Extraction 7 X Refined: A Comparison of BHO Propellant

Eekman

Medical Section Advisor
Joined
Dec 13, 2012
Messages
4,611
Reputation
0
Reaction score
7,125
Points
0
Website
www.everessencekd.com
Refined Butane

:jaw:
I just bought a 12 pack of Mega Plus 7X Butane. (US $32.00 - UK 28.55 Euros) I just checked, and...

{holy crap, is the euro falling?}

(Someone start a thread, and are the seedbanks still open?):grin:
---------------------------

Seven times refined.

What the ef does that mean to me?

We have some information on different types of results, from different companies on the purity of thier product.

Let's face it, everything leaves a residue.

Just like vaping, even small traces of matter can be found in the vapor, but it is far safer than smoking imo.

So different brands, and even amongst thier own products there is much variation. And in some instances not how you would expect the results of the comparisons to be.

We want to have the best products for purity that we can have if this is our preferred way of medicating.

Stay tuned for the next post.

:clap:
 
Skunkpharm has a stellar reputation for their research and safety.

They are my "go to " for pretty much anything cannabis related.



http://skunkpharmresearch.com/bho-extraction/
Butane supply:

Lastly, selecting a suitable butane source is a key step, in that all butane sources aren’t created equal. n-Butane (normal butane) is a simple alkane, with four carbon atoms linked together in a row, with the remaining possible carbon bonding sites taken up by hydrogen atoms.
The simple alkanes all are gaseous at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. They are removed from crude oil before it is further processed, by simple heating. The simplest is Methane, which is only on carbon and four hydrogen atoms, followed by Ethane with two carbons, Propane with three, and Butane with the four.
Pentane is the next simple alkane, the first to be liquid at room temperature and the first to have zero water solubility. From Pentane on, the simple alkanes are named from the Greek alphabet, and are Hexane, Heptane, Octane, etc, on through the light naphthas, oils, waxes, and asphalts.
The formula for all simple alkanes, is the number of carbon atoms times two, plus two, because each carbon atom has four possible bonding sites. A mnemonic device for remembering the first four alkanes, which were named before the Greek system was applied, is Mary Eats Peanut Butter.
After removal from the crude oil, the gases are typically de-sulfurized using steam and a catalytic reactive bed, and fractionally distilled into the four basic gases. As fractional distilling separates the gasses by specific gravity, the principal contaminants in n-Butane at that point, will be Iso-Butane, a branched molecule isomer of n-Butane, as well as n-Propane, and Cyclo-Propane, plus low levels of heavier, longer oleaginous alkane wax chains.
Neither of the butanes or propanes are particularly toxic at any sort of reasonable levels. The following for instance is taken from a typical MSDS sheet for n-Butane. The Rat LD-50 (50% dead) is 658000 mg/m3 4 hours. That is breathing a 65.8% pure butane atmosphere and asphixiating.
MSDS info:
Section 11. Toxicological information for n-Butane; Diethyl; Freon 600; Liquefied petroleum gas; LPG; n-C4H10; Butanen; Butani; Methylethylmethane; UN 1011; UN 1075; A-17; Bu-Gas.
Specific effects
Carcinogenic effects No known significant effects or critical hazards.
Mutagenic effects No known significant effects or critical hazards.
Reproduction toxicity No known significant effects or critical hazards.
No specific information is available in our database regarding the other toxic effects of this material to humans.
Chronic effects on humans May cause damage to the following organs: central nervous system (CNS).
Other toxic effects onhumans
Toxicity data
Butane LC50 Inhalation Vapor
Rat 658000 mg/m3 4 hours
Product/ingredient name Result Species Dose Exposure
Products of degradation: carbon oxides (CO, CO2) and water.
Section 12. Ecological information
Products of degradation :
Environmental fate : Not available.
Environmental hazards : No known significant effects or critical hazards.
Toxicity to the environment : Not available.
Aquatic ecotoxicity
Not available.
The MSDS LD-50s on Iso-Butane, Propane, Cyclo-Propane, and oleaginous waxes are as follows:
n-Propane; Dimethylmethane; Freon 290; Liquefied petroleum gas; Lpg; Propylhydride; R 290; C3H8; UN 1075; UN 1978; A-108; Hydrocarbon propellant. LC50 Inhalation Gas: Rat >800000 ppm 15 minutes
Cyclopropnane; Trimethylene; Trimethylene (cyclic); UN 1027; No LD-50 established;
Iso-Butane; 2-methyl-; Trimethylmethane; 1,1-Dimethylethane; 2-Methylpropane; isoC4H10; i-Butane; Isobutane mixtures; UN 1075; UN 1969; R 600a; tert-Butane; A 31;Methylpropane; Propane, 2-methyl-isobutane LC50 Inhalation Vapor Rat 658000 mg/m3 4 hours
Oleaginous Waxes- Paraffin, no notable toxicity or LD-50 available
n-Butane is used for any number of things, so it is processing beyond this point, or sharing storage tanks with other contaminated sources that may create health concerns. While n-Butane is non-toxic enough used as a food propellant, if it is to be used as a stove fuel, it will in most cases have an odorant added for leak detection, as n-Butane has only a very light sweet petroleum odor.
Ethyl Mercap is most often added for that purpose, and is the familiar rotten egg smell is detectable at the astonishing low concentration of under 3 parts per Billionth! Hexane (Gasoline) by comparison, has an odor threshold of around 30 parts per millionth, or about 10,000 times more is required for us to smell mercaptoethanol.
The MSDS for Ethyl Mercaptan shows 4420 ppm/4 hour(s) inhalation-rat LC50; 682 mg/kg oral-rat LD50, with the target organs being the central nervous system. Not super toxic, but tastes and smells of rotten eggs, so that point may be mute.
Butadiene may be added to stove fuel as well, and is of serious concern. While the following typical MSDS example shows relative low toxicity, take a look at the carcinogenic effects.
LD50 Oral Rat 5480 mg/kg -LC50 Inhalation Vapor Rat 285 g/m3 4 hours
LC50 Inhalation Vapor Rat 285000 mg/m3 4 hours
LC50 Inhalation Gas. Rat 128000 ppm 4 hours
Mutagenic effects No known significant effects or critical hazards.
Reproduction toxicity No known significant effects or critical hazards.
No specific information is available in our database regarding the other toxic effects of
this material to humans.
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS: Classified 1 (Proven for humans.) by IARC, 1 (Known to
be human carcinogens.) by NTP, + (Proven.) by NIOSH, 1 (Proven for humans.) by
European Union. Classified A2 (Suspected for humans.) by ACGIH.
MUTAGENIC EFFECTS: Classified 2 by European Union.
May cause damage to the following organs: the reproductive system, mucous membranes, upper respiratory tract, skin, eyes, central nervous system (CNS).
n-Butane may also be further refined to increase its purity, or to make it suitable for use in butane lighters. R-600 Refrigerant and Instrument grade n-Butane are examples of higher purity n-Butane suitable for extractions, and are distributed by suppliers like Matheson and Airgas.
Lighter Butane:
As those sources are expensive and not usually available to non commercial customers, in support of federal guidelines listing it as a controlled substance used in the manufacture of illegal drugs, most folks use butane made for butane lighters.
Each manufacturers blend is slightly different, with n-Propane usually added as a propellant, because below the freezing temperature of water, butane is a liquid instead of a gas.
They also further refine the n-Butane to remove more of the low level oleaginous waxes, which clog the small orifices in expensive butane lighters. This is often shown on lighter butane cans as a number followed by an X. IE: 5X.
The common name for Oleaginous Waxes from petroleum, is Paraffin, which is non-toxic enough to have no known LD-50 data and be used to seal jelly jars, so they are of low concern when extracting.
Here Madison Avenue has gotten a foot hold, and even 7X butane is available for even more money, though there is no advantage over a good 4X for the purpose of extraction.
One refiner has started labeling the brand names that they produce, Near Zero Impurities, guaranteeing under 50ppm impurities. An independent test showed that they in fact are under 50 ppm, and even under the 15ppm testing cutoff, as were competitors brands not touting near zero impurities.
If using lighter butane, the safest course is to use tried and proven brands, but if forced to improvise, first obtain a MSDS sheet from that specific manufacturer, showing the contents. Reject any containing mercaps or Butadiene.
Ingredients less than 1% need not be shown on the MSDS sheet, unless they present a health risk at the levels present, so they are not all inclusive, but a good place to start.
If the MSDS looks OK, spray a five second burst on a mirror or clean glass pane and let it completely evaporate. Check for residue. Smell it for mercaps; you can’t miss them.
Each brand extracts slightly differently, because the mixes are slightly different. Adding propane for instance, increases water solubility and the propensity to pick up water solubles.
Here are some brands that we’ve tried and work well, as well as being tired and proven brands by others. This list is by no means inclusive:
Colibri
King
Lucienne
Newport
Vector
Safety:
Butane is highly flammable, so let us next talk about safety. First and foremost, always perform the extraction outside in a well ventilated area. Have a fire extinguisher handy, as well as a blanket to roll up in, should the unthinkable happen.
It goes without saying that smoking around a butane extraction is asking for a disaster, but I have literally grabbed the hand of folks starting to light up because they “forgot” where they were at and what they were doing. May I suggest that you leave your lighter and smokes somewhere else when you are doing extractions.
Same with your cell phone!
Wear no synthetic fabrics, including your socks, because static electricity sparks probably ignite more butane unintentionally than bone headed smokers.
We use a fan to disperse the butane rapidly so as to keep it from pooling. Butane is heavier than air and will collect in low spots given its own devices. We use a plastic fan so that no sparks are created by a piece of gravel or other hard material passing through the fan blades.
In dry cold conditions, we add a grounding strap to our cans, so as to not draw static electricity sparks between the can and the column.

