IPA is sold in different concentrations and purities, and it is important that the IPA used in Merlin400 is of an acceptable concentration and purity. For this reason, this guide will help you to find the IPA suitable for use in Merlin400.
In Merlin400, only IPA with a concentration of 99.9% should be used.
IPAs with lower concentrations than 99.9% may adversely affect Merlin400 and extraction quality.
There are several different purity qualities even for 99% IPA.
The lowest purity is technical grade. IPA of this purity should not be used in the Merlin400.
The IPA recommended for use in Merlin400 must meet or exceed the purity requirements posed by the U.S. Pharmacopeia (USP), the corresponding European Pharmacopoeia (EP or Ph. Eur.), or the British Pharmacopoeia (BP).
Most often IPA of USP, EP, or BP purity grade is sold as pharmaceutical grade. However, it is also common to see such IPA sold as medical grade or cosmetic grade or other names.
These names do not indicate official purity designations, so it is important that the IPA – regardless of the name on the bottle – is of either USP, EP (or Ph. Eur.), or BP grade.
Do not use IPA without one of these official grading designations in Merlin400.
There are IPAs of even higher purity grade than USP, EP, or BP. These purity grades are ACS (meeting or exceeding American Chemical Society standard) or reagent grade that corresponds to ACS grade. IPA of these purity grades are very expensive and almost always used for analytical or scientific purposes. Using such IPA in Merlin400 will be very expensive and will not improve the final product.
The IPA sold by Drizzle is of EP (or PH. Eur.) grade and sold as pharmaceutical grade IPA.
We do not recommend using ethanol (normal alcohol) for extractions in Merlin400.
The highest concentration of pure ethanol is 96%, and the residual water may damage Merlin400. Furthermore, the 96% ethanol will extract impurities into the extract compared to extracts made by IPA. It is possible to obtain ethanol with a purity of 99% but such alcohol most often contains toxic compounds and should therefore be avoided. Furthermore, much ethanol contains additives to make it bad-tasting, foul-smelling, or nauseating to discourage its recreational consumption.
Unlike USP, EP, or BP purity grade IPA, Ethanol rarely features a table of contents. This makes it practically impossible to determine exactly what you get, and this alone is a reason to avoid using ethanol for extractions.