In the beginning, cannabis extractors operated on the fringe where they developed DIY technologies and shared them amongst a small coterie of enthusiasts.
Fast forward to today and cannabis extraction is booming. From supercritical CO2 extraction to butane hash oil (BHO), multiple methodologies have been developed to create quality cannabis extracts. Additionally, consumers have begun to prefer certain extraction methods over others.
In this article, we discuss some recent innovations in cannabis extraction and explain why their inventions are impactful.
Liquid Live Resin from Trim
In an article in a recent issue of Extraction Magazine, Harry Resin and Joseph Encinosa of Accentian, Inc. describe their hydrocarbon extraction system that produces similar delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol levels from trim that were previously only found in live resin products made from fresh, frozen flower. [1] They do this while achieving terpene profiles available in other live resin products made from fresh, frozen flower and have produced a 92% THC product that contains 5% terpenes. Using trim enables more cost-effective products compared to those extracted from fresh frozen flower. “…our value-based proposition is passed on to our product offering,” Resin and Encinosa say. “Currently, traditional live resin retails for $14 to $16 a gram whereas we retail live resin for $10 to $12 a gram.”
Rosin Press
Although the exact moment of its discovery is up for debate, the rosin press has revolutionized the way in which cannabis consumers create extracts. Unlike other extraction methods which utilize expensive equipment that requires numerous safety checks, the rosin press has been designed for at-home use.
Some cannabis ‘historians’ have argued the rosin press first appeared around 2015 after Phil “Soilgrown” Salazar created a hash extract with a press by accident. Salazar quickly popularized the rosin press immediately after. That said, others have argued that the rosin press was first developed as early as the 1990s.
Freeze Drying with Supercritical CO2 Extraction
Pure Green LLC was awarded a patent for its proprietary freeze drying and supercritical CO2 extraction method. Traditionally, harvested cannabis flower needs to be dried up to two weeks before undergoing an extraction process.
Pure Green’s technology cuts that two-week drying period to 12 hours, which saving time and money. Traditional drying runs the risk of contamination, something freeze drying is effective at avoiding. Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that freeze-drying can help rupture plant cells and increase surface area of plant material (as powder), thus boosting extraction efficiency. It will be interesting to see a comparison of terpene profiles between traditional drying and the Pure Green process.
Photo courtesy of Jeff W on Unsplash
References
[1] Resin H, Encinosa J. Molecular Formulated Live Resin: Fresh Frozen Flowers vs Trim. Extraction Magazine. Jan-Feb 2021.
