Good stuff. Not sure why not seeing alot more of this? Def be nice if could fraction off specific cannabinoids. Seems alot easier equipment wise then vac distil.
You can. It is called DCVC. Here is a run I did a few days ago in order from fresh extract to test tube fractions collected top to bottom and left to right. It takes a few hours to do from start to vaping and produces nearly pure in just one run. In this run total recovery was 95% with 5% being held on the column. Unknown at this time what the 5% is but estimate waxes. The final photo extract MUST be carefully dabbed because it is much more potent than normally available in a dispensary. It is moonship potent lolz.
Photo legend
1) raw extract
2) extract absorbed onto celite (lab grade kitty litter lolz)
3) My rig shown with compound loaded and ready to proceed. About $200 worth of glass, $100 for a vac chamber, and $200 for a vacuum pump.
4) fractions collected in order they elute off the column, from top to bottom and left to right.
5) First brown fraction and the green fractions combined and evaporating side by side.
6) First brown fraction, green fraction, and final brown fraction side by side evaporating. Final brown fraction yielded only a few 1/100ths of a gram and only eluted off the column when switching to methanol (extremely polar compared to the hexane/ethyl acetate used for the other fractions.)
7) close up of the first fraction, four test tubes combined, after complete solvent purge. Solvents purged on gentle heat and under high vacuum.
The resulting high from the final photo dabs is cosmic lolz. It is not pure as evidenced by color and also when vaping it still has a delightfully terpene effect but very much subdued. The pinene still present has almost a menthol aftertaste and is very pleasant.
Here is a link to a video course. I followed this protocol nearly precisely. It works without question although I am learning there are unique comsiderations for 420 extract which is a very difficult seperation.
http://video.ku.dk/dry-column-vacuum-chromatography-dcvc
This is new to,our industry and a fairly new evolution of flash chromatography. This newness explains why others have not embarked upon this extremely accessible and understandable hobby called chromatography. The Coppenhagen University video explains that up to a few hundred grams can be purified at one time in one column but and I have zero doubt it is true. The rig shown would not handle that much I don't think but for a few ounces at a time I suspect it would not be a problem wih DCVC.
