Brief Introduction to CO2 and Ethanol Extraction
What is CO2 Extraction?
The CO2 extraction generally refers to the supercritical CO2 extraction and subcritical CO2 extraction, which is a kind of method taking CO2 as the solvent to extract and purify materials. By utilizing pressure and heat, the CO2 can be turned from gaseous state into the gas-liquid hybrid state, which is capable of extracting CBD and other compounds from the hemp or cannabis plant. Then CO2 can leave the solution when the solution returns to the room condition.
It also has both pros and cons. On the one hand, the CO2 is generally considered “solventless” and non-toxic because CO2 can be evaporated completely. And it is clean and non-flammable. But on the other hand, the fewer terpenes and weaker product will be obtained by using CO2 extraction. And it is more expensive. In conclusion, it’s the most expensive, effective, and safest extraction method.
What is Ethanol Extraction?
The ethanol extraction refers to a kind of method taking ethanol as the solvent to extract and purify materials, which makes use of the solubility of ethanol. The ethanol belongs to a kind of hydrophilic organic solvent, which possesses a great solubility of all kinds of chemical components. It is widely used in chemical experiments, chemical purification, chemical pharmaceutical and the production of TCM medicament.
It has both pros and cons. On the one hand, the ethanol extraction turns to have a higher efficiency in extracting compounds. It is even “Generally Regarded As Safe” according to the FDA. But on the other hand, the ethanol is quite costly to extract with. And it is dangerous to work with because of its inflammable property.
Is Ethanol Extraction Better than CO2?
There are several different kinds of extraction methods, such as CO2 extraction, ethanol extraction, butane extraction and other extraction methods. CO2 extraction and ethanol extraction are quite popular extraction methods. Therefore, many people wonder that is ethanol or CO2 extraction better?
As we all know, ethanol extraction is quite efficient. What’s more, ethanol can be widely used on the extraction of many materials. However, CO2 extraction is quite picky on the extraction of materials, because not so many kinds of materials can be extracted by CO2.
How does Ethanol Extract CBD?
Nowadays, more and more people started to process CBD oil. There are procedures during the process of processing hemp into CBD oil, such as drying hemp leaves, crushing hemp leaves, extracting CBD out of hemp and so on. Today, let’s talk about how ethanol extracts CBD. Hemp leaves are put into extraction equipment and then get washed by ethanol solvent. During the hemp going down in the equipment, the ethanol solvent get mixed with the hemp and extract CBD from hemp quickly. In the end of this process, users can get a mixture of ethanol and CBD.
What is Ethanol Extraction Used for?
Ethanol extraction is one of the most efficient extraction methods. It can be used in chemical labs, industrial factories, pharmaceutical field and other places. Ethanol extraction has many applications, including extracting CBD, extracting traditional Chinese medicine, extracting chlorophyll, extracting mint essential oil, extracting collagen and some other applications.
What is the Purpose of the Ethanol?
In the ethanol extraction method, ethanol is used as a solvent to extract targeted substances out of the sample materials. Because ethanol can be soluble in many substances and is easy to be separated out, it is widely used as the solvent in extraction system. In the working process of ethanol extraction, ethanol washes all kinds of organic chemicals, in order to extract the targeted substances out of them. Therefore, ethanol can be used as an extraction solvent.
Does CO2 Extraction Use Ethanol?
CO2 extraction is to extract materials by using CO2 as a washing solvent under certain pressure and temperature. Therefore, ethanol is not used during CO2 extraction working process.
Is C02 Extraction Healthy?
CO2 is not a good gas in people’s daily life. But CO2 extraction is a healthy extraction method that you can fully count on. CO2 extraction will leave users no side effects or any poisonous substances coming out. What’s more, supercritical liquid CO2 can kill the microbial bacteria during the extraction process. So CO2 won’t bring users any side affects, and besides, CO2 will do good to the product.
Is Ethanol Extraction for CBD Safe?
Some people doubt the safety of ethanol extraction for CBD because of its’ flammability or maybe something else. But according to the reality, it is the safest extraction method that we know for now.
How do you Extract CBD with Ethanol at Home?
Also, except extracting CBD from hemp in industrial factories and chemical labs, we could also extract CBD with ethanol at home. We could find some simple glassware and stainless steel holders to replace the extraction equipment, in order to extract CBD with ethanol. And find a safe environment to extract CBD from hemp when you are doing it at home.
What Alcohol is Used for Extraction?
Generally, there are mainly two kinds of alcohol being used in the extraction system, which are isopropyl alcohol and ethanol. Between isopropyl alcohol and ethanol, ethanol is more widely used. Because ethanol has a higher lever of safety, even people use ethanol in their daily life. Therefore, ethanol is the most used alcohol for extraction.
Extraction Methods to Extract Cannabis Oil
There are several extraction methods to extract cannabis oil, including ethanol extraction method, CO2 extraction method, butane extraction method, and so on. These different extraction methods have different features and applications. For example, ethanol extraction method can be used in almost all materials and it is very safe. While CO2 extraction method and butane extraction method are limited. CO2 extraction method is less safe than ethanol extraction method. And butane extraction method is more limited than ethanol extraction method.
