Those are pics of the way i process Kash's extraction. Nothing new, it's just to clarify how i do in relation to this other thread.
Here not much numbers and measurement, check the original tek to get the recipe. It's more a visual addition.



- First get a nice cactus : a 2 years old bridgesii started from seed. I wanted to check my first bridge and this one already have few pups showing up so i could take the main stem :



- The cutting to extract and the tip to grow :



- Despined. Cut in dice in a blender :



- Blended, it looks like a perfect delicious smoothie but don't taste it. No. Don't.



- In the freezer for the night :



- Next morning, boil it in a pressure cooker (forgot to take a pic) with some water and a dash of vinegar. Be carefull, for the first boil, be sure to make it boil before to put the cover. Sometime, due to mucilage, it foams a lot and this could be sprayed through the pressure release valve. Or worst, it could clog this valve and you don't want that. No you don't :


Boil until it doesn't foam anymore, lock the cover and cook for 30min (after the valve release the vapor)


- Filter with a cloth :



- Put the plant matter back in the PC with some fresh water (dash of vinegar optional). No risk with foaming this time so lock the cover right up and count down 15min (after the valve sings).
Repeat one more time these step. So, in total, it's been PC 1x30min and 2x15min.


- Combine all the liquid filtered and boil down to get a small volume easier to work with. Not too much or it will become sirupy :



- Aside, during the reduction step, you can prepare a solution of NaOH (caustic soda), like this, it will have time to cool down :

Safety first : protections (gloves, safety glasses, long sleeves,...), always add NaOH in the water (not the other way). As it's an exothermal reaction it's good to keep the mixture container in a cold bath or at least in an another container (or a sink in this case) in case of damage due to the thermal shock.


- Once the reduced liquid is cooled put in a jar and mix with NaOH solution :



- Add some toluene (or xylene). Shake few times. Let decant :



- Pull the toluene (here with a stainless baster). I let decant in narrow glasses as droplet of basic solution tends to stick to the glass :



- I pull 3 times with fresh toluene, combine them in a small jar and add some HCl solution prepared with few ml of HCl concentrated in a small volume of water.
Toluene with HCl solution. Shake. Decant and pull HCl solution with stainless baster :



- Evap the HCl solution. The solution is in a flat dish above a pan (insulated with a towel) full of hot water with a fan blowing on it:



- Scrap and weight the result :










will edit soon

Very nice!

Also damn your cacti grow fast from seed! Do you live in a very warm/tropical environment?

Please keep it coming!

Yes, i cheat. I made the choice to live under the tropics. Main problem here is to protect cactus from the burning sun, partial shade is gold for trichs.

But be aware that i only extract the biggest, aka fastest grower, of those cacti. There is a wide range of growth rate, most of them are much smaller at the same age. In this pic, 90% of those are 2,5 years old (and the smallest are in different spot) :

Damn son, how long have you been collecting for? Got any oddballs or "named" cuttings hidden in there?

3 years ago, is the beginning of the cactus quest.

As i live in a remote area (mailing speaking), cuttings are difficult to get so seeds are my choice. The only cutting that reached my yard have been picked up by myself in peru and travelled few weeks in my backpack. Here is thread about those.
And 2.5 years ago i started a bunch of cross-breeded seeds of named clone. The bet is that in those i will find some good specimens and will be able to name my own clone

Hahaaaaa, God bless you man. The only thing I like more than sustained head of the class cuttings is brand new genetics. Rock and roll.

Have you by random chance gotten any new seeds to sprout as 4 ribbers?

Few Bridge tend to go 4 ribs on and off:




and few pacha like this one i named Square :

Did you grow that from seed or recieve it as a cutting? I'm on the hunt for 4 ribbers so they occupy my focal point at the moment. This is my only one, which looks strangely similar to yours, he's got a little blob on his new growth.

Have you ever ingested one of your 4 ribbers? If so can you give a brief description of your experience? I read a book one time and it made a note of how they can be different in their own way. Whether or not that comparison holds weight or not, I can't tell you.

Have you removed the waxy skin? I wonder if that affects the extraction process - I know people are peeling off the skin for making powder and not sure if that is necessary for the extraction - but probably not...

Nope, no need to peel it.