Tobacco extraction using heated Ethanol

[rolf]

hey guys !
now things get interesting..so many helpful hints thanks all of you ! was in the process of getting my parts together for a fractional still .got a pressure cooker and most of the copper parts. used to brew beer and mead and build the equipment for that .
the 3a pellets sound like the ticket to do the rest of the cleanup after distilling .
one question ...this will not be grain mash will likely go with the sugar wash . or even start with vodka .
will the taste of the tobacco extract be different than with pga ??or is there an advantage of making a grain mash ??

 

[Exchaner]

It's looking more and more to me that I will be using ISO, with a distillation afterwards to remove it.

Damn our nanny state govt

How about using a 80%-20% mixture of ISO and vodka? You will have the benefits of both, and your water content will be 12% (with 80 proof vodka)

 

[gt_1955]

That's a thought mate I don't need to make a decision just yet, I'm on day 2 of the freezer stabilisation on my latest extraction with filtering to be done tomorrow night.

Then the mix with 30ml PG, the 30 day homogenising period and then the reduction prior to use. This is fun

 

[aceswired]

Guys, there's a much simpler way. Take your cheap vodka and place it in your deep freeze for a few days. The water will freeze, the alcohol wont. Then just pour off the alcohol. It takes a while doing this, and it's not 100%/200 proof, but it will get most of the water out. This is known as freeze concentrating in the home brewing community. I've done this with ciders and meads, but I'm almost certain it would work for our purposes as well.


-Kingboomer

Good old-fashioned applejacking. It'll up the percentage but won't get you anywhere near 190. Probably not even 140.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

 

[aceswired]

hey guys !
now things get interesting..so many helpful hints thanks all of you ! was in the process of getting my parts together for a fractional still .got a pressure cooker and most of the copper parts. used to brew beer and mead and build the equipment for that .
the 3a pellets sound like the ticket to do the rest of the cleanup after distilling .
one question ...this will not be grain mash will likely go with the sugar wash . or even start with vodka .
will the taste of the tobacco extract be different than with pga ??or is there an advantage of making a grain mash ??

Remember ethanol is flammable at 50 percent. Never still anything above 40.

Suggest anyone considering this route read the homedistiller forum very carefully.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

 

[rolf]

Remember ethanol is flammable at 50 percent. Never still anything above 40.

Suggest anyone considering this route read the homedistiller forum very carefully.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

jes I am aware of a lot of safty rules to follow . one is probably the heat source to use , like an induction heat plate . temp control and having an fire extinguisher there to.doing it on the kitchen stove is probable not to bright an idea either . probably the garage is the best place.
I ll be watching a lot more vids on safety
still to cold to work in the garage ...spring is coming !!!

 

[Str8vision]

The granules in the video are called molecular sieves - size 3A. Available here:

Molecular Sieve 3A Reagent 500g | eBay

I like this, from what I read they're reusable too, just bake dry before use which makes them economical as well. This would work -great- for converting 100 proof Vodka to near 200 proof alcohol (Ethanol). After using the ethanol to extract tobacco you'd still need a way to recover (reclaim) it unless you'd just evaporate it off. As far as I know, recovering the ethanol from an extract would still require some form of distillation....what a headache. Makes me appreciate having easy access to cheap PGA.

I hope this isn't verboten, but a good read

Home Distillation of Alcohol (Homemade Alcohol to Drink)

Excellent read!

 

[aceswired]

jes I am aware of a lot of safty rules to follow . one is probably the heat source to use , like an induction heat plate . temp control and having an fire extinguisher there to.doing it on the kitchen stove is probable not to bright an idea either . probably the garage is the best place.
I ll be watching a lot more vids on safety
still to cold to work in the garage ...spring is coming !!!

Skip the vids. YouTube is rife with AWFUL stilling "tips". The HD forum has a thread for beginners. Go there.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

 

[Str8vision]

I promised a "backwoods engineered" DIY vacuum distillation setup that was inexpensive to build. There are dozens of -better- ways to accomplish this and some that are actually cheaper but I wanted to contrive a simple way that required as few tools, equipment and skills as possible to construct. This actually caused the price to increase because you'd need to buy 5 bulkhead fittings (rather than build them) costing $7.20 each http://www.amazon.com/Weatherhead-1...=1453660391&sr=8-35&keywords=bulkhead+fitting

Four of these bulkhead fittings would need to be installed in canning jar lids, two lids with two fittings in each. An o-ring, rubber washer or silicone sealer would also need to be used. The bulkhead fittings would look something like this when installed in the lids;

The fifth bulkhead fitting would need to be installed near the bottom of a plastic rectangular trash can (Walmart) or a large plastic bucket (more difficult because it's round). When filled with ice water the plastic container would become the condenser. Here's a drawing of the setup;

