Yield

[alkaloid]

whats the diffrence between the yield of a/b and stb?

 

[tolu]

Nothing

 

[memo]

Actually, it should be nothing. But skill level makes a big impact on the losses that will be encountered. An A/B extraction is more complex and there is more potential for losses. A/B tends to result in higher purity but STB is much easier and someone with less skill is likely to have better results with it.

 

[acolon_5]

yeah their close. Each has it's own merits and pitfalls. I like A/B's because I'm able to defat and it's what I learned on. I don't trust highly concentrated lye solutions either.

Sometimes I wonder how much of the extremely high yielding STB is just oils and other plant contamination.

 

[tolu]

I don't think defatting Mimosa hostilis is necessary. (Not that I've compared)

Sometimes I wonder how much of the extremely high yielding STB is just oils and other plant contamination.

A very tiny amount in my friend's experience.

 

[tryptographer]

My very first attempts years ago were A/B and they failed miserably and hours of work was wasted. I noticed that a defat with toluene was necessary to prevent nasty emulsions.. but being a fool, I managed to put toluene from the defat into a plastic container... it was dissolved before my eyes - big cleanup of smelly toxic waste

My best yields were with STB but that was years later, much was learned in the meantime - Memo you're right, if skill level is high enough it doesn't matter.

Maybe STB is less work, but working with concentrated NaOH solutions is a big disadvantage. It eats flesh, skin and eyes more vigorously than sulfuric acid. I wonder if Ca(OH)2 is a good alternative, I have truckloads of it. Maybe boil it a while in a Ca(OH)2 suspension if it's not destructive enough to break down the cell walls.