extraction methods

[providencewouldhaveit]

O.k. I'm a noob at e cigs but I know a little about extraction from my dealings with herbology. The main thing about extractions is that they can be more dangerous than a whole herb or in this case tobacco because you are going to leave some substances behind and concentrate other substances.

I know a lot of people are putting a drop or two of tobacco absolute in thier e juice but absolute is extracted with hexane. Hexane is extremely dangerous do a search.

The room temp. water extraction is probably relatively safe but probably leaves a lot behind.

Since VG is a good vapor producer, it makes sense that it would also be a good extraction medium. A glycerite is made by using 60-80% VG to 40-20% water. The herbs (tobacco) can be put in a canning jar and covered with the solution and placed in a warm water bath on low in a crock pot for 2-3 days then strained. I think this would be fairly safe (at least as safe as a water extraction) The only thing about a glycerite extraction is that it usually leaves behind volitile oils which may mean nicotine. I don't have any tobacco to try it yet but I'll get back to you on that one.

Alcohol extraction gets the volitile oils but I don't know that it would be good to use in an e juice.

Distilling is a good extraction method but It may send some nic in the air if the destilling vessel is not completely sealed and be dangerous for the person distilling. This where you get distillates and essential oils.

 

[DVap]

O.k. I'm a noob at e cigs but I know a little about extraction from my dealings with herbology. The main thing about extractions is that they can be more dangerous than a whole herb or in this case tobacco because you are going to leave some substances behind and concentrate other substances.

Generally speaking, I agree with this sentiment. As for tobacco in specific, the discussion is more complex. Most extractions are not done as a substitute to burning a material and inhaling the smoke.

I know a lot of people are putting a drop or two of tobacco absolute in thier e juice but absolute is extracted with hexane. Hexane is extremely dangerous do a search.

I disagree. Aside from it's flammability, hexane is pretty benign. Rather than us seaching for it, perhaps you'll present supporting information? Hexane is used in many food processes (example: soybean oil extraction).

The room temp. water extraction is probably relatively safe but probably leaves a lot behind.

Not only does it leave a lot behind, it co-extracts a great deal of undesired material.

Since VG is a good vapor producer, it makes sense that it would also be a good extraction medium. A glycerite is made by using 60-80% VG to 40-20% water. The herbs (tobacco) can be put in a canning jar and covered with the solution and placed in a warm water bath on low in a crock pot for 2-3 days then strained. I think this would be fairly safe (at least as safe as a water extraction) The only thing about a glycerite extraction is that it usually leaves behind volitile oils which may mean nicotine. I don't have any tobacco to try it yet but I'll get back to you on that one.

Same issue as water here: Overwhelming amounts of co-extracted crud.

Alcohol extraction gets the volitile oils but I don't know that it would be good to use in an e juice.

A little alcohol (up to maybe 15% wouldn't be too bad), but again, we have the same issue with co-extracted crud.

Distilling is a good extraction method but It may send some nic in the air if the destilling vessel is not completely sealed and be dangerous for the person distilling. This where you get distillates and essential oils.

Distillation is more of an isolation/purification method than an extraction method. In the case of nicotine, vacuum distillation is a well characterized method. It is, however, not for the amateur as it requires specialized equipment, knowledge, and engineering controls to do safely and effectively.

The question that must be asked first with any tobacco extraction is this: "What are you trying to achieve?" Do you want a flavor enhancer? Do you want nicotine? Do you want tobacco alkaloids? Once you've answered this question, the methodology becomes more clear.

If it's nicotine that you're after, then you're doing a great deal of work to reinvent the wheel. Nicotine concentrates are readily available. If it's tobacco alkaloids, then isolation from the matrix becomes the problem. If it's flavor enhancement, a great many folks have had varying degrees of success with getting some flavor (and perhaps a very modest quantity of nicotine/alkaloids).

You'll find the chemists around here are pretty tight-lipped about the specifics of achieving whatever result is desired. When you get beyond soaks, the work becomes exacting, specialized, dirty, and dangerous.

 

[providencewouldhaveit]

DVAP,
Personally, I have had health issues every time I've quite smoking. This last time it was psoriatic arthritis and I picked the cigs back up when I noticed all decrepid arthritic people seemed to be non-smokers while smokers seemed to be running circles around them. I think there is something beside nicotine that I want to extract. I know tobacco also has sulfur compounds that would be benificial for arthritic complaints. I think that the slight heating of extracts as in vaping would be safer than the full burn of analogs. I mostly agree with what you had to say but I would still be more comfortable useing a tobacco extract that was tested and free of hexane. Here's the WIKI on hexane toxicity:

The acute toxicity of hexane is relatively low, although it is a mild anesthetic. Inhalation of high concentrations produces first a state of mild euphoria, followed by somnolence with headaches and nausea.

