Hi

Total novice here wondering:

I plan on doing a STBE using Noman's tek with a small adjustment proposed in the remarks at the bottom of the description.
I will use step 7 from Vovin's tek to wash the naphtha.

I have a few questions:

I got confused as to when in the process I should do this wash (step 7 from Vovin's tek), but I assume, relying on Vovin's meticulous description, that it's after the extraction, before the freeze separation.
Have I understood it correctly?

My second question is basically one question with a few follow ups:

It has to do with the reason for having several collection jars for each time I extract using naphtha.
If I could collect each pull, say 4-7 times, in one jar, I would have an easier task washing it, and freezing one jar would be easier. Not to mention the advantage of reducing the surface area used by only using one jar.
Is there a specific reason behind having one jar per pull?

Does that mean 7 jars if I decide to do it 7 times?
If I must use 7 jars, do I need 7 coffee filters, or can I filter all 7 jars into the same filter?


Thanks in advance for any feedback!

Hi,
Before starting your first thread, (which should be introducing yourself), you should take a minute to read the forum rules and guidelines. The Nexus encourages people to do their own research, and searching the forum to see if your question has already been answered.

Using google with "dmt-Nexus" at the end will give a better result than the forum search function.
Reading multiple teks, multiple times should hopefully give you a better understanding of what each step is for and what is happening. If it still isn't clear, try searching for your answer.

A first extraction is a bit daunting, especially for someone with no chemistry background, (like myself), but the answers are all here. You will find that members will be more than willing to help you out, if you have tried to find the answer yourself first.


Here are just a couple of the things you should read.

https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/Attitude_Page

https://wiki.dmt-nexus.me/DMT_Extraction_Overview

Here are some relevant excerpts from those links.

Critical thinking and basic autonomy
We try to encourage and expect critical thinking between members. This means one should question one's assumptions and actions, for example seeing if it can impact negatively upon oneself or others around you. We do not want people displaying arguments and trains of thought that are reckless and dangerous, or talking about things that can be a liability. Also one should do basic research before asking and saying things, we do not want to spoon-feed answers. The FAQ and WIKI, the Nexus search function and Google are basic tools everybody should use and should already help prevent the repetition of topics, that conversion remains superficial and that members have to repetitively respond by pointing to the obvious.



(Optional) Washing the Nonpolar Solution
Many teks don’t include this process, which comes from Vovin's tek, but it seems to be the best option for those concerned about residual lye in the nonpolar phase. To neutralize any lye which still remains in your product, wash the nonpolar solution of freebase with a small volume of dilute sodium carbonate (washing soda), pH ~8.5 (this is not the same as baking soda, sodium bicarbonate). The layers separate easily without emulsion, so shake away, then drain the water from the bottom of your seperatory funnel (assuming you’re using naphtha so your organic layer is on top). Room temperature water should be used for the sodium carbonate solution to avoid cooling the naphtha and encouraging precipitation. If desired, you can perform a couple more quick washes with neutral (unbasified) water to remove any traces of the sodium carbonate which may have been left in the naphtha.

Can I scale down/up the amounts stated in a tek?
Yes, just scale the quantities proportionally according to your situation.
Can I divide the extraction in multiple containers?
Yes you use multiple containers if necessary. But the more containers, more work and mess, so try to avoid using excessive amounts. Better to have all your main extraction in one or two containers max.
Can I make one big pull instead of few smaller ones?
No. You can, but yield will be significantly smaller. Like washing clothes, its better to make more cycles with clean water then only using the same water for washing all clothes.

Links
Several Small Extractions are Better than One Big One
How big should the pulls be / How much to pre-evaporate before freezing?
100ml per pull per 200g bark (or a 2:1 ratio of bark:naphtha) is a sensible recomendation. More wont hurt but it will waste solvent as you will have to evaporate much afterwards. Less solvent per pull is even better, as long as you repeat more pulls to compensate. Sometimes people use more solvent than this recommended amount, like when for example if using this ratio in one's container the layers are too thin and it is hard to separate the solvent (though there are tricks for better separation). If the plan is to freeze precipitate and one uses more naphtha than the recommended amount, it is recommended to pre-evaporate the naphtha before freezing.

The amount that one should pre-evaporate depends of course on how much solvent used. The idea about pre-evap is that the solvent should be as saturated as possible with dmt so that most or all of it precipitates when put in the freezer. If its not saturated enough, then not much (or not at all) will precipitate. So if one used more than 3:1 ratio of bark:solvent, then pre-evaporate enough to reach the equivalent of it (so if one used, lets say, 100ml per 100g bark, pre evaporating till a third of original volume is recommended). Here's an attempt to explain why not having it saturated enough may result in no or low yield

Later pulls will most likely be less saturated with dmt than first pulls, so for the later pulls (like lets say the 4th and 5th), it would be logical to pre-evaporate even more than the first pulls. In the example given above, instead of evaporating until a third of original volume, maybe one could evaporate until there is only a quarter or a fifth of original volume.
Some people gauge the amount of pre-evaporation by doing it until the solvent starts getting cloudy.
In any case, remember to re-use the naphtha after retrieving the crystals from precipitation, and/or evaporating it all the way down to see if there are any actives that remained in the naphtha after the freeze precipitation

Yes.



Indeed you can collect all pulls in a single jar. This may however pose one problem that is having too much naphtha with too little DMT dissolved in it, which would precipitate slower and some will even stay in the naphtha.

There are different strategies. One is to do just 1 or 2 pulls with small amount of solvent, thus having it quite saturated with alkaloids, optionally pre-evaporate and freeze precipitate. Then reuse the solvent for the next pull in the same manner.

The combined scrapings are then redissolved in minimum amount of solvent, washed and the solvent is evaporated.

But try different methods until you find what works for you best. There are several variables at play and you find the sweet spot by practice.

blue.magic and AcidShard, thank you very much for your replies.

I tried to find the answer by searching other threads to no avail. So your input is golden!
The importance of a saturated solution for the freeze precipitation was clear to me, and I had a hunch that separate collection jars had something to do with that, now you guys have clarified it for me.

Sorry I didnt introduce myself in the first step. I'll do that right away.