Decarbing crystals

[Gingerbeard]

I'm going to mess up the real words I'm supposed to use, but I think you'll get the gist. Been on google but people segue into other things.
Right. So. THC-A is a crystal. When THC-A is decarbed, it loses the A to become THC. Is THC another crystalline?
If I decarb a THC-A crystal, it remains a crystal. Does the crystal become 'edible' as if I were decarbing weed?

[Blowdout2269]

I think anything is "edible" if you're up to it, lol.
Though in your case, what's the worst that could happen?
Fire another dab bud.

[Going2fast]

If I had a dollar for ever time I heard that........um I mean carry on.

[ChubbNugg]

Hey, GingerBeard, Good Morning. Me, the scientist, forever skeptical even when facing true or logical pathways. Can be annoying. But I have my complacency forever in check, and can play no part in my discoveries. As soon as I think I know a thing? BAM. Turns out the opposite. So, as a modem, I used skepticism as a tool to keep myself in check. Also, the little kid inside me, forever inquisitive, must ask really simple hard dumb questions. My goal now is to actually see some crystal structures of the molecules in question for me. From what I know, THC-A is a precursor acid of the group. This is relatively new science and I'm not convinced all the data is in yet. I'm still searching tho. I think it's fun!

[ChubbNugg]

Riddle me this batman. in the bottom of a trim tray, there are fine particles of yellow dust. I view this yellow dust as having a light and fluffy texture. is this the "crystals" we are speaking of?

[Gingerbeard]

That would be kief.

[Gingerbeard]

ChubbNugg Yes. THC-A is acid. Decarbing releases an O molecule to become THC. Ingesting the former doesn't get you fubar'd. Smoking or eating, that is.

[ChubbNugg]

Whats goofing me up here is a crystal lattice. i don't see any. its very perplexing, so, I'll make some nice structure photos and we can see whats happening. PS I don't mind swallowing my pride, tastes gooood.

[ChubbNugg]

Does the crystal become 'edible' as if I were decarbing weed?

And the answer is, Yes! I'm digging deeper into this because the information is barely there yet. (Have research scope, Will travel)

[Gingerbeard]

Don't know what to tell you about your lattice, CN. But keep digging. I am only finding scant, non-proprietary information on diamond mining.

[Gingerbeard]

Top picture is a nice THC-A crystal. 99.99% pure. Bottom picture are THC-A crystals covered in terp sauce.

[Mr.furley]

Gingerbeard

Have not done it buuut.
The short answer should be yes, time and temperature releases the carbon molecule making it absorbable. 235f for 45 to 60 minutes.

[ChubbNugg]

Is the carbon molecule the same thing as the "O"

[Mr.furley]

I should have used the words "Atom", "carbon group" to be specific, I do wear glasses these days so anything that small is usually just a thingy.

[Gingerbeard]

Yes. Right Mr.furley. When I decarb a resin that melts, I can see the O bubbling out. When the bubbling is about done, the magic has happened. Diamonds just sit there.

[Gingerbeard]

After a little more research, the answer might be decarbing diamonds is like decarbing weed. THC-A isolates into crystals. THC isolates into powder. Decarbing diamonds should work.
I just got surrounded by dab buddies. Experimenting is about to happen.

[ChubbNugg]

So, what I think I'm learning here is that crystals have to be made and then processed into diamonds with heat? I was looking for any crystal lattice structure in the plant material. It aint there.

[Gingerbeard]

Yes and no. At this point, I need to refer you to google. There is more than one way to produce diamonds. Anything more I say will be coming more from the direction of my buttocks. Diamond mining will not happen until I win the lottery. Which may not be too soon.
Until then, I will only be spouting undocumented resources beyond what I have already said and not documented.

[Gingerbeard]

Having said that and reading back to Mr.furley, I said an O is released. Mr.F said a carbon chain. I had to research to understand. More undocumented, but I get it. What I understood to be off gassing of the O is actually off gassing CO2: a carbon chain. Thanks, Mr.F.

"The acids in cannabinoids contain 22 carbon atoms, 30 hydrogen atoms, and 4 oxygen atoms. The group lost in decarbing contains only 1 carbon atom and 2 of the 4 oxygen atoms, which we know as CO2. After removing this carboxyl group, the THCA reduces by 12 percent and converts the active THC compounds."

[Gingerbeard]

Success!
After all was washed and decarbed, I took and smashed the crystals. They shattered into powder after the heat instead of breaking into smaller diamonds. Remembering what I read about THC being powder and THC-A being crystal, the final product resembles what I read.
Had me a little of the off-white powder with a Skor bar about an hour and three bits ago. Absolutely no flavor. Probably just the thing for folks who want to make edibles without the pot taste.
It is a reassuring high. Not relaxing. Not motivating. But I am reassured that whatever I do will be all right.
I will need to revisit this with diamond sauce: diamonds with terps like the second picture in Post Number 7 above. That might be another conversation. THC-A decarbs at about ???°. (Can we please not get into y'all's different times and temps!!) Terps generally do their thing at much higher temps. Maybe decarb the diamonds and cook up terps seperately?
Experimentation for another day.

[ChubbNugg]

I know that feeling very well. It's like everything is just OK, or going to be OK. it's a smooth and subtle yet powerful feeling. that's exactly how my coconut oil works. I think it's fantastic!

[Gingerbeard]

Here's a final note. Kind of a big note.
Online and others say alcohol dissolves THC. My experiment was to wash terps off THC-A diamonds.
It worked. I did my wash and was left with a few, small, white/clear diamonds and a few larger that were amber because of imbedded terps. Is 'Inclusions' the word for diamond imperfections?
After decarbing the diamonds, I was left with the same size and shape pieces that looked no different than what I started with. Online says THC-A is crystal and THC is a powder. When I crushed the decarbed diamonds, they shattered into powder. THC-A breaks into smaller diamonds.
I just washed a small silicon container that held the THC powder. The little remains that were in the container dissolved. To make things were actually dissolved I poured the cleaning alcohol onto my stove to dry. The remains are sticky but not gritty.
Take from it what you want. I now know what to do with crappy diamonds. And please, can we not talk about why buy crap in the first place?