Any tips to slow or stop oxidation when opening closed loop system?

Hello Everyone,

Does anyone have any advice on how to slow or stop the oxidation process that starts once you introduce your product to atmosphere. My product always looks so light and lovely in color in the closed loop system but as soon as I release the pressure to do the pour it quickly darkens as it comes in contact with air. Would vacuum purging the product inside the closed loop help stabilize it so it doesn't react so fast with the atmosphere? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

We backfill our systems with nitrogen before opening.

Fadedawg said:

We backfill our systems with nitrogen before opening.

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Great advice, something I didn't even think of. thank you

U could try also chilling to 0c or freezing before opening your collection. This wont stop oxizdation but will hold more terps n flavors. If your heating under vac then this step is pointless however

dabbindylan said:

U could try also chilling to 0c or freezing before opening your collection. This wont stop oxizdation but will hold more terps n flavors. If your heating under vac then this step is pointless however

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Thank you.

The whole process is done in a freezer at about -20c/-25c, then when doing the recovery I put the collection vessel in a warm water bath no greater than 30c. The recovery is fairly slow because of this but I don't have any time constraints so it's not an issue, also this results in a very nice brittle consistency(shatter). My starting product is always quite fresh and hasn't had a chance to degrade much either. The only thing I haven't tried yet is fresh frozen starting material.

It's just annoying as all hell when in the vessel it's a very light yellow and as soon as I pour it out it gets quit a bit darker. I'm doing another test run at the moment, I'm going to vac purge in the collection vessel. Then I'll scrap the contents out as a powder instead of pouring, hopefully this will allow me to put it into the vac chamber and purge it further with less oxidation between the two steps. My end product is not bad, it's just nowhere near as nice and golden as I'd like it to be.

If you plan on running fresh frozen just run fresh, the water will freeze over the trichomes and encapsulate them resulting in a poor yield. If you're talking about a nice color in the liquid, this is because the color of the extract is dissolved in the LPG, which is clear. Which will make it appear lighter until it has all been purged out. It will have its true color as the cannabinoids compact and the LPG evaporates. It does make sense however, that it will oxidize faster since you are pulling the cannabinoids out of their paraffin shell. But imo, it seems that it will oxidize nevertheless because once it is a finished product it is introduced to the atmosphere. Unless the LPG is making it oxidize at a faster rate. I would take fadedawgs advice and backfill with nitrogen if you are that worried about it. Just my two cents.

OilHead said:

If you plan on running fresh frozen just run fresh, the water will freeze over the trichomes and encapsulate them resulting in a poor yield. If you're talking about a nice color in the liquid, this is because the color of the extract is dissolved in the LPG, which is clear. Which will make it appear lighter until it has all been purged out. It will have its true color as the cannabinoids compact and the LPG evaporates. It does make sense however, that it will oxidize faster since you are pulling the cannabinoids out of their paraffin shell. But imo, it seems that it will oxidize nevertheless because once it is a finished product it is introduced to the atmosphere. Unless the LPG is making it oxidize at a faster rate. I would take fadedawgs advice and backfill with nitrogen if you are that worried about it. Just my two cents.

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Thank you OilHead, I appreciate your two cents.

When running fresh material, would the water in the product ever act as it's own solvent and bring excess chlorophyll through with the LPG, or is that not an issue at all? What is the reasoning behind why people freeze the product prior to use, just for storage/transport etc.?

I will definitely give the Nitrogen backfill a try but it will have to wait a few weeks.

Faultyboy said:

Thank you OilHead, I appreciate your two cents.

When running fresh material, would the water in the product ever act as it's own solvent and bring excess chlorophyll through with the LPG, or is that not an issue at all? What is the reasoning behind why people freeze the product prior to use, just for storage/transport etc.?

I will definitely give the Nitrogen backfill a try but it will have to wait a few weeks.

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Chlorophyll isn't really water soluble, but is transported by water as micelles.

Freezing prior to extraction is done to minimize the extraction of the larger C-30 molecules like chlorophyll, anthro cyanin plant pigments, and plant waxes.

Fadedawg said:

Chlorophyll isn't really water soluble, but is transported by water as micelles.

Freezing prior to extraction is done to minimize the extraction of the larger C-30 molecules like chlorophyll, anthro cyanin plant pigments, and plant waxes.

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Thank you, great information.

I think I will freeze the fresh product when I do give it a try. I would prefer a cleaner product over any yield increase I might gain from not freezing.

Does this also hold true for dried and cured starting material?

Faultyboy said:

Thank you, great information.

I think I will freeze the fresh product when I do give it a try. I would prefer a cleaner product over any yield increase I might gain from not freezing.

Does this also hold true for dried and cured starting material?

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Yes, but less effect on fully dried material, because there is no moisture to freeze and tie up the stuff inside the cells themselves.

Maybe I was misinformed about the fresh frozen. I don't mean to spread any unfactual information. I would listen to fadedawg though, he seems to the know the science in all of this.

Thank you all for the advice, much appreciated. Hope you're having a great weekend.