil (turps)

[StickyShisha2]

now that I have seen lemon oil being extracted, I want to try with herb, with the plan to add it back to the concentrate after a duel extraction of butane then ethanol.

other than soggy weed, can you think of any problems with this experiment?

 

[SpinLover1]

No. I think its called Romullen Wax. Might want to double check that. I just heard that its very inefficient. I dont know enough chemistry to comment further.

 

[StickyShisha2]

Heres a pretty good article called "Wake Up and Smell the Terpenes!"

To quote a few exerts from it

Terpenoids and cannabinoids are both secreted inside the Cannabis plants glandular trichomes and they have a parent compound in common (geranyl pyrophosphate). More than 100 terpenoids have been identified in Cannabis. The most common and most studied include limonene, myrcene, alpha-pinene, linalool, beta-caryophyllene, caryophyllene oxide, nerolidol and phytol. Anecdotal evidence suggests that alpha-pinene is alerting, limonene is sunshine-y, and beta-myrcene is sedating.

Limonene (also found in lemon)
Alpha-pinene (also found in pine needles)
Beta-myrcene (also found in hops and mango)
Linalool (also found in lavender)
Beta-Caryophyllene (also found in pepper and Echinacea)
Caryophyllene Oxide (also found in lemon balm)
Nerolidol (also found in orange)
Phytol (found in green tea)

(mostly quoted from a post by Sour Deez)

 

[SpinLover1]

So I guess thats why hashes processed differently have different psychoactive and pharmacological effects. Makes sense than. I remember the day, when anyone ever talked about was THC, then it was THC and CBD, now I cant even keep track of all the psychoactive compounds in cannabis anymore!

 

[vap999]

now that I have seen lemon oil being extracted, I want to try with herb, with the plan to add it back to the concentrate after a duel extraction of butane then ethanol.

other than soggy weed, can you think of any problems with this experiment?

Based on pure chemistry, there is no or little rationale for doing a water (steam) extraction, particularly after 2 much better concentration steps. The desired terpenes preferentially dissolve in organic non-polar solvents, not inorganic highly polar water (like dissolves like). Water extraction will preferentially concentrate non-active components (lower terpenes, presumably like you observed with lemon oil), and is a valid purification step in this respect (i.e., what steam extracts, unless it's the very first extraction, is not what you want). I'm pretty sure the way steam extraction works is that it simply volatilizes/evaporates all the terpenes, oils, etc. that have evaporation/boiling points lower than that of the steam (212?F/100?C), with this obviously too low. Water extraction is also redundant, very chemically similar to, alcohol extraction. And in the end, you're going to have oil, which at the level of purification you are at is substantially contaminated (with traces of water).

Consider doing a chromatography step, e.g,. run it through a silica gel column; 2-phase polar-nonpolar solvent extraction (e.g., ether and water), CO2 super-critical fluid extraction, classic distillation to purify desired isomers, etc.

 

[StickyShisha2]

i find most of the turps purge out during my solvent extractions. Thats why i want to capture them first.

i am going to try 10 grams of either blue dream or sour diesel.

 

[SpinLover1]

I have to check my book "Hashish" by Robert Clarke (or something), thought he talked about a traditional steam distillation that either he or someone else has said is not very efficient. I wonder how chemistry effects steam distilation, I mean the fact trichomes are not water soluble.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

let us know how it goes. i believe they are wanting to do the steam first to grab the flavor and smell and these other chems b4 doing the solvent extractions. then adding them to the oil to make a more full-spectrum product.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

I wonder how chemistry effects steam distilation, I mean the fact trichomes are not water soluble.

true, but heat over time will degrade your product. it's why i always water cure my cbd leaf b4 doing soxhlet ethanol extractions. to reduce chlorophyll and time "cooking".

 

[vap999]

let us know how it goes. i believe they are wanting to do the steam first to grab the flavor and smell and these other chems b4 doing the solvent extractions. then adding them to the oil to make a more full-spectrum product.

Taking extreme measures (steam extraction) to crudely, indiscriminately by brute force remove the primarily non-active lower terpenes (impurities) and then adding them back seems ridiculous, a waste, non- or even counter-productive, etc. To selectively capture and purify specific terpene fractions (what you really want to do here), consider classic distillation involving much more precise separation by boiling points/vaporization temperatures, e.g., see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional_distillation.

 

[stroh]

once the terpenes evaporate, there is no way to put it back into your oil. once you can smell them in the air, they are gone. if your intent is to preserve more of the volatile terpenes, then purging with little to no heat is your only choice. the best way to do this would be to use ethanol or ISO as a co-solvent to allow the butane to escape easier, and then vaccing for an extended period of time without heat, once most of the butane has evaporated and you are left with the ethanol/extracted goodies. This may take a couple days to fully evaporate, but is your best bet. also whoever mentioned water curing, terpenes are soluable in water, this will only make your end product come out as tasteless and bland. now if you are running ABV or some really nasty nuggets, this might be worthwhile, otherwise it is more or less retroactive to your intent for the most flavorful and pungent concentrate you can produce.

 

[StickyShisha2]

this was mostly a fail.

the steam distiller only yielded a few drops (less than half a dropper), and the wet diesel looks like it was smeared in an oil rig (melted kief?)

i spread it out in a low temp dehydrator and i will weigh it before butane extracting.