Hi guys,

First extraction underway! I'm doing an AB / STB hybrid that involves a vinegar soak before starting the main STB procedure.

After doing the pulls (100g MH, six heated 50ml pulls, 30mins each) I was left with a cloudy, medium yellow colored solvent. After doing the sodium carbonate wash, the cloudiness reduced and am now left with a paler yellow / very slightly-cloudy solvent.

So, 3 questions-

1. Is this solvent ready to leave for a while then freeze?

2. The sodium carbonate wash solution that I removed is cloudy, dark yellow and smells of naphtha. Is there anything I can do to salvage the lost naphtha?

3. Is it worth doing a long-term (say, 2 days) pull on the remaining MH solution? I only have naphtha as a solvent.

Thanks!

1- what does "ready to leave for a while" mean?

2- if you separated well the layers, the sodium carb layer should have no naphtha or maybe a few droplets of naphtha only, and maybe thats whats leaving the smell? Can you see any distinct layer on top of the sodium carb solution (have it in a thin tall container). The relative amounts of DMT should be minimal there. But anyways keep this for now till you have your final yield, so you are sure you have all the alks.

3- Yes, specially if your last pull still yielded something. Do a long pull with a few cycles of mixing during the days, and then if still a lot of alks come out, do yet another.

thanks for the reply

1. I mean, ready to leave to evap down to 50% or so.

2. Yeah, I changed to a clear container and see layers. I've retreived the naphtha. So hold onto this Sodium Carb solution? What can I do with after the main precip is complete?

3. Ok, will do.

Cheers!