:tiphat: Thank you Graywolf
 
http://skunkpharmresearch.com/bho-mystery-oil/
BHO Mystery Oil


Posted by Skunk Pharm Research,LLC.

A brother recently posted on Facebook he had injected around 6 cases of butane into a container and when he evaporated it off to see what was left, there was a heavier residual oil that he described as smelling like a tire factory.
There are a number of possibilities offered on what it is, but no definitive analysis as yet, so we decided to run an experiment ourselves, with us in control of the variables such as cleanliness.
There are of course things that we know are in butane, such as sulfur in the low ppm to ppb range, and longer chain oleaginous waxes, which is what all the XXXXXX refining is to remove, as they clog the small orifices of expensive butane lighters.
If you concentrate enough butane, you would expect to see a measurable amount of those left behind and they may explain the Mystery Oil.
As far as the smell, tires are mostly made of synthetic rubber formulated out of styrene and butadiene, so the butane present could explain a butyl rubber odor, if mixed with sulfur and longer chain alkane waxes.
All conjecture of course, so until we can get a clean sample into a lab for a HPLC/MS analysis, all speculation is conjecture.
I tried to conduct the experiment yesterday, but alas we only had one case of butane on hand and thewholesale house was closed. One 12 can case turned out not to be enough, so I will repeat today.
I ran the one case of Lucienne through a brand new cold trap that I assembled out of new Mk III components, kindly loaned to us by Specialized Formulations, so that I had a pristine and uncontaminated unit for the tests. To remove any existing contamination beforehand, I first boiled in hot soapy water and wiped down with 190 proof ethanol. I did get some light oil from this trial, but not enough to filter and send out for analysis.
I say filter, because the first thing that I saw was paint chips from the outside of the can in the oil. What a tasty thought for those who can tap their butane and don’t subsequently clean the pot before running, or winterize or filter the oil.
While the sample was larger than the .05 grams needed for GC, it was small and full of paint chips, so I decided to rerun the experiment with more butane and add a coffee filter section to my test sled.
The oil didn’t smell like an old tire factory, but like a light petroleum fraction (distillant), with a hint of butane odor, so the tire factory odor may come with a larger sample.
It readily dissolved in 190 proof ethanol.
Ethanol is a simple alkane alcohol, and simple alkane hydrocarbons do readily dissolve in it.
Just to make sure my memory was correct, I dumped some hexane in the beaker of mystery oil and ethanol, to verify that it did mix, because all alcohols don’t mix with simple alkanes like hexane. It did.
I also cut apart all of the cans and felt inside for lubricity. There was none.
I inspected all the welds for quality and the welds were all sound and unoxidized.
I also cut apart the valve to better understand why lubricant would be required. It is is a simply made plug valve and needs no lubricant.
PS: Don’t cry ya’ll! The spill in the picture of alcohol is actually water from taking the cold trap out of the hot pot, not $37/1.75L 190 proof.
Today I will pick up a long case of Lucienne and try again.

8-27-2013
Well, 72 cans were enough to get a good sample and I will drop it off at a HPLC/MS lab today. I added a filter section this time, so the sample was paint chip free and appears to be a light petroleum fraction, with a light petroleum odor. There was no tire factory odor, nor the smell of sulfur at this concentration level and I will refrain from conjecture until I see the analysis.

9-4-2013

OK, I picked up the test results and am still going through it a line at a time, pulling up the MSDS sheets, starting with the items of concern.
The first thing to keep in perspective, is that the total oil was 12 ppm from 21.3 liters, so the PPM in the study should be divided by 1,000,000 and multiplied by .000,012, to get the concentration.
That concentration number X 1,000,000 will give you parts per millionth.
In summary, there were simple Alkanes present as long as C-16, which are not of health concern at the levels present.
In addition there are aromatic Alkenes present, that are of serious concern, but not at levels remotely close to exposure limits.
The concern with those Alkenes is really not reaching toxic limits, but the fact that some are known carcinogens, mutagens, teratogens, etc.
IE: Cyclohexane, isocyanato, which most likely came from the gaskets and seals used in the cans and process, because it isn’t found naturally in butane.
Nasty bad shit, with an no exposure limits established and an intravenous LD-50 mouse of 13 ppm and present at the level of .000000001728 concentration, or .001728 parts per millionth. That is about 7500 times lower than the LD-50.
Another bad nasty present was Benzenamine, 3,5, at the levels of .035778 parts per billionth, with a Permissible Exposure Limit of 2 ppm TWA for 8 hours. That is 56000 times lower than Permissible Exposure Limits.
Benzene 1,1 showed up at a concentration of .000000003678, or .000003678 PPM, with a Permissible Exposure Limit of 110 ppm TWA 8 hours.
I could go on, but it will take me awhile to pull MSDS sheets for the whole list, so I’ve attached the raw data. Sorry the quality isn’t better, but the original is barely readable and this was copied at 1200 bit resolution
Even if nothing is present at levels of serious health concern, I would prefer to not have any of that stuff in there, so in addition to fractional distillation using vacuum, we will be experimenting with Bentonite filters.

Here is the parts per billionth summary: You will note that there are redacted lines of scary stuff. Those were redacted by the lab itself, as it is their carrier solvents used for the tests and were not present in the original sample.


9-11-2013
I’m not clever enough to outsmart this edit program, and it continues to thwart my adding anything at the end, so here it is in the middle, and I’ll let Joe sort it out later.
This experiment was designed to determine the contents of the mystery oil to the ninth decimal place, and I believe has accurately done so.
It was not designed to accurately determine the weight to the ninth decimal place, so that will be the next round of experiments. For that purpose, I’ve ordered a fresh 50# refrigerant tank, as all of ours have had both n-Butane and lighter butane in them, so can’t be relied upon to be un-comtaminated themselves.
I’ve decided to rely on a third party lab to determine exact weights, after which we will have our in house chemistry brain trust The lab technician that I work with, is on vacation and I’m fixing to be, so it may take a couple weeks to come up with a formal plan.
My intent is to determine actual total ppm as compared to advertized ppm, and infer that the components are the same as the first detailed sample.
Readers have commented on having found more oil in other brands, and even in the same Lucienne brand that I tested, at levels that are triple the 50ppm limits they are certified to contain. If that is the case, I plan to make that information public and a third party documentation will be cleaner and come in handy in case of lawsuits.
It would be prohibitively expensive to test all butane sources, but we will test the half a dozen or so primary ones used for extraction, including Airgas, Praxair, and Matheson.
I’ve also picked up a couple of cases of specialty butane typically used for cooking, at the suggestion of Skyhighler, and will be fractionally distilling them, to see what the relative oil content is and if mercaptans are detectable.
A point that I hope ya’ll keep in perspective, and that is that even at the higher ppm that others are discovering the oil, the ppm of the evil spirits in the finished product, would still be under limits set by NIOSH.
Having said that, as I would personally rather not have them there at all, we will hence forth vacuum distill all butane, regardless of source, before using it in our extraction process.
9-10-2013
It is taking awhile to sort through to these items, so for those of you who wanted the complete names and a more legible copy, here are the legible names and CAS#’s at the bottom of the page:
9-23-2013
OK, I dropped off a new sample of Lucienne in the can at Specialty Analytical, as well as two cans each of Skyhighler’s Iwatani and Gasone brands for ppm testing. I expect the results by Friday, which will be third party and should cut through any concerns about my accuracy.
Cost per run was $75/ea, so I limited it to these three brands, with double tests on the Lucienne. We will test other brands of interest at a later date, after we see what we get with these tests.
I discharged a can of Gasone and Iwatani into a bain marie for a sniff test, and they both definitely have mercaptans added, so even if they are ultra low residual, our sensory threshold for ethyl mercaptan is 2.8 parts per billionth., and the final oil would taste and smell of it.
Damn nice flame though! I also ordered a Iwatani creme brulee torch head on sale, and it works better than my propane plumbers torch.
Hee, hee, hee thanks Skyhighler for setting me up with a slick new dabbing torch and more than a years supply of butane for it!
Although I wasn’t able to get the same lot of Lucienne that I tested before, because I picked up the last 6 pack at the distributor, I was able to get two different lots of Lucienne from a store shelf, so we can test for control. If they are all significantly different, it will support an out of control process theory.
I also talked to Marty about how we could further refine the tests on the items of interest, specifically just the compounds that that are considered evil spirits, despite their low levels. He is reviewing the list and costs for individual standards and we will discuss further later this week.
Still nothing on the list remotely close to established permissible exposure levels, so far thousands or millions of times below if calculated for the residuals in the extracted oil itself, but still looking and listening for input.
More to be revealed…………………..
9-23-2013
As ya’ll may have noticed, there is considerable controversy on this project, so I would like to put the conflict in perspective, as I see it.
We analyzed a sample of the residual oil from butane fractional distillation to the Parts Per Billion level and have a GC/MS printout. That means that in addition to retention time in the GC column, we have the component peaks from the mass spectrometer.
The argument has been made that isn’t accurate enough, even though the residuals of the evil spirits in the extracted oil, would be thousands to millions of times below published permissible exposure levels.
It is absolutely true that we can buy individual standards and refine our breakdown of the peaks of aromatics, where there are minute differences in the molecule, but surprises on the order of 1000, or 1,000, 000 are highly unlikely.
We are more likely to find that although some of the benzene peaks on the parts per million list, do break down into other benzene compounds, not all benzene compounds are listed as a carcinogen, so the levels in the oil may actually be reduced further.
We are continuing to work with Specialty Analysis to identify compounds worthy of refined examination, and they’ve expressed special interest in this project, as well as willingness to purchase the individual standards for evil spirits in sufficient quantity to bear closer examination.
The project is advancing in an orderly manner, without MO Jack’s participation, and the results will be all third party from a certified forensic lab, so I will be just another spectator and hopefully above reproach this time.
I disconnected communications with MO Jack, because the hoopla was greater than the project itself, and he was becoming confrontational. He seemed fine with questioning my empirical results, but not with me questioning him.
Some of his statements were also directly refuted by the individuals whom he quotes, leaving me to choose between their statements and his.
I also found bits and pieces of my statements on other forums, without the rest of my qualifying statement, which I consider to be stacking the deck and misleading.
If you read the comments column, you will also find that he has a SCFE CO2 system on order from Eden Labs, and will be in direct competition with BHO extraction, so I have other reasons to be concerned about his impartiality.
Regardless whether those issues are my error or not, there is no question that we can resolve what is in the butane without spending an even greater amount of time nit picking details at the parts per trillion levels and bickering amongst ourselves.
Best wishes to MO Jack with his own experiments, wherever they may lead him.
GW
10-3-13

Still awaiting lab results for the last three, but did get the results for two different lots of Lucienne, as well as Gasone and Iwatani.
The nice lady in the office and I miss-communicated earlier in the week, and I incorrectly reported the last Iwatani results as Lucienne. Even the ppm is incorrect, as the Iwatana cans are 394 ml instead of 300 ml.
That aside, and cutting to the chase, here are the correct Parts Per Millionth residual contamination, after evaporating away the butane, as reported by a certified third party analytical lab, for the first three brands.
The, balance of the information on other brands to follow, ostensibly Monday:
On the subject of refining our search, Marty ordered the standards required to further investigate the aromatics detected in the ppm range, as well as the cyanide compound in the ppb range. More on that after the standards arrive and more experiments are conducted.

10-4-13
RESIDUAL PPM CONTAMINANTS IN BUTANE BY BRAND from certified 3rd party lab

NOBrandVolumeResidualsPercentPPM
1Lucienne300 ml/173 gm.24 mg.000,001,3871.4
2Lucienne300 ml/173 gm.18 mg.000,001,0401
3Gasone394 ml/227gm.14 mg.000,000,662.66
4Iwatani394 ml /227 gm.41 mg.000,001,8061.8
5Vector320 ml/184 gm
6Powers300 ml/173 gm
7Newport300 ml/173 gm

10-7-13
The moment some of ya’ll have been waiting for has arrived, with the actual ppm residual contaminants in butane, by some of the common brands, as well as a couple not commonly used for butane extraction for comparison.
No hoopla or fanfaronade, just the actual ppm residuals by brand, as measured by a certified third party analytical lab.
Note that the ppm in the Gasone and Iwatani include Thiol mercaptans for leak detection. Thiols are alcohol analogs, where the oxygen atom is replaced by a sulfur atom and adds a garlic odor.
Note that the highest ppm found in any brand was 7% of their certified maximum of 50 ppm.
Also note that except for Lucienne, these were single can grab samples, and Lucienne is only two different lots, so the differences between brands, especially by the same refiner, may even out. IE: Lucienne and Newport.
They may not too, as the same refiner doesn’t necessarily mean the same refinery, which could also account for the differences.
RESIDUAL PPM CONTAMINANTS IN BUTANE BY BRAND

NOBrandVolumeResidualsPercentPPM
1Lucienne300 ml/173 gm.24 mg.000,001,3871.4
2Lucienne300 ml/173 gm.18 mg.000,001,0401
3*Gasone394 ml/227gm.14 mg.000,000,662.66
4*Iwatani394 ml /227 gm.41 mg.000,001,8061.8
5Vector320 ml/184 gm.51 mg.000,002,7712.8
6Powers300 ml/173 gm.34 mg.000,001,9652
7Newport300 ml/173 gm.61 mg.000,003,5263.5
* Contains Mercaptans
So now that we have two bits of empirical scientific data, derived by a certified third party lab, instead of the anecdotal information on Facebook and the web that we started with, lets do the math to put this in perspective.
The previous part per billionth analysis showed 1,4 Dichlorobenzene at a combined total level of 55 parts per billionth, or .000,000,055. We all agree that we want no part of 1,4 Dichlorozenzene, because it has been declared a carcinogen, and given a low TWA CEIL of 110ppm by NIOSH.
http://www.sciencelab.com/msds.php?msdsId=9923722
55 parts per billionth in the concentrated residual itself, is 2000 times smaller than 110 parts per millionth TWA Ceiling imposed by NIOSH.
It will in addition be further diluted in an extract, considering that at the worse case total residual contaminant found was 3.5 ppm, besides being dilute in the extracted oil itself. Lets look at that math.
.000,000, 055 X .000, 0035 = .000,000,000,000,192 or 200 parts per quadrillion in the butane used for extraction.
Assuming a 40 gram trim extraction, using 300 ml of butane, and yielding only 10%, 300 ml butane would deposit .000,000,000,058 ml of 1,4 Dichlorbenzene in 4 grams of concentrate.
.000, 000, 000, 058 ml X 1.2475 gms per ml = .000,000,000,072 grams of 1,4 Dichlorobenzene in 4 grams of concentrate.
.000,000.000,072 grams divided by 4 grams =.000,000,000,018 or 18 parts per trillion.
110 ppm TWA Ceiling (.000, 110) divided by residual 1,4 Dichlorobenzene level of 18 parts per trillion (.000,000,000,018) = 6,111,111 or about one six millionth (1/6,000,000th) of maximum allowable exposure level.
4 grams of oil will produce about 20 200 mg hits, so each hit would be about 1/20th of 1/6,000, 000, so exposure per hit would be about 1/1,200,000,000 of the 110 ppm maximum.
Soooo, now that we have put things in perspective, where do we go from here?
We are planning some more testing of different brands and sources and further refined testing of all the evil spirits, but we have come far enough to know that while we would prefer to not have the unwanted contaminants in our butane, its presence is thousands, or even billions of times below published levels of concerns by health professionals.
We’ve also learned that it is easy to remove, using a cold trap and a refrigerant recovery pump, so those of you with the required equipment can take it out, making the point moot.
That is what we now do, because we can, but continue to use the oil we produced before we started fractionally distilling the butane.
10-23-13
The Colibri and Ronson sample results arrived and are as per the following chart:
Given the price and hoopla, I expected the Colibri to be lower. I wonder if it is the same product, after the company was bought out?
To consider, is that except for 2 sample lots of Luciene, all of these are single grab samples, so we don’t know what the median, mode, mean or standard deviation is.
More later, after we test Airgas, Matheson, and Praxair.
The lab asked for more time on the detailed component analysis, as well as the followup experiments for MO, to attempt to reconcile the differences between his PPM rates and theirs. More as that develops.
The good news, is that they’ve agreed to start running cannabis samples, and have more toys than any of the local cannabis labs, such as GC, MS, HPLC, etc.

RESIDUAL PPM CONTAMINANTS IN BUTANE BY BRAND

NOBrandVolumeResidualsPercentPPM
1Lucienne300 ml/173 gm.24 mg.000,001,3871.4
2Lucienne300 ml/173 gm.18 mg.000,001,0401
3*Gasone394 ml/227gm.14 mg.000,000,662.66
4*Iwatani394 ml /227 gm.41 mg.000,001,8061.8
5Vector320 ml/184 gm.51 mg.000,002,7712.8
6Powers300 ml/173 gm.34 mg.000,001,9652
7Newport300 ml/173 gm.61 mg.000,003,5263.5
8Colibri270ml/156 gm2.34 mg.00001515
9Ronson330 ml/190 grams42.7 mg.000224224
* Contains Mercaptans
1-18-2014
Here are some residual test results conducted by Skyhighler and posted on Toke City at :
http://www.tokecity.com/forums/show...-Mystery-Oil&p=1335291&viewfull=1#post1335291

Power (0X) had 0.021g of residue
Power (0X), Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “130819”
Power 5X #1 had 0.02g of residue
Power 5X, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “130820”
Power 5X #2 had 0.019g of residue
Power 5X, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “130731”
Power 7X had 0.029g of residue
Power 7X, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “120716”
Newport #1 had 0.01g of residue
Newport, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 24.04.13 20:33″
Newport #2 had 0.004g of residue
Newport, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 26.03.13 19:09″
Vector #1 had 0.03g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “AUTHENTIC VECTOR GAS 2013.04.06″
Vector #2 had 0.02g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “AUTHENTIC VECTOR GAS 2013.04.06″
Vector #3 had 0.028g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “AUTHENTIC VECTOR GAS 2013.04.06″
Vector #4 had 0.028g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “AUTHENTIC VECTOR GAS 2013.04.06″
Vector 14X #1 had 0.019g of residue
Vector 14X, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “AUTHENTIC VECTOR GAS 2013 09 10″
Vector 14X #2 had 0.018g of residue
Vector 14X, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “AUTHENTIC VECTOR GAS 2013 09 10″
Lucienne #1 had 0.03g of residue
Lucienne, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 16.07.13 13:28″
Lucienne #2 had 0.002g of residue
Lucienne, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 16.07.13 13:28″
Lucienne #3 had 0.001g of residue
Lucienne, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 16.07.13 13:28″
Lucienne #4 had <0.001g residue
Lucienne, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 16.07.13 13:28″
Ronson #1 had 0.01g of residue
Ronson, USA. 300ml/165g can, reads on the bottom “11713”
Ronson #2 had 0.001g residue
Ronson, USA. 300ml/165g can, reads on the bottom “11713”
Ronson #3 had <.001g residue
Ronson, USA, 300ml/165g can, reads on the bottom “11713”
Spark 7x had 0.04g of residue
Spark 7x, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “120404”
King had 0.033g of residue
King, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “12.04.25”
Fasfil 5X #1 had 0.030g of residue
Fasfil 5X, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “120718”
Fasfil 5X #2 had 0.032g of residue
Fasfil 5X, Korea, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “120718”
whip-it! 9X had 0.025g of residue
whip-it! 9X, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “130708”
whip-it! Premium had 0.003g of residue
whip-it! Premium, UK, 400ml can, reads on the bottom “239 M 17:25 1″
Neon #1 had 0.004g of residue
Neon, China, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “Manufactured On 20/12/2012/ (00488)” (no added odorant/mercaptan)
Neon #2 had 0.005g of residue
Neon, China, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “Manufactured On 20.02.1200413″ (unusable due to added odorant/mercaptan)
Neon #3 had 0.001g of residue
Neon, China, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “Manufactured On 25/05/2012(00446)” (no added odorant/mercaptan)
Neon 5X #1 had 0.001g of residue
Neon 5X, China, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “Manufactured On 20/05/2013(00506)” (no added odorant/mercaptan)
Neon 5X #2 had 0.015g of residue (stinks, odorant/mercaptan?)
Neon 5X, China, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “Manufactured On 11/05/2012(004236)”
Neon 5X #3 had 0.004g of residue
Neon 5X, China, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “Manufactured On 25/5/2013(00505) (no added odorant/mercaptan)
Lava had 0.033g of residue
Lava, Korea, 5.3oz/150g can, reads on the bottom “070321”
Zippo had 0.001g of residue
Zippo, USA, 5.82oz/165g can, reads on the bottom “H1513″
Colibri had 0.001g of residue
Colibri, UK, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 18.04.13 06:35″
Stok FYR had 0.023g of residue
Stok FYR, UK, 5.8oz/165g can, reads on the bottom “DOM 07.08.13 15:57″
Iolite had 0.010g of residue
Iolite, England, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 30.07.13 22:45″
Gasone 5X had 0.028g of residue
Gasone 5X, Korea, 5.8oz/165g can, reads on the bottom “130511”
Xikar #1 had 0.010g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, USA, 8oz/225g can, reads on the bottom “CC26/0947″
Xikar #2 had 0.007g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, USA, 8oz/225g can, reads on the bottom “CC26/1153″
Clipper 7X had 0.004g of residue
Clipper 7X, China, 4.89oz/139g can, reads on the bottom “26.03.2012”
Lotus had 0.002g of residue
Lotus, England, 400ml/13.4oz/222g can, reads on the bottom “DOM 03.10.12 14:03″
Jetline had 0.027g of residue
Jetline, Korea, 330ml can, reads on the bottom “130410”
Capital N-butane #1 had 0.008g of residue
Capital N-butane, USA, 6.6oz/187g can, reads on the bottom “13337”
Capital N-butane #2 had 0.009g of residue
Capital N-butane, USA, 6.6oz/187g can, reads on the bottom “13337”
Puretane #1 had 0.006g of residue
Puretane, USA, 300ml/167g can, reads on the bottom “13339 (1) 34623 06332″
Puretane #2 had 0.006g of residue
Puretane, USA, 300ml/167g can, reads on the bottom “13339 (1) 34623 06324″
Clipper 12X had 0.025g of residue
Clipper 12X, Spain, 170g can, reads on the bottom “QT31E”
Comoy’s had 0.015g of residue
Comoy’s, UK, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “DOM 23.05.13 05:28″
Smoke It’s had 0.007g of residue (stinks!!! don’t use!)
Smoke It’s, 300ml with no country or date of manufacture on the can
Meteor 7X had 0.030g of residue
Meteor 7X, Korea?, 165g can, reads on the bottom “130517”
Cloud 9X had 0.003g of residue
Cloud 9X, 300ml can with no country or date of manufacture
Iwatani #1 had 0.03g of residue
Iwatiani butane fuel, Korea, eight ounce can, reads near the top of the can “130506” (unusable due to added odorant/mercaptan)
Iwatani #2 had 0.010g of residue
Iwatiani butane fuel, Korea, eight ounce can, reads near the top of the can “130506” (unusable due to added odorant/mercaptan)
Those were my results, here’s jackgastche’s:
Vector #1 had 0.04g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “5/12/2012″
Vector #2 had 0.04g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “5/12/2012″
Vector #3 had 0.06g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom 5/12/2012″”
Vector #4 had 0.03g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “5/13/2013″
Vector #5 had 0.04g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “5/13/2013″
Vector #6 had 0.04g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “5/13/2013″
Vector #7 had 0.02g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “12/15/2011″
Vector #8 had 0.02g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “12/15/2011″
Vector #9 had 0.03g of residue
Vector, Korea, 320ml can, reads on the bottom “12/15/2011″
Colibri #1 had 0.03g of residue
Colibri, UK, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “8/16/2011″
Colibri #2 had 0.03g of residue
Colibri, UK, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “8/16/2011″
Colibri #3 had 0.03g of residue
Colibri, UK, 300ml can, reads on the bottom “8/16/2011″
Xikar #1 had 0.002g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, UK, 400ml can, reads on the bottom “3/13/’12”
Xikar #2 had 0.002g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, UK, 400ml can, reads on the bottom “3/13/’12”
Xikar #3 had 0.002g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, UK, 400ml can, reads on the bottom “3/13/’12”
Xikar #4 had 0.003g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, UK, 400ml can, reads on the bottom “3/13/’12”
Xikar #5 had 0.003g of residue (chemical smell, avoid)
Xikar, UK, 400ml can, reads on the bottom “3/13/’12”
My first tests were weighed with this inexpensive .01 gradient scale,
http://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh…ords=.01+scale
My results to the .001 digit were weighed with this inexpensive .001 gradient scale,
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00…?ie=UTF8&psc=1
The results from jackgastche were weighed with a .001 gradient scale, but rounded off to the .01 digit.
How the test was done,
http://www.tokecity.com/forums/showt…=1#post1334342
Best to Worst list extrapolated from the above results,
http://www.tokecity.com/forums/showt…=1#post1338141
Contaminant as found by Specialty Analytical using GC/MS

