Supercritical CO2 extraction of cinnamon, coffee, and vanilla with dry ice

[@JoshAtteberry]

You probably know this, but this method is used a lot in specimen preparation for SEM. It dehydrates without destroying the structure of the biological matter. The whole DIY bio movement might appreciate a video and the manufacturing of a critical point dryer if you're interested.

[@owovergrowth]

Gotta say Ben, you've really kicked up the quality of your experiments. I'm liking it a lot and I'd like to see you try some older ones again now that you've learned a lot.

[@RimstarOrg]

I see a master plan. You're making ingredients for your Cookie Machine. :D Great video as always. More interesting stuff I never knew.

[@Greifenblut]

For me you're probably the only person in the world that may use the words high-pressure ammonia, hydrogen, and blast in a sentence without making it sound very dangerous :)

[@hamidijafri]

Philipp Walbergs its quite dangerous. Anything above 1000 psi...the seal must be place properly...

[@skinnyraf]

I did some work with supercritical CO2 in the past, but in a regular lab, with large scale co2 pumps, really expensive equipment. It's fascinating to see basically same stuff done in a home workshop.

[@hocineted7594]

But this method I think it’s not natural like ancient method, what do you think ?

[@AppliedScience]

It's a good idea, and probably worth trying. One problem is that the glass is much more rigid than the plastic, so most of the stress will be created in the glass, even if there is a zero-clearance fit between the tubes. However, a heavy plastic liner would contain an explosion, so that's good.

[@AppliedScience]

No kidding! It would be really nice to have a ductile, machinable, transparent material like that!

[@AppliedScience]

Yes. Specifically, I want to build a solar-powered absorption refrigerator. It involves high pressure ammonia and hydrogen -- should be a blast!

[@ruuman]

I'm so glad I found this channel, your videos are great Ben!

[@deralchemist1990]

Hey there, I personally made some experiments with liquid butane as a solvent. I just got a container of lighter refill gas and slowly emptied it into a test tube submerged into a cooling bath of ice and ethanol. Afterwards I used a simple coffee filter filled with a spice (chilis work realy nice for example) and poured the butane onto it. The gas in the resulting extract can then be evaporated easily by putting the container in warm water for a couple minutes. Works nice and is cheap and easy.

[@nolansykinsley3734]

I was thinking about this and I had an idea... Could you match the OD of a glass tube to the ID of the acrylic tube, or even a little larger and freeze it to shrink it when installing it, so you would have an internal glass protective sleeve?

[@alonsoosoriogiraldo1707]

wow...it's a good idea

[@Nopp3]

I'm glad you revisited this. your caffeine extraction video was great

[@Tatt2dmoon]

thank you from 1 Machinist to another for an awesome job and for a decent explanation of co2 extraction.

[@AppliedScience]

My aerogel video shows a crude supercritical dryer that I made out of pipe fittings.

[@brianrussell3356]

This one is great for anyone who can’t afford to purchase CO2, but can afford to purchase a machine shop.

[@TheAnnoyingGunner]

You could do supercritical batch extraction in a paintball high pressure system. The tanks are designed and certified to be operated at 200-300 bars, the regulators have built-in manometers and breach valves for a sense of safety. Usually they come with a volume of 0.22 L and 1.1 L. To use them as CO2 tank for continuous flow extraction one has to use non-paintball regulators as their outlet valve is limited to about 55 bar, too low for the gas to stay supercritical.

[@gpm4985]

I have always wanted to try this too! I run the Open Sun Harvesting Project which primarily provides open source software and electronics for DIY solar tracking and heliostats. I know the community would love to see some videos on this subject, and I'm sure you could do a much better job than I could. :)

[@SomeNerdWhoRocks]

By "i've found" I mean I've done it, it works. I got a glass candle holder from a thrift shop (approx 1" by 2" solid glass with a 1" diameter hole), used 1/4" steel plate for the bottom and top (the bottom with an indent to hold a rubber o-ring) and four bolts to hold the whole thing together. It lost half the volume of co2 over a year due to leakage through the o-ring, but the addition of tubes for the input and output of co2 should leave it perfect for supercritical extraction.

