After designing groundbreaking home extraction equipment and pioneering processes for over a decade, I dreamed of making botanical extraction more accessible, affordable, and reliable. I needed a way to free home users from expensive, unreliable single-function products, so I embarked on the DIY path to explore the usability and value of a component system, which people really loved. Two serious hurdles needed to be addressed to make this more attainable for the average home hobbyist. First was the challenge of sourcing quality parts to assemble a good system. Second was overcoming the general perception of the process and system's complexity. After significant effort, expense, and sleepless nights, it has been accomplished.

Torr Kitchen (tK) has developed a component-based system to address these challenges. First, everything needed for the system can be purchased as a set that caters to individual requirements and budgets. Just as importantly, the components in the sets are multifunctional and reasonably priced, offering excellent value. Second, I have successfully pioneered teaching and supporting individuals in learning the ethanol extraction process, and I aim to continue this project with comprehensive content and customer support. This article will break down and explain how the vacuum still system works, followed by a sequel that will explain how to use it.

Botanical extraction begins by using high-proof ethanol to harvest desirable oils from a wide range of botanicals for their flavor, scenting, or medicinal properties. That creates a rich botanical oil tincture, but to enhance the usability of the collected oils, the tincture needs to be concentrated. This is the function of the vacuum still and distillation system. Central to the ethanol extraction process is ethanol recovery. Ethanol is distilled out of the tincture and away from the collected botanical oils, leaving a beautiful concentrate on one side of the system and recovered ethanol separated and ready for reuse on the other. 

 

DISTILLATION

This process is called “distillation,” and the equipment traditionally used is referred to as a “still.” A traditional still is commonly used for producing moonshine and other spirits. Simple stills function at ambient pressure with basic coil condensers at high temperatures. They have a straightforward design and are easy to operate. On the other end of the equipment spectrum is the “rotary evaporator” (rotovap). These devices feature tight vacuum and temperature controls, which are impressive but make the good quality models expensive and require more skill and experience to use successfully. 

A simple still and a rotovap perform the same distillation process: evaporating a solvent (in our case, ethanol), condensing the vapor, and collecting the resulting liquid. In theory, it’s that straightforward. An ethanol tincture becomes increasingly unstable and harder to manage with each additional unit of heat and/or vacuum applied. Which system is better depends solely on the desired final product. Utilizing a simple still as a low-tech, low-cost method for producing low-quality traditional extractions can be acceptable. However, any concentrate that needs to preserve more delicate components and prevent degradation necessitates operating under vacuum at lower temperatures, similar to a rotovap or other high-end equipment. 

Fortunately, with some effort and expertise, we can construct a vacuum still for low-temperature ethanol recovery, similar to much more costly equipment, at a fraction of the price while providing great value with multi-functional components. That’s the path tK is making possible.

 

I won’t be covering the entire extraction process in this post. An excellent resource for the ethanol extraction process, with step-by-step instructions throughout, is my post, Ethanol Extraction: Complete Breakdown. Additionally, there’s plenty to explore in the IchiBanCrafter Blog if you’re looking to broaden your horizons and sharpen your skills. Check it out!

 

THE SIMPLE STILL

It’s best to start at the beginning with the traditional, simple, and most basic distillation setup. The components are rudimentary and consistent with a modern water distiller or Air Still. Though the components in a water distiller or Air Still are compact and stacked, they serve the same purpose as a classic, simple moonshine still.

The simple distillation process is easy to understand through everyday examples. For instance, when you take a shower, warm water vapor travels and condenses on the cooler surfaces of a mirror. Similarly, on a hot and humid summer day, moisture in the air will condense on the surface of a cold soda can. This same process of warm vapor condensing into liquid when cooled occurs during distillation.

Heat is applied to increase the temperature of the tincture in the loading vessel. As the temperature rises, ethanol begins to evaporate, generating vapor. The warm, expansive vapor increases the pressure inside the loading vessel, pushing the vapor through the condenser to the lower ambient pressure outside at the open end of the system, attempting to reach pressure equalization. Most of the vapor will cool and return to liquid as it passes through the condenser. However, due to the open nature of the still, some vapor will be pushed through and escape at the open end of the system without condensing, leading to low recovery rates of around 70%.

