First extraction question

[fractalmatter]

In the process of doing my first extraction. I didn't follow any one particular TEK. I kind of used a little information out of a few different TEKS and did my own thing. I extracted from 50g MHRB powder. I basified 750ml water with 65gs of lye. Stirred and shook until it was all mixed together. I let it sit for about 4 hours. The solution was clear, the. I added 50g MHRB powder & shook until it was all mixed & let it sit overnight. This morning I heated 150mg of naphtha in a sealed glass jar set in a pot of very hot water then added it to the mix. I shook and shook the solution. Now, about 5 hours later I have 4 layers. A bottom black layer, then a dark brown layer, and then a cloudy white-ish yellow layer, and then the top layer which is a yellow tinted clear layer. So, my question is: is the cloudy white later safe to pull? Is that plant fat?lye?emulsion? Or dmt molecules? Should I let the solution sit longer? Will it eventually separate into 2 distinct layers? Also are my crystals going to be yellow considering my top layer is a yellow tinted clear solution?

 

[DansMaTete]

Bad picture so i guess it's emulsion. Too much shaking ^^

You can pull the clear part and add salt (NaCl), some more lye and more naphtha, stir gently let it rest in warm (45°C) bain-marie until separation occurs.

 

[TheCaterpillar]

Add a little bit more lye to it and let it sit for 30 minutes that looks like its not basic enough. If that doesn't work add more water and lye.

 

[concombres]

Ime 100g rootbark in 750ml is too thick & causes bad emulsions that are hard to separate.
I worked up slowly from 50g over the course of a few extractions & anything past 65g per 750ml caused very slow separation of layers & yeilded lots of extra gunk in yeild even once solvent appeared clear. It also caused solvent to dissappear & then re-emerge from the sludge after a long heat bath (12+hrs).

If you try heat bath, lye, & salt & everything doesn't separate nice & quick, maybe split that jar into two & add a little more water until it thins out some, doing pulls on both jars separately.

Cybs hybrid salt tek works well if followed closely & usually yeilds me near 1g pure white after cleanup from 50g.
Go that route next time. I also highly reccommend you get a 1L erlenmeyer flask with a 24/40 ground glass joint, a 24/40 glass stopper for the flask, & a few 10ml pipettes & a hand pump for the pipettes.
It is a little bit pricey, but if your extracting more than once or twice, that setup will make things run much smoother once you begin separating layers.

 

[fractalmatter]

Thank you guys so much for responding with suggestions! I added 35 more mg of lye to the solution, then capped the jar and gave it a gentle roll. It's been about 15 minutes and there are now 2 distinct layers. Except it looks like there's a thin black layer on the very top of the jar. Any reason for this?? Is my extraction now ruined?

I extracted from 50gs, not 100.

 

[concombres]

:lol: I must have read wrong. I thought I read in the op, 50g mhrb was basified & then 50 more g was added.

From what I can see that looks normal & the emulsion has settled.
Looks like there's a shiny black almost reflective layer under the naphtha?

 

[fractalmatter]

Do you see the black layer on top of the naphtha though? Isn't that dangerous to pull?

 

[concombres]

Do you see the black layer on top of the naphtha though? Isn't that dangerous to pull?

I see what your talking about now. I`ve never had that happen.

Try gently swirling the jar & see if it breaks up & starts to sink/separate.
It may be basic sludge caught up in the naphtha layer still.

You may want to take the lid off & look from the top I you havn`t yet as well.
Sometimes from the side it may look dark where the naphtha ends at the top but from the top it is clear.

 

[fractalmatter]

It wasn't like that until I added additional lye then shook it & let it sit again. If I open the lid the top is black. could I pull the top layer off in a separate jar and the add fresh naphtha. Would any impurities separate? Or will it be too much naphtha to evaporate then? Thanks for helping me out by responding. It's greatly appreciated. We all have to start somewhere.

 

[concombres]

Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be soluble in naphtha but still trapped there.
Pipette off that pull & keep in in a glass container.
There is a ridiculous amount of lye in there now so you shouldnt have any more problems with emulsions, they should break & separate within a few minutes.

At the end, any pulls that had that black layer floating on top, combine & do a mini a/b.
It SHOULD end up trapped in the water rather than on top of the naphtha after that.

& no problem that's what the nexus is here for. I had alot of questions when I first started too & still occasionally run into little things the teks don't mention.

 

[fractalmatter]

I just used a glass dropper and pulled in between, only the clear. I think it's going to turn out okay.