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Any Advice for my STB method?

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idle_cycle

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I have never done anything more complicated than a cold water extraction before. I have been reading up on straight to base DMT teks, and I am fairly certain that I have the basic idea. But without actually ever trying it before, I have no idea what has the potential to go wrong, or what works best. Below I have outlined a tek that would work well with the supplies I have available.

1. Grind bark into powder
2. place 75g KOH + 750ml water + 50g MHRB into large pouring container (see question #2 for more detail about this vessel)
3. let sit for a few hours
4. add 250ml of naptha. agitate, let settle
5. pour top layer off into 1000 ml glass separatory funnel (with some excess KOH/water solution). glass funnel will be used to fill separatory funnel
6. let mixture settle into two layers
7. drain bottom layer back into pouring container with the majority of the KOH/bark solution.
8. drain top layer onto glass and freeze precip.
9. repeat steps 4-8 three times over the period of a day or 2


Now, my questions mainly have to do with the substitution of KOH for NaOH, and the durability of mixing/pouring containers. The reason I chose KOH was because it is less watched in my country, and I have read that it is better at avoiding emulsions. I have also read, that one has to use 1.5 x as much as you would NaOH. That is why my tek calls for 75g.

1. Other than the increase in amount, is there anything else to take into account when substituting KOH for NaOH? Is it any more or less dangerous than NaOh?

2. What kind of container should the KOH/water/naptha solution be mixed in? There are two options: plastic HDPE milk jugs or a 2 qt pyrex measuring cup. I think both would work fine for mixing and pouring, but I am more concerned with durability. I know that NaOh can etch glass over time, so I assume the same is true for KOH. I know that HDPE is durable enough for the basic solution, but I was not sure if it could stand up to the heat produced by the chemical reaction when mixing KOH with water (jugs would be thrown away after extraction is done, so multiple uses will not be an issue). Thats why I was considering mixing small amounts of KOH and water in a pyrex measuring cup, and pouring that into the HDPE jug when it cooled down. I think the jug would be slightly easier to work with than the measuring cup. After letting the KOH/water/MHRB do its work, naptha would be added, the jug shaken, and then continue with step 5. Would it be a good idea to mix the basic water in a glass container first, then pour the cooled down liquid into the HDPE jug, or can I just pour KOH and water directly into the jug?

3. I have never tried to pour off the top layer of 2 liquids before, so I have no idea what the difficulty will be. Will it be relatively simple to pour off the top layer of naptha, as well as some of the KOH/water solution, without getting much bark pulp into the separatory funnel? My plan is to pour mostly naptha into the sep. funnel, but also get the top portion of KOH/water without pulp entering that could clog the separatory funnel. Should I use some type of filter, whether it be a coffe filter or a t-shirt to filter out the plant material before placing in the separatory funnel?

4. I read that it is best to do this process in 1 liter/quart containers at a time, doing 3 pulls, then starting over with fresh bark. Since 1 lb of MHRB is to be used, wont this take a rather long time to finish? I have patience though. As long as .5g of spice can be extracted within 24 hours, I will be more than happy. That is way more than enough to last until the entire lb is extracted. Should I increase the recipe, considering the containers that I will be using?

Any advice on my steps, or questions will be greatly appreciated.
 
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I'd mix the water and KOH solution in a pyrex container, then pour it into the HDPE2 milk jug once it's cool.

If you're doing an STB tek, I strongly recommend against using a sep funnel. The bark bits in the alkaline phase will just end up plugging your stopcock. You'd be better off seperating the layers by a couple of successive decantings (rather than trying to filter the mix with a tshirt, that just sounds like it'd get messy.

Also, it sounds like you're using too much naphtha. If you want it to freeze-precip, 250 ml for 50 grams of bark is just way too much.

Finally, if you're processing a whole pound of bark, STB teks are pretty wasteful (they use way more hydroxide than an A/B). Especially if you have a seperatory funnel, I'd really recommend using an acid/base extraction for processing that much bark.
 
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So, theoretically, could I just soak the dry MHRB powder in vinegar/water while heating, and decant that? The resulting liquid would then be mixed with KOH and the rest of the steps would be followed similarly. Is this technically an A/B extraction? I just recently learned the basics of the STB, and do not know much about A/B. If my proposition were to be followed, I am sure I would need to adjust the ratios of chemicals. Any suggestions on that?
 
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idle_cycle said:
So, theoretically, could I just soak the dry MHRB powder in vinegar/water while heating, and decant that? The resulting liquid would then be mixed with KOH and the rest of the steps would be followed similarly. Is this technically an A/B extraction? I just recently learned the basics of the STB, and do not know much about A/B. If my proposition were to be followed, I am sure I would need to adjust the ratios of chemicals. Any suggestions on that?
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sort of, except you should do the acid/water part 3x, or even 4x if you're perfectionist (either letting soak for long each time, like 24h, or if you heat/boil it doesnt take so long, maybe half an hour to one hour each boil/simmer)

another possible advantage you may want to play with (but SWIM finds it unnecessary in the case of MHRB) is to defat. Which is basically to mix with solvent in the acid phase, and then separate and throw solvent away (which will have only impurities and no alkaloids due to them being in salt form and therefore not soluble in it)
 
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At this point I think I may just do the marsofold tek. That is A/B right? Any added suggestions to that method, or should I follow it exactly (with the exception of KOH instead of NaOH)?
 
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Mars only calls for two boilings, right? I'd definitely do at least 3. Also, he calls for using vinegar, which is perfectly effective, but simmering a vinegar solution really stinks up the kitchen. I'd recommend using a bit of citric acid to reach pH 4 instead. But vinegar is totally fine too, as long as you don't mind the smell.
 
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Would a crock pot work to simmer the vinegar? If so, then I could do that in my basement. I doubt the fumes would bother me upstairs, but having never done it before, don't know for sure. If not, citric acid is no problem.
 
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