Questions about QWISO process

[arctica]

I have some really basic questions about the QWISO process.

First of all, what exactly are we trying to extract? THC? All cannabinoids? Any molecule that has a certain functional group?

Second, why are we using IPA as a solvent? I'm guessing it's because whatever we're extracting is very soluble in it and because it has a low boiling point so it's easier to evaporate off? What other solvents could be used? What isn't soluble in IPA that we're trying to avoid in the finished product?

Why is it a quick wash in IPA? I heard somewhere you should let it soak 30 seconds, then shake 30 seconds, then filter. What happens if you let it soak too long? What else leaches out into the solvent that's not good to have in the final product?

Thanks in advance. It's been a long time since I've been in a chemistry class.

 

[phenethylo J]

THC is soluble in alcohol although other canibinoids besides tTHC get in the extraction like CBD. The reason you don't want to soak it too long is because too much chlorophyll will get in the yield. Butane will work allot better than isoand is your best solvent for makeing oil but it is more allot more flamable.

 

[Ninjetic]

^This. Chlorophyll tastes like shit when smoked from qwiso hash. But then again, if ya do it right, its better than going thru the complicated process of extracting via butane. I have yet to find a decent extraction tube, and I never have enough herd to put thru said extraction compared to qwiso methods (how much herb is needed to warrant a decent yeild via butane extraction anyway?) Qwiso works good when doing a wash with nothing but stems. I don't know much tho, always been a keif box enthusiast myself. Its one of those things I'm gonna do once I figure out how much weed i'd need for a butane endeavour. Just be careful and don't blow yourself up, it happens to people

 

[arctica]

That makes sense, thanks!

Two more things I was wondering about: why does butane produce a higher quality product than IPA? Also, if you run the extraction a second time, the lower quality stuff that you get is blacker and more liquidy. Is the chlorophyll what makes it this color? Why is it softer and more liquidy?

 

[Ninjetic]

The second run with qwiso is always a weaker/inferior substance because you got all the good stuff from the initial (first) extraction. Its gonna be all the garbage with the second wash, mainly chlorophyll and cbd and whatnot (I actually like cbd tho, but that's just me)

Butane is a purer substance that ipa, mainly for the fact that its refined and pressurized in the can. That pressure is one of the main catalysts (besides the butane itself and the coldness it produces being ejected from the can over the compressed weed inside the extraction tube.

Again, I'm no scientist, but butane and a few other solvents that aren't as easy to obtain can extract all the thc from bud and have the ability to do multiple extractions from the same ground ammount of bud without extracting chlorophyll as well. That might be the exact reason people tend to use butane, to avoid chlorophyll and all those other undesirable chems.

 

[arctica]

Gotcha. I'm going to have to give this butane thing a whirl. What's the minimum amount of plant matter you need to get enough oil to work with?