benzyme said:
more efficient?
that's a bold statement.
the allihn isn't exactly the most efficient condenser.
swim prefers coldfinger types, he primarily uses a friedrich with his soxhlet.
OK. Let's see.
As a former physisist SWIM always prefers to start any discussion with commonly accepted definitions, otherwise we may talk about different things.
We are not talking about condensers, because SWIM can connect any condeser to her CSLE. We are talking about efficiency of various types of extractors.
So, what is afficiency of an extractor? Let's assume it is energy efficiency. Then we should calculate how many watts per gram of extract each of two contenders uses. That is difficult but just judging by the difference in surface area and speed of extraction Twisselmann should be at least 2 times more efficient. Official data and SWIM's experience says that Twisselmann requires 50% or less time for complete (99%) extraction comparing to Soxhlet.
A few words about convenience. In Soxhlet there is a certain minimal amount of solvent required for it to cycle. Going through Soxhlet-related threads SWIM noticed that the most common problem of new Soxhlet users is that it does not cycle. It is irrelevant in Twisselmann.
In Soxhlet the syphon tube can clog and it will be difficult to clean. There is no such problem in Twisselmann.
Soxhlet is more complicated, more expensive and easier to break.
It is more difficult to drain Soxhlet completely, comparing to Twisselmann. Once the solvent was syphoned from Soxhlet for the last time, it will be difficult to collect the solvent that remains trapped in the extracted material.
benzyme said:
that gregar is a beast, combining two condensers..that's efficient.
swim would gladly sell his extractor and condensers to pay for the gregar
Correct SWIM if she is wrong, but it seems possible to connect two condensers, or any number for that matter, to any extractor if necessary. There is no point in adding more condensers if the first one does the job. Even with extraction twice as fast as in a Soxhlet SWIM's 20-year old Allhin was doing fine. No loss of solvent, no overflowing. Isn't that all that is expected from a condenser? A small 15 liters fishtank and a $40 pump was sufficient for 2.5 hours extraction and 2 hours solvent distillation.
If we are talking about cost-efficiency things may be very different. SWIM cannot buy a Gregar where she lives. To get it from abroad may cost her half of its price.
So, SWIM likes Gregar very much, but is not convinced yet that it will be more efficient/flexible/convenient that a Twisselmann-type extractor + a basic CLLE. Maybe that is because she can get Twisselmanns almost free of charge
