Cannabis Distillate: What Is It and How To Make It?

30 Dec.,2024

 

Cannabis Distillate: What Is It and How To Make It?

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What is distillate?

A distillate is a highly purified cannabis product usually containing only one cannabinoid in high concentrations. Some THC distillates, for example, claim to contain as much as 99% THC.



Distillates typically appear as turgid, golden liquids or glassy solid slabs. Consumers often vaporize them in vaping devices to achieve a potent and strong high.

How to make cannabis distillate

Before any cannabinoids can be distillated, they must first be prepared and extracted. As outlined by Jon Thompson and Matt Anderson of extraktLAB in this previous Analytical Cannabis article, this preparation process typically involves the following steps:

  1. Drying the hemp or cannabis to 5-15% water content.
    (Learn more about drying cannabis here).
  2. Shucking the flower from the stems.
  3. Grinding of the flower to 2-300 microns to enable more efficient extraction.
  4. Extracting the material, either using ethanol or CO2.
    (Learn more about extracting cannabis here).
  5. Refining the cannabis product through winterization. This filtration process removes the waxes and fats from the extract.
    (Learn more about winterizing cannabis extracts here).

Cannabis extracts. Image credit: extraktLAB.


From here onwards, the cannabis extract is ready to be decarboxylated and then distilled, a process that removes the remaining solvents from the winterized solution. This requires heating and cooling equipment and a vacuum pump system to control the temperature and pressure.

How to distill THC and CBD

  1. Boil the extract to around 220 degrees Fahrenheit (104 degrees Celsius). The heat will help convert the inactive forms of the cannabinoids (THCA and CBDA) into their active forms (THC and CBD). This process is called decarboxylation.
  2. Raise the temperature to 315 degrees Fahrenheit (157 degrees Celsius).
  3. Because the solvent has a lower boiling point than the cannabinoids, the solvent will evaporate first. Collect the ensuing steam into a separate condenser. This condensed liquid will contain the solvent and the extract's terpenes and flavonoids.
  4. Raise the temperature to 320-356 degrees Fahrenheit (160-180 degrees Celsius), a temperature range that encompasses the boiling points of CBD and THC.
  5. Collect the ensuing steam into another condenser. This condensed liquid will contain the purified cannabinoids.
  6. The two liquids can then be reunited to form a terpene-flavored distillate.

The standard way to achieve all these steps is called short path distillation.

Short path distillation

'A common class that covers a range of distillation equipment is referred to as 'short path' but really isn't due to the fact that the condenser is external to the evaporator,' extrakLAB's Thompson and Anderson wrote in Analytical Cannabis previously.


'More accurately termed 'fractional distillation,' this kind of equipment is typically constructed of glass and is used for solvent removal and distillation on a laboratory scale due to its relative simplicity, small footprint, and lower price tag.'


However, many extractors, like Thompson and Anderson, prefer a method which ensures that the evaporated cannabinoids barely make contact with the heat source, reducing the risk of damage. This method is called thin film distillation.

Thin film distillation

'When it comes to cannabis products, it's very important to incorporate thin film distillation,' Thompson and Anderson wrote.


'This will create a thin film of oil across an evaporative surface. This, coupled with vacuum pressure to lower boiling temperatures, ensures that the evaporated components (cannabinoids in this case) aren't in prolonged contact with the heat source reducing the risk of damaging them.'


Despite these benefits, plenty of extractors opt to use rotary evaporators.

Rotary evaporation

'Likely the most commonly used equipment for solvent removal, rotary evaporators, or roto-vaps, utilize a rotating round bottomed flask to create a thin film,' Thompson and Anderson continued.


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'The heat source is reliant on a warm bath that the round bottom flask rests in. This is particularly good solvent removal at a small scale, but is discontinuous. This means it's generally not a scalable technology if you have a lot of solvent to remove.'


A rotary evaporator. Image credit: extraktLAB.

Rotary evaporation alone, though, can't cope as the extract gets more refined and its viscosity increases. This is why wiped filtration must be introduced.

Wiped film evaporation

'Wiped film distillation machines use mechanical wipers that spread a thin layer of oil across a heated evaporative surface allowing the cannabinoids to evaporate and recollect on a chilled condenser that is only a short distance away,' Thompson and Anderson wrote.


'At this point, the final product could contain numbers of cannabinoids as high as 90% or more and should also be a nice golden color.'

How are distillates used?