The temperature of any liquid in an open atmosphere can only rise to its boiling point and no higher. For instance, water cannot exceed 212°F when boiled, and ethanol cannot exceed 173°F.  When more and more heat is applied, boiling becomes more vigorous, generating more vapor, but it cannot get hotter. The excess vapor in an open system simply vents and escapes. Ethanol’s low boiling point makes ethanol extraction possible. Its boiling point is lower than that of other tincture components, allowing it to evaporate while the extracted oil remains.

---

---

VACUUM STILL

A few extra components transform a simple still into a vacuum still. These new components enable the system to operate under vacuum as a closed system at lower temperatures.

By removing air from the system and creating a vacuum environment, the evaporation point of ethanol is lowered to about 95°°F-105°F, which allows for processing temperatures that significantly enhance the quality of the final product. Establishing a vacuum in the system is akin to taking a plastic straw, covering one end with a finger, and sucking from the other end. The negative pressure pulls on the finger covering one end, causing the structure of the straw to collapse, making it more difficult to suck once the air is eliminated. 

As the vacuum pump removes air from the system, the lids are drawn down to create an airtight seal (similar to covering the end of a straw) as the pressure gauges show decreasing pressure. The valve on the vacuum port is closed when the desired vacuum level is reached. The empty system (assuming no leaks) will maintain that negative pressure until the valve is opened to let air flow back in and equalize the system with ambient pressure.

Establishing and maintaining a vacuum in an empty system is straightforward. It becomes more complex and interesting with the introduction of heat and vapor. The internal conditions of an empty system under vacuum are static, but this changes as we move into the ethanol recovery process. Balancing the application of heat, the introduction of vacuum, the creation of vapor, the control of condensation, and the collection of recovered ethanol—all while these factors fluctuate—can seem overwhelming. However, fortunately for us, with the right approach and equipment, it’s much simpler than it sounds.

The heat and vapor pressure dynamics illustrated with the simple still are generally similar in this context. Vapor pushes through the condenser in an attempt to equalize pressure within the system and is deposited as a liquid in the lower-pressure environment of the recovery vessel. 

Unlike the open system of a simple still, a closed system vacuum still cannot vent excess vapor that pushes through the condenser without condensing. The system is entirely closed, leaving no escape for the excess vapor and the pressure it generates. If left unchecked, the vapor pressure in the LV will overpower the whole system, creating issues by raising pressure, increasing temperatures, and ultimately halting the process. This is where the condenser helps maintain balance. Balance is achieved by using a heating level that generates just enough vapor to establish a stable pressure in the LV strong enough to create a pressure differential, but not so strong that vapor pushes through the condenser without condensing and raises the pressure in the RV.

Balance means maintaining a stable, higher pressure in the LV and a stable, lower pressure in the RV with controlled vapor flow and complete condensation in the condenser. The magic that happens in the condenser is really cool. It removes the heat from the vapor, condenses it, returns ethanol to a liquid, and dispenses that energy as melted ice. In balance, the condenser is the referee maintaining order between two battling competitors. It absorbs the heat, separating higher pressure on one side and lower pressure of the other. This incredible balance allows the system to run without a pump or manual interference. So Cool!

 

At the end of the process, the vacuum must be broken to release hundreds of pounds of pressure pulling on the lid. Opening the valve on the LVL allows air to enter the system, following the same path as the vapor through the condenser. This aids in clearing the condenser and flushing any remaining ethanol into the RV. If the vacuum were released from the RVL instead, the contents of the condenser would be pushed back into the LV, mixing with what would have been the final product. Once the pressure equalizes to ambient pressure, the final product can be collected, and the recovered ethanol can be stored for reuse.

At this point, we should understand the components and have a general grasp of how they work together. The tK equipment is designed and configured to function just as the diagrams here illustrate that process. The next step is to learn how to operate a system like this, and that’s what we’ll address in the next article. The good news is that, just like here, once it’s explained clearly, it’s not very difficult. The great news is that once you take the chance and try it, it's CRAZY FUN!!!!

 

CHECKOUT THE IBC EXTRACTION LOUNGE GROUP ON FACEBOOK