Powdered Or Shredded Root?

Intro

Unfortunately, there appears no industry specifications for the term "shredded" and root material purchased as this can vary considerably in granularity size.

Both of the samples in the picture were purchased as shredded (from different local suppliers) but the difference is considerable, with the lower one being almost a powder.

Our chemists has encountered significant difficulties achieving best possible results from root which anywhere near approaches the shredding size of the upper sample, and we suggest avoiding root of this type. The message is to use powdered, and if unavailable then we suggest sparing no effort to obtain the most finely shredded you can possibly find.

Shredded vs Powdered
Using shredded with DpTek1 remains a valid but (in our experience) inferior option if no other root is available. At least three types of shredded have been tested for best procedures (such as blending the acidified root to a fibrous mush in an attempt to maximise yield). In all tests the more finely shredded root was found to be much easier to work with (than more coarsely shredded), but several serious issues have been noted as follows ...

Both upper and lower samples were sold as "shredded"

Used "as-shipped", shredded root will likely provide lower yield than an otherwise identical batch of powdered (see the test below for why we think this)

2. Yield of shredded may be improved by grinding or blending (unless using a professional grinder (e.g. burr type) consider doing when the root is wet), but this can present other issues as follows

Grinding/wet blending can be time consuming, demand much care to reduce losses, and can easily tax a typical household blender to a state of burn-out
Following even the most thorough wet blending, fibres can still remain. These seem to produce a buoyant thatch in the base soup, forming as a thick layer at the surface which makes even partial solvent separation extremely slow and cumbersome.
Wet blending can produce a creamy bubbly mass, which will need to be eliminated before proceeding further into the extraction. If this is not done, epic emulsions can be produced.

3. Research is still ongoing, but the main lessons so far are as follows ...

For DpTek1, strongly recommend using finely powdered root only
If powdered is truly impossible to procure, choose the most finely shredded root available
Avoid coarsely shredded root (as in the upper pic) at all costs, unless you are sure you have credible means to powder it thoroughly

Test 1, performed by ML mid-2022 Yield of Shredded vs Powdered Root

A true comparison between powdered & shredded is difficult, owing to the necessity of dry powdering bark to make up the two samples from the same batch. Instead the test was done by the following process.

Acidifying 200g of shredded root
Commencing the freeze/thaw cycle
Upon the first thaw, dividing the acidified bark into two samples of identical weight
Blending one sample to a fine paste, leaving the other as-is (see pics)
Treating the samples identically for the remainder of the tek

RH sample of acidifed root is non blended, on left is the finely blended sample using domestic food blender

Results

Conclusions So Far

The blended root sample showed a significant increase in yield when compared to the non-blended. However, whether this is worth the extra time and equipment is left to the individual.
As always, more experimentation is welcomed.