The long-term toxicity of n-hexane in humans is well known.[6] Extensive peripheral nervous system failure is known to occur in humans chronically exposed to levels of n-hexane ranging from 400 to 600 ppm, with occasional exposures up to 2,500 ppm. The initial symptoms are tingling and cramps in the arms and legs, followed by general muscular weakness. In severe cases, atrophy of the skeletal muscles is observed, along with a loss of coordination and problems of vision. Similar symptoms are observed in animal models. They are associated with a degeneration of the peripheral nervous system (and eventually the central nervous system), starting with the distal portions of the longer and wider nerve axons. The toxicity is not due to hexane itself but to one of its metabolites, hexane-2,5-dione. It is believed that this reacts with the amino group of the side chain of lysine residues in proteins, causing cross-linking and a loss of protein function.

Chronic intoxication from hexane has been observed in recreational solvent abusers and in workers in the shoe manufacturing, furniture restoration and automobile construction industries.

In 1994, n-hexane was included in the list of chemicals on the US Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).[7] In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations on the control of emissions of hexane gas due to its potential carcinogenic properties and environmental concerns.[8]

In the latter part of the 20th and early part of the 21st centuries, a number of explosions have been attributed to the combustion of hexane gas.

 

[DVap]

The solution then is to make sure it's all been driven off. But if you don't trust the manufacturer, then avoidance works too.

 

[Fernand]

Providence, you have to look at the science, not the scares. Hexane is so volatile it's gone by the time you are working with the extracts. They use ether too, it's a volatile solvent that evaporates, leaving what you are after. If you're worried about some trace quantities, you'd better stop breathing, because the air is full of trace quantities of stuff that in larger amounts is deadly, not to speak of radioactivity, UV, microwaves, bacteria, viruses, etc. If you weren't exposed to small amounts of toxins, your body would not know how to break them down.

 

[Cyrus Vap]

DVAP,
Personally, I have had health issues every time I've quite smoking. This last time it was psoriatic arthritis and I picked the cigs back up when I noticed all decrepid arthritic people seemed to be non-smokers while smokers seemed to be running circles around them. I think there is something beside nicotine that I want to extract. I know tobacco also has sulfur compounds that would be benificial for arthritic complaints. I think that the slight heating of extracts as in vaping would be safer than the full burn of analogs. I mostly agree with what you had to say but I would still be more comfortable useing a tobacco extract that was tested and free of hexane. Here's the WIKI on hexane toxicity:

The acute toxicity of hexane is relatively low, although it is a mild anesthetic. Inhalation of high concentrations produces first a state of mild euphoria, followed by somnolence with headaches and nausea.

The long-term toxicity of n-hexane in humans is well known.[6] Extensive peripheral nervous system failure is known to occur in humans chronically exposed to levels of n-hexane ranging from 400 to 600 ppm, with occasional exposures up to 2,500 ppm. The initial symptoms are tingling and cramps in the arms and legs, followed by general muscular weakness. In severe cases, atrophy of the skeletal muscles is observed, along with a loss of coordination and problems of vision. Similar symptoms are observed in animal models. They are associated with a degeneration of the peripheral nervous system (and eventually the central nervous system), starting with the distal portions of the longer and wider nerve axons. The toxicity is not due to hexane itself but to one of its metabolites, hexane-2,5-dione. It is believed that this reacts with the amino group of the side chain of lysine residues in proteins, causing cross-linking and a loss of protein function.

Chronic intoxication from hexane has been observed in recreational solvent abusers and in workers in the shoe manufacturing, furniture restoration and automobile construction industries.

In 1994, n-hexane was included in the list of chemicals on the US Toxic Release Inventory (TRI).[7] In 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued regulations on the control of emissions of hexane gas due to its potential carcinogenic properties and environmental concerns.[8]

In the latter part of the 20th and early part of the 21st centuries, a number of explosions have been attributed to the combustion of hexane gas.

My guess would be the anti inflammatory properties of nicotine are what's helping you. Vaping with high nic doesn't keep your symptoms under control?