The vacuum line coming from the Vodka jar would be loosely coiled (1 or 2 wraps should do it) inside the plastic container. If 120 - 150F proved to be an adequate processing temperature, a "crock pot" might function well enough for the hot water bath. I've boiled lukewarm ethanol under a moderate vacuum while filtering so it's not very hard to do. I was using this $22 12vdc vacuum pump at the time, it's only capable of pulling ~20" of mercury https://www.amazon.com/Karlsson-Rob...F8&qid=1453666954&sr=8-8&keywords=vacuum+pump

Aside from the vacuum source, the most expensive part of this setup is the 5 bulkhead fittings ($36). There is a different way to achieve the same results that is less expensive but more difficult to accomplish requiring a higher mechanical skill level.

Since I can buy PGA locally for around $16 per liter I have no need to build or use a vacuum distillation setup and -shamefully- just evaporate it off my finished extracts. Vacuum distillation could be used to not only separate/condense ethanol from Vodka, but also to reclaim ethanol from a finished extract rather than evaporating it off. Personally, I'm just glad I don't need to worry about such.

 

[gt_1955]

Let me just express my appreciation for your time in designing the distillation unit and creating the drawings for us.

Thank you very much mate


And, you're right ... a cheap source (or any source even ) of PGA would be the bees knees

 

[rolf]

Skip the vids. YouTube is rife with AWFUL stilling "tips". The HD forum has a thread for beginners. Go there.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

thanks aceswired !
do you have a LINK ? OR THE FULL NAME OF HD SO I CAN GOOGLE IT .

 

[rolf]

I promised a "backwoods engineered" DIY vacuum distillation setup that was inexpensive to build. There are dozens of -better- ways to accomplish this and some that are actually cheaper but I wanted to contrive a simple way that required as few tools, equipment and skills as possible to construct. This actually caused the price to increase because you'd need to buy 5 bulkhead fittings (rather than build them) costing $7.20 each http://www.amazon.com/Weatherhead-1...=1453660391&sr=8-35&keywords=bulkhead+fitting

View attachment 524925
Four of these bulkhead fittings would need to be installed in canning jar lids, two lids with two fittings in each. An o-ring, rubber washer or silicone sealer would also need to be used. The bulkhead fittings would look something like this when installed in the lids;
View attachment 524926

The fifth bulkhead fitting would need to be installed near the bottom of a plastic rectangular trash can (Walmart) or a large plastic bucket (more difficult because it's round). When filled with ice water the plastic container would become the condenser. Here's a drawing of the setup;
View attachment 524929
The vacuum line coming from the Vodka jar would be loosely coiled (1 or 2 wraps should do it) inside the plastic container. If 120 - 150F proved to be an adequate processing temperature, a "crock pot" might function well enough for the hot water bath. I've boiled lukewarm ethanol under a moderate vacuum while filtering so it's not very hard to do. I was using this $22 12vdc vacuum pump at the time, it's only capable of pulling ~20" of mercury https://www.amazon.com/Karlsson-Rob...F8&qid=1453666954&sr=8-8&keywords=vacuum+pump

Aside from the vacuum source, the most expensive part of this setup is the 5 bulkhead fittings ($36). There is a different way to achieve the same results that is less expensive but more difficult to accomplish requiring a higher mechanical skill level.

Since I can buy PGA locally for around $16 per liter I have no need to build or use a vacuum distillation setup and -shamefully- just evaporate it off my finished extracts. Vacuum distillation could be used to not only separate/condense ethanol from Vodka, but also to reclaim ethanol from a finished extract rather than evaporating it off. Personally, I'm just glad I don't need to worry about such.

 

[rolf]

HI STRVISION
THANKS FOR PUTTING THAT OUT FOR US !!
HARBOUR FREIGHT SELLS 12 V COMPRESSORS AND A FRIND BUILD A VACCUM SET UP WITH THAT IT WORKS JUST FINE. I WENT BANANAS AND USED A FRIGE COMPRESSOR SETUP WORKS GREAT .
YOUR SETUP WAS ONE OF THE MISSING PIECES AND WILL BUILD SOMETHING SIMILAR .
I STILL HAVE TO BUILD A RIG TO DISTILL FROM SCRATCH SO . CANT GET PGA WHERE I LIVE. I CAN GET EVERCLEAR AT 26 PLUS TAX JEIX ! AT THAT PRICE YOU PRETTY WELL HAVE TO RECOVER. YOUR DESINE IS PERFECT FO THAT. I WAS THINKING OF SILVERSOLDERING SHORT PIECES OF COPPER TUBE FOR CONNECTIONS ..MAYBE THAT WILL DAMAGE THE RUBBER SEALS ON THE LIDS SO .HAVE TO TRY .
FOR THE CONDENSER I STILL THINKING OF USING COPPER PIPE WITH IN AND OUT NIPPLES EITHER HOSE CONNECTION OR AQARIUM PUMP AND ICE WATER.
MY MIND IS MADE UP ..DONT CONFUSEE ME WITH THE FACTS LOL .NO I WILL RESEARCH A LOT MORE
THANKS AGAIN

 

[aceswired]

thanks aceswired !
do you have a LINK ? OR THE FULL NAME OF HD SO I CAN GOOGLE IT .

