MachineElf88
Rising Star
- Merits
- 42
Hey guys, did my first A/B using phosphoric acid and had some ideas about improving the process for next time. I used 380g MHRB and have thus far pulled less than 2g. I did 2 hour acid boils X 4.
I'd done an A/B with vinegar before on 200g MHRB and got a higher yield of 1.5g but not as pure end product. I feel like phosphoric is the way to go but I definitely had some issues along the way that I think contributed to the low yield. I still have the solution and could keep pulling from it but I'm only pulling about 100mg each time now so it does seem a bit futile.
Issues -
1. The pH was too low on the acid boils which may have destroyed some of the spice. I added the acid while the water was cold and got the pH to 3-4 but once it was heated the pH dropped to 1. With vinegar this isn't an issue as the pH will only go so low as it is not a strong acid. Is the right way to do it to wait till the water is heated each time before adding the acid?
2. Maybe the temperature was too high, I used the high setting on a slow cooker as I figured I needed it to be simmering. I did this with my previous vinegar attempt also. Would a low or medium setting be better?
3. I ended up with a huge amount of liquid. Instead of reducing it down by simmering in a pot I decided to split it in 2 and do 2 separate extractions. This also seemed to cause a problem because from the 2nd lot I could hardly pull anything. When you reduce in a pot on the stove how careful do you have to be when applying heat? Does it affect the quality of the end product or the yield? I've read about the heat turning the spice yellow.
4. I had a real problem getting the pH high enough after adding lye. I had to add a huge amount of lye. This is probably because I used too much acid. Doing what I said in 1. will probably remedy this I'm guessing as I'll be using less acid to get the required pH. Also if I reduce I can add some water first to neutralise before basifying.
You guys are incredibly knowledgeable on here and I appreciate any input
Much love
I'd done an A/B with vinegar before on 200g MHRB and got a higher yield of 1.5g but not as pure end product. I feel like phosphoric is the way to go but I definitely had some issues along the way that I think contributed to the low yield. I still have the solution and could keep pulling from it but I'm only pulling about 100mg each time now so it does seem a bit futile.
Issues -
1. The pH was too low on the acid boils which may have destroyed some of the spice. I added the acid while the water was cold and got the pH to 3-4 but once it was heated the pH dropped to 1. With vinegar this isn't an issue as the pH will only go so low as it is not a strong acid. Is the right way to do it to wait till the water is heated each time before adding the acid?
2. Maybe the temperature was too high, I used the high setting on a slow cooker as I figured I needed it to be simmering. I did this with my previous vinegar attempt also. Would a low or medium setting be better?
3. I ended up with a huge amount of liquid. Instead of reducing it down by simmering in a pot I decided to split it in 2 and do 2 separate extractions. This also seemed to cause a problem because from the 2nd lot I could hardly pull anything. When you reduce in a pot on the stove how careful do you have to be when applying heat? Does it affect the quality of the end product or the yield? I've read about the heat turning the spice yellow.
4. I had a real problem getting the pH high enough after adding lye. I had to add a huge amount of lye. This is probably because I used too much acid. Doing what I said in 1. will probably remedy this I'm guessing as I'll be using less acid to get the required pH. Also if I reduce I can add some water first to neutralise before basifying.
You guys are incredibly knowledgeable on here and I appreciate any input
Much love
