i am using a simple a/b extraction method with powdered mhrb, NaOH, and Naphtha..
i have done this before with no problem, but today when i went to collect the crystals that had formed, it all turned to a goopy dark brown when i scraped it together?!
--i am including two photos..
=the first one is a mini-extraction that was successful..
=the second photo is of the crystals that turned brown when i scraped them together..

i thought i had a good technique down - and then this happened. I'm including as much info as i can think of..

photo one and photo two were both pulled from the same jar, at nearly the same pH, (between 12.5 and 14)

i took the brown goop and redissolved it in fresh naphtha, but i'm afraid the exact same thing will happen again if i just dry it out the same way..

thank you to all who take the time to read this,
if you know what i am doing wrong, or have a suggestion, please comment!

thank you all,
peace and love,
mantis12

I just had the same thing happen to me. I have done 3 extractions and the last one that i did had collected a lot of the brown stuff but it mostly just stuck to the sides. For me, and it may be the same for you, i believe i was the last pull from that jar and it must have pulled more oils and coloring from the bark. If its only slightly brown/yellow i wouldnt worry about it too much but if it was as brown as mine i probably wouldn't use it. Let me know how the crystals turn out after re-disolving them in naptha. Peace.

The second photo looks a bit like a some crystals we had made and then when we were evaporating the remaining Naptha had melted some. I do not remember them being brown, but very goopy in the photo you put up. Maybe the brown is a small amount of mhrb that got through? I am not sure though, maybe try a different evaporation method, if you aren't already just letting it sit out. Hope this helps some I am not the most informed when it comes to this stuff.

thank you both for your input! i will let you know how things turn out
peace and love
mantis12