[@Chrisbuildsstuff247]

I can’t type what the dry ice vessel looks like in the comments section but I am guessing this video could have been demonetized cause of how it looks or KZbin might have given you trouble. If you catch what I’m not say. Also I love and appreciate all the effort and work you put into your videos and just want to say thank you.

[@jaggardwilson5799]

Have you considered modifying your freeze drying set up into a sort of rotary vacuum evaporator for extraction via distillation?

[@NOBOX7]

high ben , could you refresh us on the topic of brass compatibility issues, is it cupric acid or cupric acetate or something thats produced?

[@AppliedScience]

I'm afriad that I don't know much about brass compatibility and food safety. I'd have to just search for info on that.

[@NOBOX7]

yes its just that i thought i herd you mention this in one of your super critical extraction videos , i did do some research but some times advice from a pro cant be beat

[@KallePihlajasaari]

Copper and copper alloys are incompatible with ammonia solutions and gas. In the presense of moisture the gas will corode the metal (and make a beautiful blue-violet copper ammonia complex) that is able to dissolve cellulose. - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schweizer%27s_reagent

[@rogerhamilton8029]

why not line the inside with glass? wouldnt the outside acrylic support it from breaking? also maybe you could try having it pressurized on both sides of the glass. acrylic outside then a small space you can pressurize then a glass tube inside that. however i dont think that would be easy to regulate having the same pressure or atleast a pressure differential lower then the glass is rated for. if one dropped too low you would implode or explode the inner glass tube. i think just lining the acrylic tube with a glass tube fit tightly would be the best option but to be honest i dont know much about dealing with pressure vessels so i could be very wrong. i would love to know if i am and why

[@HellTriX]

Enjoying all your videos yet again. Thank you.

[@ceanes4]

It's the solvent in this process and is an ideal one for his purpose. It's not only food safe but readily evaporates at room temperature, leaving the desired product and no residue. You could use many other solvents, such as diethyl acetate, but you would need to have a roto-vap to remove the solvent at a low enough temperature to not lose some of the volatile esters and amine groups in the product.

[@aretorta]

I don't know if it would work but have you ever thought of coating the inside of the chamber with some non soluble resin (I'm still on the search for one) or putting a "sleeve" of glass tubing on the inside so that the acrylic wall fits around it snugly enough to support the pressure?

[@ceramicmonster]

Any chance of some detailed specs?

[@Foghorn436]

What you're lookin' for is transparent aluminum laddie! :)

[@TheExplosiveGuy]

Ahh yes, good old AlON. That stuff is nuts...

[@richlane3408]

Technically, wouldn't this be liquid co2 extraction? I know I saw liquid flowing through the chamber. In a super critical state the co2 behaves like both liquid and gas, allowing the co2 to pass through material like a gas, but extract like a liquid. I'm wondering if it'd extract capsaicin from peppers. Anyone know?

[@technobabble_]

IDK if you've ever done a tour video of your shop there, but I would love to see what else you've got in there.

[@Morkvonork]

Did you checked high pressure gas discharge lamps like stadium lights as source for high pressure gas vessels? Wikipedia says they are made for 10 to 40 Megapascal (5800 psi).

[@RayDrouillard]

re: glass extraction chamber It shouldn't be too difficult to melt the glass and put it into a mold. If the mold has a higher coefficient of thermal expansion than the glass, it will shrink away from the glass, allowing for easy removal.

[@YouKnowMeMVG]

I have a question Ben! I'm planning to do this build. I saw at 1:16 some ring. Is that a silicon ring or what? Also How did you seal the top and bottom where the pressure gauge and needle valve are located?

[@AppliedScience]

Yes, the orange O-rings are almost always high-temperature silicone. I used a standard 1/8" pipe thread with PTFE tape to seal the pressure gauge and needle valve.

[@HistoryUnraveled750]

+Applied Science couldnt u do the same diy with a co2 airsoft cannister and pierce the cannister and cover the object with c02

[@chosen_none]

Could you perhaps line the acrylic chamber with a glass tube?

