Ever since hemp-derived products, like CBD oil, gummies, capsules, vape mods at breazy.com, and many others became legal around the globe, people are more interested in learning more about the products themselves. Besides people, CBD is good for dogs, too.
The natural next step of their crash-course is to learn everything they can about the technology behind creating CBD.
The Basics About CBD
Cannabidiol (CBD) is the hemp plant extract. The CBD compound is also known as the “unhappy hippie weed†since consuming CBD will not get you high or stoned. Thus, if you’re looking to get stoned, CBD is not the answer.
Thanks to the various extraction processes that CBD goes through, it doesn’t have any psychoactive elements. Thus, it’s not considered a drug. That’s the leading reason why CBD is an excellent alternative to various synthetic drugs we use today. THC, on the other hand, is a compound found in the same plant that can be highly psychoactive.
Here are some of the basic principles regarding the extraction of CBD compounds from hemp plants.Â
CO2 Supercritical Extraction
This method of CBD extraction is considered to be the best method for successfully creating the richest extracts. The technique itself puts a high-pressurized CO2 and maintains the low temperature at all times. What happens is that the gas transforms into liquid and passes through the plant with around 90% efficiency of extracting the needed compound. The results give you the CBD oil extract.
This extraction method requires expensive equipment as well as trained personnel. The price of the extract is very high due to its costly extraction process. Nevertheless, you get to have the highest quality CBD oil by utilizing this method.
Extraction By Hydrocarbon
Hydrocarbon extraction is used to extract cannabis oil by using some of the light hydrocarbon solvents – hexane, butane, propane, pentane, isopropyl alcohol, or acetone. All these solvents have one thing in common – a low boiling point. This allows manufacturers to easily extract the CBD oil from hemp plants.
This method of extraction is one of the cheapest ways, but it’s not an ideal one. The oil you can extract via this method has a lower concentration of cannabinoids and terpenes, while it has a higher level of THC. Thus, this extracting method is inefficient, and it even can be dangerous. That’s why many modern CBD oil companies don’t use this extraction method at all.
Ethanol Extraction
Ethanol extraction is much cheaper than the CO2 extraction method, and it’s used by many CBD oil companies today. This method allows companies to extract high-quality CBD for less money, but the post-extraction processing, as well as expertise, are also required. The ethanol extraction process uses the alcohol-based solvent – ethanol.
Ethanol is known as a polar solvent that can mix easily with water. It’s marked as a safe solvent by the FDA. This solvent is mostly used for food preservation. In the case of CBD, what happens is that it dissolves the water-soluble molecules in addition to the wanted hemp plant compounds.
Depending on the operator’s experience, the extracted compound’s quality can easily be compared to the CO2 extraction compound. In case the operator has less experience in this matter, there’s more room for possible errors, which ultimately leads to a lower quality product.
Lipid Extraction Method
The lipid extraction method is one that’s barely used. This method uses lipids (fats), which can absorb the hemp plant compounds.
Organic coconut oil is the most frequently used source of fat for this extraction method, and it doesn’t require the use of CO2 or other harsh solvents. It’s not the most popular extraction process, but some smaller companies tend to use it anyway.
Winterization Is Crucial
Winterization is the process of oil refining, which is needed after the CO2 extraction process is complete.
The CO2 process will extract everything from the plant, including the elements you don’t want to have in your end-product, like waxes or lipids
The Short Path Distillation
With this method, you’ll be able to refine the extract further and you’ll isolate the CBD successfully. The process is very similar to winterization. Because each compound has a different boiling point, this method allows companies to separate the compounds one from another.
It’s Not As Complicated As It Sounds
You wouldn’t be able to extract CBD from the hemp plant without at least some advanced knowledge of chemistry. But even then, you’ll need various tools, equipment, and experts to help you do it. Therefore, we believe it’s much safer to buy your CBD oil from the closest retailer if you don’t have sufficient knowledge behind the whole extraction method.
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