The Chemistry Component
Marijuana oil (CBD oil) is becoming more popular with its medicinal purposes. The more concentrated, the “higher amounts of cannabinoids in smaller, more discreet packages,” as reported by GEN. To attain quality marijuana oil, “specialized chemistry and engineering skills” are necessary.
“Plant extractions involve grinding up the organic material and bathing it in a solvent to pull out the desired components.” The commonly used solvents are “hydrocarbons, supercritical CO2, and ethanol.”
Solvent Review
Each solvent has its pros and cons in the process of marijuana oil extraction. As stated, the solvent selection “depends on what you’re trying to accomplish, and at what scale,-.”
Hydrocarbons are popular, due to the ease of use, ability to “capture a wide array of compounds at reasonable temperature and pressure.” The downside is their flammability in large quantities, and they capture elements that no one wants.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is known to have the best results. This solvent is “non-flammable, inexpensive, and environmentally-friendly.” In its fluid state, “supercritical CO2 is “able to penetrate the cell and draw out the soluble compounds.” The only negative factor is CO2 is reported to be “less powerful.”
Ethanol “extracts the cannabinoids and terpenes more efficiently than C02 and more safely than hydrocarbons, but it also pulls out undesirable components, such as chlorophyll.” For this reason, “more distillation and purification steps” are necessary “to clean it up.”
The Chiller Component
Temperature control is critical in the marijuana / HEMP oil extraction process, as reviewed on LabX.
Temperature Review
Using a hydrocarbon process “requires great attention to safety due to flammability -. Maintaining the pressurized hydrocarbon in the liquid state requires low temperatures. Recirculating temperature control units (TCUs) that can provide cooling to -60°C (-76°F) and below facilitates this process.”
With a CO2 extraction process, “tweaking the temperature and pressure affords CO2 systems the ability to yield extracts with a complete terpene profile.”
Utilizing ethanol, there is a commonly-used process where the solvent is brought down to below “-20 degrees C (-4 degrees F) either in a room or freezer and then pumped into a container of cannabis.”
No matter the extraction process, winterization is required in “removing the plant lipids, fats, and waxes,” which requires low temperature control.
The JCY Component
At J.C. Younger (JCY), we have six decades of experience in new manufacturing and remanufacturing chillers for almost any type of application out there, and we are becoming well-known for our marijuana / cannabis and CBD chiller designs in the industry. Our system can cool as cold as -100F, although we find that the -20 to -40 seems to be best for this application.
Our chillers offer the quality you’re looking for when it comes to the accurate and consistent temperature controls needed. We are well-versed and well-equipped to offer you our expert services when it comes to designing the most dependable chiller your extraction process requires.
Along with proper maintenance and cleaning of our chiller systems, we are confident that our chillers will deliver the highest efficiency needed for the marijuana oil extraction process. We will review everything you need to know and do to keep a JCY chiller efficiently running.
The JCY Features You Will Appreciate
- We only use the best components and parts and no specialized or OEM components.
- All components are available at wholesale prices through us.
- Our chillers are user-friendly for easy operation and over-the-phone troubleshooting.
- We’re available with technical support 24/7, 365 days per year.
- If you need something quick, we have dedicated rental units to customize and get out the door.
- We have a dedicated shipper that delivers our chillers with care.
- We offer financing solutions.
If you’re in the market for a high-quality chiller for your marijuana oil extraction process, we are here to answer all of your questions. Find out more about the JCY chillers, and how we can be the expert chiller manufacturer you need.