[@determinismo7771]

what would be an example of a system that do use a CO2 tank? how do you build pressure into the chamber from that?

[@Daedronus]

Since you have a vacuum evaporator now, coat the acrylic cylinder with something. Aluminium deposited around 10^-3 or -4 torr should result in Al2O3 deposition, not sure, but that could be transparent. Or you could use a thin layer of gold (also transparent), for the extra blingness and inertness. Or use a inner glass liner (not pressed) bonded to the acrylic cylinder, with some UV curable glue. Normal glue is out of the question since it will never cure in the middle, 2 parts glues might.

[@OnTheWhistle]

Yay, Ben posted a video!

[@kevinknox5249]

Could you provide a list of parts so someone can attempt to make this on their own? Thank you

[@georgiowee]

I don't know what You are doing, but I appreciate it very much Best Regards

[@danielkzlai]

It's my first time viewing your videos and this, and you are incredible. Are you a professional? Like an engineer or mechanic? Cos building that at home is amazing. :)

[@Nexus2Eden]

You might get a better yield on the Vanilla Bean if you were to fully dehydrate it first and then grind it up, or freeze dry it and then grind it - more surface area with reduced adhesion. Dig the work man = you're my guru toga!

[@supremeruler1968]

2:31 at the store: Ben: 2 end caps and a 5" pipe please Clerk: ehm....sure....what's it for ? Ben Oh just a little project I'm working on.. Awkward very silent pause Clerk: $5 please Ben drives home 200 cops and a swat team is waiting with silly questions.....

[@nattsurfaren]

Do you think Coffee producers use this method to extract aroma from one coffee source and give it to another and then sell it as a new high priced brand. I got this idea when my parents bought really low quality coffee when they had a vacation. I thought this can't really be coffee?

[@SV_Try_Magic]

I think the technique is a little different since the trichomes are on the outside of the plant. If you grind it up and put it in a can with some dry ice pieces, shake it around a bit, and then sift it over a screen all the good stuff should fall out the bottom. There are some video's of it around.

[@semidemiurge]

Why not machine the acrylic with an I.D. to match the O.D of a glass test tube? You can friction spin the test tube on for even closer matching of diameters.

[@apod3x]

For the acrylic chamber, what kind of stainless-steel pipe would work? I was thinking I could essentially use an unthreaded version of the pipe I'm using for the CO2 chamber (schedule 80), but I don't think the surface of the pipe would be optimal for edible extractions. Under the McMaster's section of tubing > metal > stainless steel, there are no specifications of tolerable pressures other than yield pressure which I don't think refers to the same internal pressure capacity. Could you suggest some options? Great work by the way!

[@ericemericaful]

You make it hard to make fun of you. Ive actually enjoyed all your videos. KZbin needs more posters that approach their experiments AND presentations like you do. I hope you keep it up.

[@AndrewBoraas]

Do you know if polycarbonate holds up better to the super critical CO2? I know is holds up better to acids and the like. It looks like one could order 3" dia. rod online.

[@zander46]

Yet another amazing video! Thank you!

[@justinmorton3353]

ALREADY DONE IT WITH WEED YEARS AGO WHEN I WAS A CURSE LOOKING TO BE OVERTAKEN. NOW I WANT IT FOR ESSENTIAL OILS AND HEALTH FOR MY SPIRIT AND BODY!

[@Morbuto]

Kinda works like that for de-caffeinated coffee, the caffeine and aroma compounds are removed, the caffeine extracted from that and then the aroma compounds pumped back into the coffee beans. The beans bought by your parents were likely stale, and of unsuitable quality for international sale to begin with...

[@bigbadbenable]

Thanks, I had a feeling it was going to be a little out of my price range, but still worth a look. I think I will end up getting one of those Chinese mini CNC mills.

[@markbell9742]

Hi Ben: How about clear Teflon tubing as a liner, if not to permeable to CO2 at pressure? What is the pressure limit of your Acrylic chamber? Cheers, Mark

[@frac]

How about a glass vessel inside your plastic chamber. Keep the differential pressure within the limits of the glass.