Just google "Homedistiller forum" - a forum similar to this. Good, well-informed guys. They know their stuff.

Start here:

Home Distiller • View topic - A little spoon feeding *For New & Novice Distillers

 

[aceswired]

Synthetics and high proof ethanol is a bad, baaaaad combo. I appreciate the effort, Straight, but wouldn't put anything coming off that rig in my body.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

 

[Str8vision]

Synthetics? You must mean the LDPE vacuum tubing since everything else the ethanol actually contacts is glass. LDPE tubing contains no plasticizers, is food grade, vacuum rated to 28Hg, chemically inert for use with Ethyl Alcohol (ethanol), and is inexpensive. It's what industry uses for flex line connections on automated bottling equipment involving drinking alcohol. $11.50 for 100ft of 1/4" http://www.amazon.com/ATP-Value-Tub...F8&qid=1453686741&sr=1-1&keywords=ldpe+tubing

 

[Str8vision]

HI STRVISION
THANKS FOR PUTTING THAT OUT FOR US !!
HARBOUR FREIGHT SELLS 12 V COMPRESSORS AND A FRIND BUILD A VACCUM SET UP WITH THAT IT WORKS JUST FINE. I WENT BANANAS AND USED A FRIGE COMPRESSOR SETUP WORKS GREAT .
YOUR SETUP WAS ONE OF THE MISSING PIECES AND WILL BUILD SOMETHING SIMILAR .
I STILL HAVE TO BUILD A RIG TO DISTILL FROM SCRATCH SO . CANT GET PGA WHERE I LIVE. I CAN GET EVERCLEAR AT 26 PLUS TAX JEIX ! AT THAT PRICE YOU PRETTY WELL HAVE TO RECOVER. YOUR DESINE IS PERFECT FO THAT. I WAS THINKING OF SILVERSOLDERING SHORT PIECES OF COPPER TUBE FOR CONNECTIONS ..MAYBE THAT WILL DAMAGE THE RUBBER SEALS ON THE LIDS SO .HAVE TO TRY .
FOR THE CONDENSER I STILL THINKING OF USING COPPER PIPE WITH IN AND OUT NIPPLES EITHER HOSE CONNECTION OR AQARIUM PUMP AND ICE WATER.
MY MIND IS MADE UP ..DONT CONFUSEE ME WITH THE FACTS LOL .NO I WILL RESEARCH A LOT MORE
THANKS AGAIN

Nothing wrong with making your own condenser using copper tubing if you have the equipment and soldering skills. 1/4" OD copper tubing makes a great hose barb for 1/4" ID vacuum hose.

 

[zulu965]

I need to rebuild a small chemistry lab (had one once upon a time, but it was donated to a school).
Already have an aspiration pump (based on the Venturi effect) but I'm interested in a cheap electrical pump like the one that Str8vision mentioned.
When you say that your vacuum pump is capable of "pulling ~20" of mercury" do you mean that it can attain a vacuum of 20" Hg (50mmHg) or that it can reduce the standard atmospheric pressure by an amount of 50mmHg (thus attaining a pressure of 760 - 50 = 710mmHg)?

 

[Str8vision]

Yes 19 - 20Hg. It doesn't come with a power supply so you must obtain one for it, 12vdc 2 amp I believe. It's also a bit noisier than I would have thought.

 

[aceswired]

Synthetics? You must mean the LDPE vacuum tubing since everything else the ethanol actually contacts is glass. LDPE tubing contains no plasticizers, is food grade, vacuum rated to 28Hg, chemically inert for use with Ethyl Alcohol (ethanol), and is inexpensive. It's what industry uses for flex line connections on automated bottling equipment involving drinking alcohol. $11.50 for 100ft of 1/4" http://www.amazon.com/ATP-Value-Tub...F8&qid=1453686741&sr=1-1&keywords=ldpe+tubing

Silicone gaskets? Plastic tubing? To each his own, but I'll pass.

Nothing wrong with making your own condenser using copper tubing if you have the equipment and soldering skills. 1/4" OD copper tubing makes a great hose barb for 1/4" ID vacuum hose.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk