Can limonene be distilled so it can be reused after an extraction? You lock the door, and throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me
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I've been thinking about that too. It would save a bundle of cash. I'm going to try as soon as I get going with this, do side by side extractions with clean and re-distilled limonene, compare the yields. Its a question that needs to be answered. I think the boiling point is highish, like 380C or something? Onwards and upwards
_______________________
"am SWIM human? am SWIM alien? am SWIM even WHAT?!"
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You don't need a high temperature to do it. You just need boiling water. Just mix in some water and it distills along with it. Pretty cool. You may remember me as 69Ron. I was suspended years ago for selling bunk products under false pretenses. I try to sneak back from time to time under different names, but unfortunately, the moderators of the DMT-Nexus are infinitely smarter than I am.
If you see me at the waterpark, please say hello. I'll be the delusional 50 something in the American flag Speedo, oiling up his monster guns while responding to imaginary requests for selfies from invisible teenage girls.
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It most certainly can. Nearly any solvent can. Yes and the method ron69 mentioned is commonly known as steam distillation. It works for most essential oils.
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A setup like this would work well enough, wouldn't it? 
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Yes but its better to have a condenser that helps cool the steam. Also a vent for pressure.
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I wouldn't use that setup with open fire and no condenser! But it can be done, I once distilled some naphta in the kitchen. And a bit of ethanol (illegal!). If you're going to (steam) distill, why not start with orange peels and make your own limonene: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVZRnVKqkgwNot very practical but purely for educational purposes 
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kaos.underwave wrote:
I think the boiling point is highish, like 380C or something?
nah, it's actually 176. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck
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kantu is good, but also consider expediglass; may be a bit cheaper "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck
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benzyme wrote:kaos.underwave wrote:
I think the boiling point is highish, like 380C or something?
nah, it's actually 176. not even close  I'm guessing you'd need a lot of peel to make 1000ml of this stuff Onwards and upwards
_______________________
"am SWIM human? am SWIM alien? am SWIM even WHAT?!"
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ohhhh yeah.. swim went through at least 40 peels to get around 20ml of lemon/orange essential oil. he likes to make margaritas from scratch, drinks them with his wife  "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck
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Just because the boiling point is higher then 100 degrees doesn't mean it does not distill. Limonene and most essential oils can be isolated by steam distillation very easly.
But yes doing this from plant material requires LOTS of plant material and is not practical for most purposes.
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definitely not practical, but good for practice. limonene is excellent for adhesive removal, paint thinning, and anti-bacterial applications. very nice compound to have steam distillation is a great application to get those essential oils. it often takes a lot of plant materials, though it's still relevant for getting those flavoring extracts and aromatherapy goodies. cinnamaldehyde is my fav, followed by menthol/menthone, limonene, carvone, and pinene. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck
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burnt wrote:Just because the boiling point is higher then 100 degrees doesn't mean it does not distill. Limonene and most essential oils can be isolated by steam distillation very easly.
But yes doing this from plant material requires LOTS of plant material and is not practical for most purposes. It's never a bad thing to know how to make ones own solvents. Who knows what the country and the laws will be like in the future. You lock the door, and throw away the key
There's someone in my head but it's not me
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knowing the boiling point of the solvent (in this case, limonene) is useful if one wants to purify it. a fractional distillation setup, say, using a vigreaux column, is one way this could be achieved. I'd have to agree... the laws in many states (i.e. Texas) are draconian; I've said it before. it's becoming increasingly difficult, because of company liability, to use the DIY ethic. I hope during this admin's watch, that changes...but I won't hold my breath. "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck
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Do It Yourself and by company liability, I mean chem supply and equipment vendors "Nothing is true, everything is permitted." ~ hassan i sabbah
"Experiments are the only means of attaining knowledge at our disposal. The rest is poetry, imagination." -Max Planck
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So companies can be liable for lets say selling some reagents to a home chemist who is maybe doing something that is completely legal is lets say he spilled something nasty on his skin or whatever?
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DIY also stands for Don't Involve Yourself (bitter counter attack from the anti-DIY enthusiasts...unfortunately true where SWIM lives at the moment) Need to calculate between salts and freebases? Click here! Need to calculate freebase or salt percentage at a given pH? Click here!
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