With the right form of extraction to premium CBD
In the hemp factory, which runs on the sun, water, air and a bit of fertile soil, an ocean of different agents is created. Among them are also cannabinoids, which many people use to improve their quality of life. One of the essential steps to safe and high-quality products is the correct preparation of hemp extract. This time I'm going to look at some of the differences between supercritical CO2, alcoholic and extraction with hydrocarbons.
Hemp, which is allowed to be sown for industrial purposes, contains a high proportion of CBD in its spectrum of cannabinoids, which is only a few percent in the buds, so it is necessary to prepare from them 10- to 50-fold extraction.
By concentrating cannabinoids, the proportion of other synergistic substances produced in cannabis can easily increase, but unwanted substances can also be concentrated.
Which terpenes, polyphenols, flavonoids, sugars, chlorophyll, waxes, and more synergize with cannabinoids depends on the extraction process.
Cannabis extracts can be prepared in different ways, but the principle in all of them is basically the same and takes place in three steps: transferring the active ingredients into the solvent, removing the solvent and finally refining the extract into the desired extract. Supercritical CO2, alcoholic, and hydrocarbon (natural gas or liquid organic solvent) extraction have their advantages and disadvantages, so it cannot be said that any of the above methods is generally superior. We are more accurate only when we know what the extract will be used for. In the following, we therefore compare these three technological methods if we want a pure product intended for oral consumption, where synergistic substances from cannabis, which are not volatile, are also desirable.
CO2 Supercritical extraction
It has been used in industry since the end of World War II and is a standard process in the production of hop extracts for brewing, the decaffeination of coffee, the extraction of essential oils and active ingredients from many herbs. It is a well-developed industrial process in which, under extreme pressures (350 atmospheres), liquefied gas turns into a solvent. The selectivity of the process for cannabinoids and terpenes is not the best, and in order to extract more active substances, several cycles are performed, during which many other substances are also eliminated. Therefore, at least two further refining steps are required in which waxes and some water-soluble substances are removed. Since several steps and solvents with different properties are used, the final extract is usually extremely pure, on the border of an isolate, which in turn means that there are few synergistic agents present in addition to CBD.
Natural gas extraction
Cannabinoids and essential oils dissolve well in oils and liquefied gases such as butane and propane. Of course, much cleaner gas is used in laboratories than in households. The advantage of the method is lower pressures, the solvent is very selective for cannabinoids, waxes and terpenes. It also allows for direct extraction from the fresh plant. The process is very popular in countries where recreational use has been legalized, as it enables the production of aromatic gourmet extracts. Even with gas extraction, as a rule, an additional step of removing waxes with cold alcohol is followed. This process is mostly used for the production of inhalation products. In the extract made with gas, however, we will not find many water-soluble substances from hemp.
Alcohol extraction
It is the oldest method used to prepare tinctures and resins more than a century ago. It is also a proven herbal method, and there is a reason why brandy is called "spirit" in English. The advantage and disadvantage of alcohol is that it is an indiscriminate solvent and extracts the entire spectrum of water-soluble and non-polar substances from cannabis. Therefore, more impurities can be extracted from low-quality raw materials, which is the main reason for concern with home-made resins and pastes, where sometimes home cooks introduce additional contaminants if they use a technical solvent stored in technical packaging.
In laboratories, the procedures are slightly different and food grade ethanol cooled to -40 to -90°C is usually used. Then it becomes more selective for terpenes and cannabinoids, polyphenols and flavonoids, and less dissolves waxes, sugars and chlorophyll. Since only one solvent is used during the entire process, if the work is done correctly, the losses of synergistic substances known so far are smaller than with the above methods. For the inhalation extract, however, additional steps are required, where there is a significant loss of essential oils compared to a properly performed gas extraction.
Isolate, distillate or "filtrate"
After all three procedures, it is also necessary to meet the legislative requirements regarding the content of psychoactive THC. This can be removed in three ways: to crystallize only CBD from the extract, an isolate depleted of all other synergistic substances is created. Another method is fractional distillation, where THC can be extracted due to the lower boiling point. This also results in the loss of volatile essential oils. The third method is chromatographic filtration, where THC is selectively extracted from the filtration particles. This step also ensures that the consumption of the CBD product is completely safe for everyone, with no effects on driving ability.
Biomons' CBD nutritional supplements are precisely made with proven alcohol extraction and an advanced form of selective filtration. Due to the smaller number of refining steps and the use of only one solvent, they make a product of high purity and at the same time retain a greater proportion of synergistic substances.
Text: Uroš Švigelj, consultant for cannabinoids