Distillate products such as dab wax, shatter, and THC oil have risen in popularity since the early s. They're preferred by seasoned consumers looking for a potent, instant high.


To consume solid distillates, such as shatter, many consumers opt to "dab" them, a process that involves heating a small amount of distillate with a nail, often an electrically controlled nail (e-nail) that allows temperature control. Some consumers have been known to take a more makeshift approach and heat a ceramic, titanium, or quartz nail with a crème brûlée torch. However, this is unlikely to produce a consistent temperature. All consumers then inhale the resultant vapors.


Liquid distillate, such as THC oil, can be consumed sublingually (under the tongue). 

What is the difference between concentrates and distillates?

The extraction processes used to produce concentrates don't necessarily remove other plant compounds like terpenes. So, unlike distillates, cannabis concentrates retain some of the terpenes naturally found in the cannabis plant.  However, distillates can also contain terpenes; they just have to be added in again after separation.

Medical Cannabis Distillate Cartridges: How Are They Made

Medical Cannabis Distillate Cartridges are a great way to get your medicine through vaping. Be aware that vaping is being scrutinized in the medicinal community. This is due to the studies done on vaping and how vaping affects your health. Be responsible in your consumption and safe in your application.

When you look at your vape pen, you will see three components:

  • Mouthpiece
  • Cartridge
  • Battery

The battery powers up the atomizer in your cell to vaporize the product inside your cartridge. The mouthpiece is attached to one end of your actual oil or distillate cartridge. The other end is an atomization chamber. Within that, you will find a rod with threads on it.

The cartridge contains your cannabis distillate solution. This rod acts as a needle to deliver the oil directly into the atomizer for vaporizing. There are two main types of distillates available today: distilled oils (fractional distillation) and CO2 extractions (full-extract petroleum ether). Medical Cannabis Distillate Cartridges.

Full Extract Cannabis oil cartridges vs. distilled THC or CBD vape pen carts

Marijuana is usually extract using butane extraction when you buy a cartridge. This method creates the product through hydrocarbons like butane (lighter fluid).

When you burn butane fuel, it you see a clean-burning vapor that can be inhaled. This is what your vape pens do as well. Only the process is a little different. Using electricity, your pen fires up the atomizer to heat the rod inside your cartridge. The rod then delivers cannabis distillate oil to the atomizer for vaporization. With full-extract oils, you are burning the fat to vape out of your pen. This gives you a much stronger effect if you usually use high THC strains that have a low CBD percentage.

Most pens don't fire up your oil that firmly, but you can find some cartridge strengths of up to 85 percent THC or even higher. You will also find various strains, including Sativa and Indica varieties, with this full-extract marijuana oil cartridge.

Distilled Cannabis Oils

Distilled Cannabis oils are created through the use of hydrocarbon solvents. They strip away many of the contaminants included in full extract oils. Using ethanol or CO2, cannabinoids and terpenes are in isolate through this process, giving you a purer cannabinoid product than full-extract. Medical Cannabis Distillate Cartridges.

Distilled oil cartridges have a more negligible effect on your body than full extract, but they also lack the taste and flavor that full extract has. You will find your distillate cartridges in Indica and Sativa varieties and CBD or THC.

Cannabis Terpene Oils

Adding flavor to full-flower or distillate marijuana vape pen cartridges. If you don't quite like the taste of your cannabis, then terpene oils may be the way to go. Terpenes are cannabis 'flavors.' They make each strain unique in taste and effect, from citrusy Sativa strains to earthy Indica varieties.

Pay close attention in health class. You remember, terpenes, or terpenoids as they are, are responsible for giving marijuana its distinctive smell.

Terpene oils offer a solution to the flavor issue that some people find with full-extract marijuana oils. You can use terpene oils in conjunction with your regular strain of vape pen cartridge oil or even on their own with a pre-filled Medical Cannabis Distillate Cartridge.

Terpene Oils in Different Flavors

Flavors like mint and banana give cannabis oil or plant material a fresh hint. Terpenes are also in fruits like lemons and citrus and herbs like peppermint and many other plants. One benefit of terpene oils is that they are natural products in use in many industries for their flavors, such as food or candy.

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Terpenes can also add health benefits to your oil. Beta-Myrcene terpene offers anti-inflammatory properties and is found in most Sativa dominant cannabis strains, while Limonene terpene helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

Terpenes are also known to help your body absorb other cannabinoids, such as THC or CBD. They can help you get more of the medical benefits that you want from your Cannabis oil.

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