Recycling iso?

Bud Tipps

Well-Known Member
I was thinking there must be someway to recycle isopropanol used to make extracts instead of just evaporating it in to the atmosphere. I did some searching but didn't find much. Has anyone recycled iso before? I was wondering what kind of equipment would be best to use.

:peace:
 

SoCal88

Active Member
I haven't tried it with ISO, yet, but I have done it with ethanol (Ever Clear).. I used an old pressure cooker and a homemade chiller with pretty good success... I was able to recover about 75% of the alcohol...
 

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qwizoking

Well-Known Member
Oooooorrr
You could just spend that $1
Lol.....
I buy a pint for $1.18
And it will run a couple ozs of bud..why even try to capture?
Its like trying to distill the water you used for bubble hash lol just go get some more water...

But maybe that's just me
 

AlGore

Well-Known Member
I thought you use Reagent QW?...

1 Gallon 99.99% Acs, Reagent Grade costs me $72 with shipping. That is $9.75/pint.

Not enough for me to go through the trouble of recycling it but still...

Nope acs reagent over here
 

AlGore

Well-Known Member
All you do is lie, spread bad info, and talk out your ass.

I'm not trolling, I'm calling you out on your shit... Have fun with your bullshit grocery store 91% Iso, lol.
 

qwizoking

Well-Known Member
Where did I lie
My Safeway brand 99% iso is a $1.18
No your upset cause I told you rso is crap
Go read the dozens of threads about him in this subsection and you'll see more in-depth replies from me and everyone else
Even a study lol

And the production of iso doesn't create nasties...that's why I use it extensively in the medical industry ...as well as its use in microchips etc for lack of residue

Your talking out your ass...91% is perfectly safe
Learn how its produced



And I think many will agree I give good info much of the time
I don't hang out in tnt or politics etc I get my reps and likes from posting chemistry and not just about extracts..if you disagree with something let's discuss it and see how deep your knowledge goes
 

Shawns

Active Member
We are talking about 99% Iso witch I pay $4.50 for 500ml or at the farm supply $25-$30 for 4L
 

skepler

Well-Known Member
I have used reflux extractions with Everclear for years, using a 30 gal metal trash can, and often reclaim 50% or more of the alcohol. I set the can on 3 concrete blocks with a 200 watt incandescent bulb under the bottom for heat. The liquid is in a stainless bowl sitting in the bottom of the can. A glass 10" Diam. bowl is suspended by three copper wires in the center from the can's lip, several inches below the top of the can. The lid is inverted, with any fittings that puncture the lid sealed previously with silicone caulking on the inside of the lid, which is the outside for our purposes. The gap between the lid and the can is sealed with a latex rubber strap like that used in physical therapy. The top is lined with paper towels or a dish towel and kept damp with water. The alcohol evaporates from the bowl, condenses on the lid, dripping from the middle into the suspended bowl. Checking every 12 hours or so, the glass bowl can be removed and emptied periodically. The light source can be adjusted by distance to adjust heating, it is hard to over heat this set-up. This works best at 80°F ambient or lower. An alcohol extraction can be done this way as well, making a cone of screen door screen, lining it with paper towels, and filling it with weed. place the filled cone where the glass bowl would go. Do this first then remove the alcohol. The result is a fine oil for cooking. I use it at 20 doses per gram, many use it at 40 or 60 doses per gram. After forty years of this extraction, it was nice to see butane come along. I'm curious about the residual left from BHO extraction, and have several ounces to play with. We'll see.
 

LIBERTYCHICKEN

Well-Known Member
To those that have recycled iso. or any solvent -- How was your returns purity levels , I would imagine their would be a significant decrease with iso.
 

AlGore

Well-Known Member
I'm no chemistry phd like QW that has "read dozens of threads", cuz you know forums are the best place to get your science degree...

But I have used store bought 91%, technical grade 99.953% that I get for cleaning my thermal surfaces, and 99.99% reagent iso.

I've tried each for cleaning glass/ti/quartz, reclaiming bho, and qwiso. The 91% PALES in comparison for cleaning, like they say on breaking bad, that extra few percentage points really make a difference.

This ofc applies to reclaim as well cuz its basically the same thing as cleaning, but where the purity comes into play is, there is less water while evapping, I even see a difference between the 99.953 and the 99.99.

As for qwiso, I could see an argument for actually using a less pure solvent, as you are trying to minimize what you strip off. However, I'd rather run some top quality material with a more pure solvent and perhaps pull out a bit more flavor.

And lastly, if I'm ordering 99.99% pure iso from the internet, I may as well spend slightly more and get the reagent grade which is sure to be up to the highest standards throughout.
 

Thundercat

Well-Known Member
I get my ISO for about $3 a quart and at that price I don't see the point in trying to reclaim it. I liked how everclear worked for extractions, but don't see the point in evaping good drinking alcohol into the atmosphere. I've tried everclear, 91% Iso, and 99% ISo. I can no longer get 99% ISO in my state, so I use 91% and the difference is completely negligible as far as I'm concerned. Once its completely evaped....its evaped.
 

Bud Tipps

Well-Known Member
Well, to answer my own question, the piece of lab equip needed for reclaiming solvents is called a rotary evaporator. If you do a search on ebay you'll see they are not that cheap. It would only be practical for large scale applications. 99% iso is $10 a liter where I live, so it adds up. Building one would be a hell of a DIY project.. ;)
 
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