[Killovicz]

Hello people

Im wish to extract aromatic chemicals from tobacco but also to separate and discard the nicotine (alkaloid)! This is my gameplan:

1. Add butane to tobacco and shake it for about 15 mins.

2. Cool the mixture down to -17C and wash it with conc. formic acid for about 15 mins.

3. Discard water phase, cool organic to -17C and wash with water 3 times.

4. Filter the organic through glass wool, let the butane evaporate and dissolve the residue in propylene glycol.

This is all the lab equipment I got:



https://imgur.com/ed3p5d0

There is a peace of glass wool in the pipe that connects the bottle with the valve!

Thanks in advance, any comment would be appreciated :-)

[rolnor]

Why do you want to use butane? Its a gas?

[Killovicz]

Cuz I don't have any ether and isopropyl is hard to evaporate w/o using too much heat. Also cuz I don't have appropriate lab equipment so even if I did have ether it would be waste of money since I won't be able to recycle any of it.

Butane is cheap and easy to evaporate. Its also liquid at around 0C so it can be washed with ice water w/o too much hassle.

[rolnor]

If you cool to -17°C the water you use for washing will freeze? I strongly suggest you use diethyl ether, this project sounds like a dissaster.

[Killovicz]

I would cooldown the organic to -17C add ice water, wash at room temperature, discard the water phase, then cooldown the organic to -17C add ice water..

All equipment I have is this:

https://imgur.com/ed3p5d0

If the result is satisfying I would invest in the necessary lab equipment! Among other a condenser so I can recycle most of the diethyl ether or else the end product will be way to expensive.

[rolnor]

Its nice to bee positive and optimistic but in this case its very hard, handling liquid butane this way is not easy. If you use diethyl ether it would probably work fine but you need a separatory funnel. I think if you do get something out from the butane-phase it could be to lipophillic to be soluble in propylene glycol, ethanol or acetone is better. You can find cheap chinese equipment on ebay