Everclear Extraction

[Graywolf]

How much better quality will I get if I winterize by letting the everclear soak in the material in freezet for 24hours

Ummm, to be clear, winterizing is extracting with a non polar solvent, redissolving the concentrate in a polar solvent, and then subzeroing that mixture until the fats, lipids, and waxes precipitate out, so they can be removed by filtration.

The freezing part is a solution of concentrate and alcohol, not plant material and alcohol.

The improvement in quality depends on how you extracted the material in the first place. If you extracted with a non polar solvent at -30/50C, it won't extract many fats, lipids, and waxes in the first place, but long soaks at ambient can extract a boat load. Typically about 8 to 20%.

Since this is an Everclear extraction thread, I infer that the original solvent was Everclear, and the same is true. If you extract it at -30/-50C, the amount of molecules above C-22 will be limited, so not much in the way of fats, lipids, and waxes (FLAW) are extracted, so not much to remove.

Our goal is to extract the trichomes on the outside of the plant, and we aren't interested in what is inside the plant, or the plant waxes protecting them. Subzero freezes water and water solubles, and makes the longer molecules extract more sluggishly than the lighter C-10 through C-22 that we covet. The subzero plant waxes also serve to act as a barrier between the solvent and the insides of the plant cells.

As plant waxes are relatively non polar, polar solvents like ethanol also don't dissolve plant waxes as readily as non polar solvents like the alkanes, so not as much to start with.

There will always be some, as there is also a wax coating protecting the trichomes, which is more polar and does come along for the ride with both solvents. Not much there, but filtering and sticking the ethanol/concentrate solution into the freezer 48 hours, or to -50/-70C for an hour, will drop out anything that is going to drop out.

All processes are different, so as a test to see whatcha got, I recommend doing so with a sample.

 

[Dunge]

Also, everclear is loaded with sugars.

Everclear is ethanol.
No sugars.
95% works well for extraction.

 

[Graywolf]

Everclear is ethanol.
No sugars.
95% works well for extraction.

QWET using 95%/190 proof Everclear (Clear Springs) ethanol, does a good job and is how we typically do it.

95.6% is an azeotropic balance between the ethanol and remaining water, so that they boil off at the same rate. They left the still as vapor, and as a distillate, not many sugars should remain. It tastes sweet, because alcohols and sugars, as well as sugar alcohols like Vegetable Glycerin, have a sweet taste.

Moving a step further, at -50/-70C using dry ice to chill it, it is also highly forgiving and tolerant of long soaks and agitation, without picking up excess baggage. It is also a FDA GRAS solvent.