[TABLE="width: 570"]
[TR]
[TD]NO[/TD]
[TD]CONTAMINANT[/TD]
[TD]Cas#[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.0[/TD]
[TD]Parts Per Billionth[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.1[/TD]
[TD]Butanal, 3-methyl[/TD]
[TD]000590-86-3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.2[/TD]
[TD]Decane, 1,1, oxyblis[/TD]
[TD]002456-28-2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.3[/TD]
[TD]Decane[/TD]
[TD]000124-18-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.4[/TD]
[TD]3-heptane,2,2,4 dimethyl[/TD]
[TD]002213-23-2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.5[/TD]
[TD]Sulfurous acid, cyclohexylmethyl[/TD]
[TD]1000309-22-4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.6[/TD]
[TD]3-heptene, 2,2,4,6,6 pentamethyl[/TD]
[TD]000123-48-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.7[/TD]
[TD]1,2-Dichlorobenze-D4[/TD]
[TD]002199.69.1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.8[/TD]
[TD]1,4-Dichlorbenze-D4[/TD]
[TD]003855-82-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.9[/TD]
[TD]Oxalic acid, cyclobutyl nonyl ester[/TD]
[TD]1000309-70-0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.10[/TD]
[TD]1-Octanol, 2-butyl[/TD]
[TD]003913-02-9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.11[/TD]
[TD]Oxalic acid, isobutyl octyl ester[/TD]
[TD]1000309-37-3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.12[/TD]
[TD]1-Bromodocosane[/TD]
[TD]006938-66-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.13[/TD]
[TD]Isooctane, (ethenyloxy)[/TD]
[TD]037769-62-3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.14[/TD]
[TD]Oxalic acid, allyl nonyl ester[/TD]
[TD]1000309-23-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.14[/TD]
[TD]1-Hexanol, 2-ethyl[/TD]
[TD]000104-76-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.16[/TD]
[TD]3-Octene,[/TD]
[TD]014919-01-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.17[/TD]
[TD]2-Propyl-1-pentanol[/TD]
[TD]058175-57-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.18[/TD]
[TD]1-Hexanol, 2-ethyl[/TD]
[TD]000104-76-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.19[/TD]
[TD]Dodecane[/TD]
[TD]000112-40-3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.20[/TD]
[TD]Tetradecane[/TD]
[TD]000629-59-4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.21[/TD]
[TD]Benzenamine, 3,5[/TD]
[TD]000626-43-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.22[/TD]
[TD]Silane, dichloro(3-chloropropyo)[/TD]
[TD]003401-26-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.23[/TD]
[TD]1H-Iden-1-One, 6 (dimethylamino)[/TD]
[TD]058161-22-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1.24[/TD]
[TD]3,5-Dichlorophenyl ethylamine[/TD]
[TD]1000306-63-2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.0[/TD]
[TD]Parts Per Millionth[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.1[/TD]
[TD]2-Pentanol, propanoate[/TD]
[TD]054004-43-2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.2[/TD]
[TD]2-Bromo dodecane[/TD]
[TD]013187-99-0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.3[/TD]
[TD]Octadecane, 1-(ethenyloxy)[/TD]
[TD]000930-02-9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.4[/TD]
[TD]2-Methylpentyl isovalerate[/TD]
[TD]1000236-38-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.5[/TD]
[TD]Eicosane[/TD]
[TD]000112-95-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.6[/TD]
[TD]N1-(m Tolyl)-N2-tetrahydro[/TD]
[TD]332065-24-4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.7[/TD]
[TD]Azetidine, 1-me[/TD]
[TD]004923-79-9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.8[/TD]
[TD]Cyclobutane, methylene[/TD]
[TD]000292-64-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.9[/TD]
[TD]Benzene, 1,1-(1,3butadiyne-1,4)[/TD]
[TD]000886-66-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.10[/TD]
[TD]Tricyclodecanedimethanamine[/TD]
[TD]026655-37-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.11[/TD]
[TD]6-Octadecenoic acid[/TD]
[TD]000593-39-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.12[/TD]
[TD]Cyclohexane, 1-pentyl[/TD]
[TD]015232-85-6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.13[/TD]
[TD]4-Pentenal, 2-methylene[/TD]
[TD]017854-46-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.14[/TD]
[TD]3-Hexadecene[/TD]
[TD]034303-81-6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.15[/TD]
[TD]2,5-Furandione, 3-(dodecenyl)[/TD]
[TD]025377-73-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.16[/TD]
[TD]Cyclohexanone,4-acetyl[/TD]
[TD]005034-21-9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.17[/TD]
[TD]Oxalic acid, 2-ethylhexl isohex[/TD]
[TD]1000309-38-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.18[/TD]
[TD]Benzofuran-2-one, 4 amino-2[/TD]
[TD]1000129-51-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.19[/TD]
[TD]1,5,9-Cyclododecatrine[/TD]
[TD]000676-22-2[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.20[/TD]
[TD]Carbonic acid, decyl phenyl este[/TD]
[TD]1000314-57-4[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.21[/TD]
[TD]Dicyloxybenzene[/TD]
[TD]035021-67-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.22[/TD]
[TD]Carbonic acid, hexadecyl phenyl[/TD]
[TD]1000314-58-0[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.23[/TD]
[TD]Carbonic acid, Octadecyl pheny[/TD]
[TD]1000314-58-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.24[/TD]
[TD]Carbonic acid, phenyl tetradecyl[/TD]
[TD]1000314-57-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.25[/TD]
[TD]Phynl 3-deoxy-alpha,-d-ribo-he[/TD]
[TD]1000133-06-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.26[/TD]
[TD]6,7-Dioxabicylo(3.2.2)non-8-ene[/TD]
[TD]006786-21-6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.27[/TD]
[TD]Beta-d-Mannofuranoside, phenyl[/TD]
[TD]093524-17-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.28[/TD]
[TD]N-Vinyllimidazole[/TD]
[TD]001072-63-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.29[/TD]
[TD]Decanedioic acid, bis (2ethylhex[/TD]
[TD]000122-62-3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.30[/TD]
[TD]Glutaric acid, mono-phenyl ester[/TD]
[TD]037526-03-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.31[/TD]
[TD]Carbonic acid, Phynl undec-10-e[/TD]
[TD]1000314-57-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.32[/TD]
[TD]Heptadecane, 2,6,10,14-tetramethyl[/TD]
[TD]018344-37-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.33[/TD]
[TD]Oxalic acid, dodecyl 2-ethylhexy[/TD]
[TD]1000309-39-5[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.34[/TD]
[TD]5-Chlorobenzo(1,2,5)thiadiazol-4[/TD]
[TD]1000311-77-9[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.35[/TD]
[TD]Hexadecane, 1-chloro[/TD]
[TD]004860-03-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.36[/TD]
[TD]6-Nitroundec-5-ene[/TD]
[TD]1000192-40-3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.37[/TD]
[TD]Butanedioic acid,2,3,dihydroxy[/TD]
[TD]013811-71-7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.38[/TD]
[TD]Isoquinoline, 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro[/TD]
[TD]029726-60-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.39[/TD]
[TD]Pyrrolidine, 1-methyl-3-2-spiro[/TD]
[TD]04029-14-1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.40[/TD]
[TD]Imidazo(1,2-b)1,2,4, triazine,6[/TD]
[TD]094103-49-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.41[/TD]
[TD]2 Propyn-1-one, 1-(2-thienyl)[/TD]
[TD]056588-20-6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.42[/TD]
[TD]E-11-Hexadecen-1-o1[/TD]
[TD]1000130-89-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.43[/TD]
[TD]9-Octadecoi acid[/TD]
[TD]000112-79-8[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2.44[/TD]
[TD]Octadecane, 1-chloro[/TD]
[TD]003386-33-2