[@cogzoid]

What do you think of the extracts? Have you smelled/tasted them? Did they pick up some eau de acrylic?

[@manhngo4275]

Hello, I am really interested in this method. Now, I am using steam distillation method to extract essential oil. However, this method takes long time. I want to ask that if I want to build a device like your but larger amount of material and continuous working. Is it possible? Could you help me? Thank you very much

[@manudehanoi]

you can usually dilute the oils in ethanol for cooking. I dont undestand why the test tubes dont explode under pressure.

[@AndrewBoraas]

Could you press a glass liner in to the acrylic tube?

[@pooeyyeoop1]

How do you get liquid CO2? As to my knowledge it sublimes straight from a solid to a liquid. Or is it a trick using pressure ?

[@SendingFreedomTM]

Is there any way to purchase the materials for a setup like this without having to machine?

[@richard0crewe]

Would you be able to line the inside of an acrylic tube with aluminium using the thermal evaporator that you featured in another of your videos? Would aluminium be sufficiently inert or would CO2 or other stuff react with that at the high pressures involved?

[@starrychloe]

Cool. Can you use this to extra coca alkaloids from coca leaves and distill it into its essence?

[@johnsmith-gk3ek]

***** it's not the removing of the alkaloids that's difficult. The difficult bit is the separation of the extracted alkaloids.

[@bigbadbenable]

Apologies if you have already covered it in another video, but what make/model is the CNC mill you were using? Many thanks.

[@nowhereusa]

Google "dry ice supplier UK" you can find it. You just have to do a little more work than in the US. Plenty of places will ship to private residencies or you can check for local chemical suppliers/gas suppliers they tend to have it.

[@spblackey]

What about using the boiler glass tube as an insert inside of the acrylic? Pressing glass into a plastic bore sounds not-so-easy, but maybe it could be bonded into the acrylic (to take up any air space and make them intimate.)

[@AlexDlugosch]

I would be worried about thermal stress in that case, since acrylic or polycarbonate has about 10 times the thermal expansion coefficient of glass. However, maybe it would be okay. When the assembly cools from application of CO2, the acrylic would tend to shrink over the glass, creating compressive hoop stress in the glass, which would tend to cancel the tensile hoop stress in the glass from the pressure it contains. However the tensile hoop stress in the acrylic could increase a lot over the acrylic only design.

[@justinmorton3353]

WOULD PURE BUTANE GAS WORK BETTER. I KNOW IT IS DANGEROUS BUT WOULD IT YIELD MORE?

[@bigsteve6729]

this is excellent work brother.

[@hamidijafri]

I replicate the test using cinnomen. Tried grinding the cinnomen at 1300psi temp 38 deg C. No oil came out, but paste like oily material stuck in samples. Then I used dry cinnomen stick. Not much luck... Must be the time to soak is also the factor

[@dalemi666]

Hi Ben, My name is Emilio D'Alessandro, I'm a chemist from Italy, i am working with CO2 in near supercritical conditions and i have some troubles with viton o'ring and gaskets. I saw that in your videos you are using red o'rings, are they made by silicon or are they in EPDM polimers ? Thank you for your help, Emilio.

[@admiralpercy]

Wait please explain CO2 penetrating acrylic. And could you use polycarbonate?

[@serahiever]

I'm just interested in what the extracts are made up of. The process seems not to have any differentiation in the yield. So basically whatever dissolve in supercritical co2 will be extracted. Anyway, it's a nice work.

[@Buxtonphil]

I know this was a few years back, have you tried it since? I am curious if there was more surface area of the material you were running you'd get a better yield

[@maxim1914]

What ever happened to the cookie maker? This reminded me of it, and that machine was awesome but you never posted another update.

[@omni96]

It is ok to consume the extract after having acrylic dissolved in it?

