Hemp extract, also known as CBD oil, is a type of essential compound found in the cannabis plant. It is non-psychoactive compared to THC. It has been more and more well-received because of its health benefits. For example, hemp extract can not only reduce anxiety and depression, but relieve cancer symptoms and chronic pain.
How is CBD Extracted from Hemp?
There are various methods for extracting CBD from hemp or cannabis plant. It is necessary to learn the difference of these extraction methods because they greatly influence the quality and purity of final products and even other components. There are primarily four methods for extracting cannabidiol.
Olive Oil Extraction
Olive oil is used in this method. Firstly, the plant material should be decarboxylated for activating the chemicals inside it, which can be done by heating. After decarboxylation, mix the plant material with olive oil and heat them for several hours. Then CBD, terpenes and other components will get out of the plant and come into the olive oil. It is a simple extraction method that can be performed at home. But it is unsuitable for commercial use with weak CBD content.
Butane and Propane Extraction
Butane or propane is used as the solvent in this method. CBD can be dissolved and isolated by submerging the plant material in the solvent. Then the solvent with a low boiling point can be evaporated to leave behind crude CBD oil. It is generally regarded as the easiest and cheapest method of extraction, but it may destroy certain plant waxes and leave behind some harmful residues.
Ethanol (Alcohol) Extraction
In this method, the plant material mixes with the ethanol, which are capable of stripping the cannabinoids from the hemp plant. Then ethanol can be boiled away. It can be said that ethanol is the most commonly used solvent for extracting CBD because of its effectiveness. It can produce more cannabinoids as well as preserve more terpenes. Some people even consider that ethanol extraction is the best method for extracting CBD from hemp. But it can pull more chlorophyll from the plant. It is also a long purification process.
Supercritical CO2 Extraction
Supercritical CO2 extraction is known for producing a high quality product. It is regarded as a green extraction method compared to traditional organic solvents. This extraction method possesses a great number of benefits. For example, CO2 is non-toxic, non-inflammable and inert. Unlike other organic solvents, CO2 extraction contains less chemical residues. With the development of solvent recovery technology, it is recyclable and economical as well. It is also considered as an ideal solvent for temperature-sensitive materials. But this method is highly expensive as an industrial process and it requires expertise to perform correctly.
How do You Extract CBD from Stems?
To extract CBD from stems, the first step is to dry hemp stems and then put the dried hemp stems into extraction equipment. In extraction equipment, the dried hemp leaves get soaked in ethanol liquid. And then ethanol extracts CBD from hemp stems. Finally, you need to separate ethanol and CBD from the mixture about them.
What Part of Hemp Plant is Used for CBD Oil?
CBD oil can be extracted from the stem, stalk, leaves, and flowers of the hemp plants.
How Much CBD is Produced Per Acre of Hemp?
According to the studies, 750 pounds of CBD per acre of hemp can be produced after processing hemp. This number is believable because it is calculated precisely with formulas.
Why is Ethanol Used as Solvent for Extraction?
Ethanol is widely used as washing solvent in many equipment, so many people must have a question about “Why is ethanol used as solvent for extraction”. First of all, ethanol has a very good solubleness, which makes ethanol be able to dissolve with so many sample materials such as cbd. Secondly, the boiling point of ethanol is quite low, so ethanol is easy to be separated from the mixture and can save energy at the same time. Therefore, ethanol is always used as solvent for extraction.
Ethanol extraction is very widely used in many extraction methods and applied to many hemp ethanol extraction equipment. The hemp ethanol extraction equipment are all different, but the same theory of using ethanol is its good solubility. Next let’s see what the hemp ethanol extraction equipment are:
- Centrifuge is widely used in chemical engineering, petroleum, food processing, pharmaceutical, mineral processing, carbon, water treatment, nuclear energy industry and shipbuilding. The working theory of centrifuge is to extract cbd from hemp, and then separate the liquid with cbd and the solid substances.
- Molecular distillation is a special liquid-liquid separation technology. Molecular distillation separates substances by the difference of mean free path of molecular motion of different substances, which is quite different from the traditional distillation methods. Molecular distillation is a very complicated device but very effective.
- Closed loop extractor is a device that can do the work several other equipment do together. So this equipment is quite popular because of it’s convenience. Closed loop extractor can directly extract cbd from hemp plant. For example, the extraction of cannabis, which is extracting cannabis from cannabis leaves.
- Rotary evaporator is widely used in many fields, for example, chemical, biochemical, industrial, food-making, people’s daily life and other fields, which is one of the most used equipment. Rotary evaporator is used to extract cbd from hemp very often by evaporating method. And so many people use it to process cbd.