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
 
Alright, I'll be honest, most of the factual info went over my head and I didn't take the time to read it all.. But, it didn't seem to tell me much as I was skimming through it. What's the best butane to use and is the 7x really better than 5x to a noticeable degree?
 
I know I should only post the pertinent information, but Gray Wolf explains stuff so well and Safety is first at Skunk Pharm Research.

As long as you purge well...we have gotten nice product out of the Power 5X.
 
I agree, SPR is awesome on their factual information about butane and BHO! I'll always run 7x, but for someone who's trying to figure out what to buy or get, they may be a bit overwhelmed with that haha. I love to have the most amount of information available to me, whether it's really pertinent or not, I can read it and determine from there if I actually needed that for me. Knowledge is power!
 
Would this be the right type to use?

uploadfromtaptalk1456196351929.jpg
 
Should work fine....

http://www.hightimes.com/read/american-makes-first-portable-n-butane-bho-market

american-cleanest-butane.jpg

An American Makes the First Portable N-Butane for the BHO Market
BY JACOB KATEL · TUE OCT 14, 2014

When it come to butane hash oil, experts agree that laboratory grade n-butane is the cleanest, most effective solvent for extracting concentrates from canna- bis. Historically, this gas has only been available in bulk cylinders from specialty gas suppliers or in portable cans from overseas. But now there’s a new American-made n-butane designed specifically for the needs of BHO makers --Puretane.

The man behind this new solvent is Adam Hopkins -- an entrepreneur who sells synthetic urine, grinders and vaporizers to headshops around the country. Hopkins says that, like most great ideas, he thought of it while getting high.

“I talk to a lot of headshop owners around the country, and I noticed how huge butane was getting,” Hopkins says. “Our retailers couldn’t get enough of it ... but most of the supply chain comes from South Korea and gets locked up at the port for months waiting for inspection.”

So Hopkins began sourcing Gulf Coast oil and manufacturing his own butane from a refinery in Long Beach -- earning him the nickname the “butane cowboy.”

“Most of our oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico and gets refined right in the Gulfport / Shreveport area. No problem with customs, no boat from China.”

Several Asian and European brands that have been popularly adopted by extract artists claim that they’re three, five, or seven-time refined, but those filtrations are not subject to our nation’s rigorous controls.

“No other country in the world has environmental regulations as tight as America,” Hopkins explains. “Here, you know that the filling room was clean, free of particles, and that the lines were cleaned between batches.”

The only other American-made butane company is Ronson, but their gas is full of mercaptans -- organic sulfur compounds added to give the product a distinctly noxious odor. Use of this type of butane for extractions is widely known to result in dirty BHO (known in some circles as “Black Poison” or “Tane Soup”) that can seriously harm a person if ingested.

Puretane, on the other hand, is made with maximum purity in mind, specifically for extracting oils out of marijuana. They utilize fractional distillation -- an organic process that uses heat to separate chemical compounds and filter out impurities. The end product is 99.9998% pure, containing only one ten- thousandth of a percent of sulfur -- which they consider medical grade (as evidenced by the green cross on the can).

“I’m no sommelier of wax,” he admits, “but we’ve been real happy with the clean taste of the BHO it produces. All I care about is passing along the purest possible product to our customers.”

Eventually, Hopkins hopes that his product and other American-made butanes will take over the market. “There’s a lot of entrepreneurs, creativity, and experimentation out there,” he says. “The weed industry is like the wild west.”

Yippie Ki-yay, butane cowboy.
 
Back
Top