Cold-Wash Ethanol Marijuana Extraction
Our lab processes cannabis primarily in one of two ways: solventless extraction and cold wash ethanol extraction.
Cold wash ethanol extraction can be an effective and especially safe way to extract a crude marijuana concentrate from raw, dried plant material, particularly because ethanol extraction doesn’t require a pressurized system the way that butane or CO2 extraction both do. Utilizing chilled ethanol, the marijuana plant material gets completely soaked and saturated. High-proof grain alcohol naturally dissolves the plant’s oils and leaves behind the stripped, THC-less plant material.
Once the cold ethanol has been separated from the plant material, a piece of high-grade laboratory equipment called a “rotary evaporator” is used to evaporate the alcohol from the mixture. In this process, as the ethanol is evaporated, it’s being condensed in a separate collection vessel. The ethanol used in each cold wash extraction process can be reused and recycled into the next extraction run. After the ethanol has been sufficiently removed, you’re left with a crude cannabis oil extract that can be used to create many different products.