[@EgadsNo]

Stainless steel (even high/low temperature versions) precipitates chromium at extreme temperatures- perhaps monocrystalline silicon (not doped) is the best for this. One million psi ultimate tensile (can handle the pressure), low thermal expansions/conductivity. Wafers are quite cheap- perhaps you can figure a way to use laminates to construct the vessels. Enough rows of eccentric circles could likely do it without seals.

[@Zielu13]

Why dont you use composite instead of pure acrylic chamber? Just put thin glass tube inside acrylic cilinder and you will get high presure resistant and extraction neutral device

[@Silor]

Actually the best way (/one of) so far to extract THC and other cannabinoids is with liquid butane, though i have very little idea of how liquid gas extraction works, i wonder if it works similiarly with supercritical CO2

[@Mrluk245]

Maybe it is possible to simply glue a glass tube into the acrylic?

[@JonCoxote]

So, did you taste any of it? Did it smell good in the "lab" that day? I'd be a little concerned that some nastiness from the acrylic came along for the ride; I'm looking at you, BPA and your ilk. Anyhow, nicely done video, Ben.

[@tiagotiagot]

Are you talking about aluminum oxynitride, or sapphire?

[@Beardedfoods]

Could Thermo-electric (Peltier) coolers, running off a DC system be a viable option?

[@Desmaad]

Why would a grocery store carry dry ice? I haven't seen any stores doing that here in Canada.

[@elfillari]

You could use a two-way pressure cylinder for a rather easy pressurization! For the gas transmission just a regular SodaStream co2 cylinder will do fine, keep it upside down, so the co2 will run liquid between the cylinders. Just transfer the co2 in liquid form to doner cylinder by prefreezing it before transition enough. Also keep the receiving cylinder volume small enough, like 1dl while transmitter (Sodastream) will be 4dl(425ml).😊

[@icur2ys4ye]

Hi, I have been watching your videos on super critical co2 and I was wondering if you had considered doing this with a shoebox compressor? I thought you could avoid the heating process and maybe get better control? I see one company seems to have made one for sale they call it the super c but it would seem that you could use the same principals you are using and make a better unit. anyways I really enjoy your videos and the range of them

[@wasonnnn]

If you want look at the reaction in the chamber the best material to use is aluminum oxide window (sapphire), its kind of expensive but you can probably find one online

[@JonD58239]

you can under high pressure in an enclosed chamber

[@vk2zay]

Tried extracting capsaicin?

[@3lohssvrm]

could you put a glass test tube inside a acrylic tube?

[@rapsod1911]

Can you use that glass gauge and cover it by acrylic?

[@chickensk]

very good video, clear to understand, nice video, great presentation.

[@nerdcuddles7731]

what happens to blood or other animal tissue when exposed to supercritical CO2

[@massmanute]

Ben, I just saw that you are doing some experiments with supercritical fluid extraction. I bought some hobby-scale steam distillation equipment recently and have been interested in possibly putting together a supercritical fluid extraction setup. I read somewhere that you can extract lilac fragrance with supercritical fluids. You can't steam distill lilac flowers. Have you tried lilac flowers? Do you have sagebrush where you live? That might make an interesting extraction.

[@AppliedScience]

I was thinking of transparent aluminum from Star Trek.

[@norxcontacts]

CO2 works ok, have you thought about using butane?

[@tariqmehmoodkhan2310]

Hi Ben. Thanks for sharing great work. I like your channel. On extraction, I have one question. How you are sure that you extracting only caffeine and not other compounds. In plants usually there are hundreds of organic compounds.

[@TylerTerrill]

Would a retail CO2 tank, such as SodaStream provide enough volume of CO2 or pressure to be effective?

[@tidora]

So this is all doable from home? How much would this set up cost?

[@MOEFCO]

Would really enjoy seeing extradition of lavender!

[@monstercolorfunco4391]

you may want to use a waterproof coating on the acrylic. i.e. a bath is not waterproof until they coat it with gel coat or something.

[@Hobypyrocom]

you can coat the inside of the acrylic tube with transparent lacquer.

[@hamidijafri]

I ask for your permission to emulate the test using similar designed equipment?.