Editorial Team | August 22, 2017
Cannabis Extraction Booms with Groundbreaking Technologies
Concentrate extraction methods are rapidly expanding and progressing in efficiency, availability, and preservation.
Editorial Team
Our CannabisTech writers come from a wide variety of backgrounds with a passion for cannabis and technology, matched only by their desire to educate the world about the cannabis industry.
Over the past five years, refined production techniques have ensured the most advanced products available on the market. Like all new technologies, concentrate extraction methods have their roots in small batches produced on the local level. As small batch enthusiasts are still in production, most of the techniques preached around the internet commit to extraction methods using kitchen tools and minor lab equipment. In response to the supply and demand opportunities of the ever-growing concentrate market, extraction experts have produced several new technologies.
Hyper-efficient Production Through Hydrocarbon Solvent Extraction
Overwhelming demand for different extraction technologies has led to the development of the industry’s most advanced hydrocarbon solvent extractor. Dubbed as the “evolution of extraction”, the PX1V2017 is among the most efficient extractors on the market. It utilizes the FDA-approved hydrocarbon method, allowing for the most efficient level of extraction at any production level by using either n-Butane, 100% Propane or a mix of both. The PX1V2017 is also ASME compliant, and less expensive than common methods using supercritical CO2 systems.
Sonication: Precise Ultrasonic Extraction
Another cutting edge extraction technology is called ultrasonic extraction, or sonication. Sonication strips away all the active substances by applying intense shear force and stress. The stress is applied by 20,000 cycles per second of alternating high and low pressure, overcoming membrane selectivity and breaking the cellular wall of the plant itself,
The margin of error for sonication is small, providing a standard quality for products created through this process. This is of utmost importance to mass production ventures, expected to provide quality control for every unit. Precise ultrasonic technology is ideal for extraction as is can be manipulated and reproduced through a variety of careful adjustments in amplitude, duration, and pressure, allowing for a customized output.
The sonication extraction method is not limited by chemicals and has the flexibility to use any solvents, including water, hydrocarbons, and oils, producing any specialized blend.
The sonication method is also non-thermal and does not rely on temperature adjustments to achieve extraction, which happens at 0 – 60 °C (32 – 140 °F). With this advantage, product degradation through extreme heat or cold is eliminated.
Cannabis Industry: The Exponential Growth with Technology
Hemp and cannabis extraction is the heart and soul of the growing cannabis market. Be it for medical, recreational, drug potency testing or nutraceutical and food production purposes, technological improvements go a long way to give the continually developing cannabis market a chance to show its true value to many of its potential users.
As demand for extraction steadily grows, research and development advances, and improvements to manufacturing become more available. New forms of cutting-edge extraction technologies are expected to appear as more applications are discovered and the quest for the ultimate solution brings best practices for an industry standard, uniform products.
