CBD or cannabidiol is an extract taken from the hemp flower and used for a variety of medical applications. The process of CBD extraction is one that has been available for over 100 years but has remained unchanged. The reason for the lack of innovation and change is due to the fact that industrial CBD hemp flower extraction is still seen as a young.

Today, operators and industrial hemp extractors still lack the machines and techniques to process hemp on a larger scale. However, just because the technology is lacking doesn’t mean extracting CBD biomass isn’t being done today. Here are some facts about the extraction process that will give you a better understanding of what goes on behind CBD biomass extractions:

The Three Ways Of CBD Extraction

The process of extracting CBD from hemp differs depending on the plant. Here the sole focus is to look at the extraction process being used for industrial-grade hemp and plants that have a very high CBD content. These are the most common extraction processes being used by operators:

Liquid Solvents

The first method is also considered the most basic. The CBD hemp flower is first trimmed down and placed inside a container. Next, an extraction liquid solvent such as butane, ethanol, or hexane is run through the flower to strip the plant of its cannabidiol and possible flavor contents. Once this is done, the liquid is tend evaporated to leave the CBD concentrate in its well-known oil form.

Although this process is very simple and does not require any industrial-grade equipment many operators find that the solvents leave impurities in the oil which can result in a lower CBD quality.

CO2 Method

The CO2 method, as its name suggests used carbon dioxide to extract CBD from hemp. The"closed loop extractor" is a piece of machinery with three chambers that is used for this method. Pressurized CO2 is contained in the first chamber, the plant in the second, and the separated third product can be found in the last chamber.

In this process, the CO2 is solid in the first chamber, then the correct pressure and temperature are used in the second chamber to extract the CBD from the plant. In the third chamber, the CO2 pressure and temperature are again adjusted to separate the CBD and flavors. The oil collected in the last chamber can then be sold and consumed.

Oil Extraction

The last and final CBD extraction method used oils, most commonly olive oil. This is the method used at home as it is the easiest out of the three. First, the hemp must be heated for it to be decarboxylated. Next, the heated hemp is added to olive oil that has reached 100 degrees Celsius for one to two hours. During the heating process, the CBD is extracted from the hemp and mixes with the olive oil.

However, since olive oil does not evaporate the resulting extracts have a higher olive oil content than CBD which makes them not suitable for sale or use in a professional medical setting.