Vacuum Pump Oil: The “Circulatory System” of the Vacuum Pump
Introduction One of the most critical parts of a vacuum system is the pump oil. Just as vacuum pumps can be considered the heart of a vacuum distillation, so too can the oil be thought of as its circulatory system. The selection and properties of the oil are critical to proper pump operation. Pump oil…
Short Path Distillation – Step by Step Guide and SOP
Short path distillation Do you need help selecting, setting up, or fine tuning a short path distillation kit? Goldleaf has been supplying and educating the community for years about the practice of short path distillation. Call us anytime at (510)487-1390 for help with any questions. Or email us at sales@goldleaflabs.com to get more info about…
Preventing Commoditization with Terpenes
Now that distillation gives us the tools to purify cannabinoids to a set standard we must realize that the things that originally made the extract unique is now lost. In purifying the extract, we have commoditized it. This means that there is no differentiation between sellers and the only thing to offer is a better…
Types of Distillation
There are many different ways to perform distillation each with its own positives and negatives. It can generally be stated that purity comes at the cost of speed and so fast systems like a wiped film distillation usually aren’t for fine separation of components and slower systems like fractional distillation are generally for greater separation….
Plant Compounds & Absorbents
Chlorophyll Is the green color found in most plant based extracts. High molecular weight and high boiling point makes chlorophyll easily removed by distillation, but the polar nature of the molecule also makes it easy to separate with other techniques that take advantage of differences in polarity such as liquid to liquid separation. Exposure to…
Purification by Altering Solubility (Winterization)
The process of removing waxes, fats, and lipids in general is often called winterization or dewaxing. When a solvent has several compounds with differing solubility you can remove the least soluble compounds by decreasing the solubility of the whole system. Altering the temperature, differences in polarity and agitation are ways to manipulate solubility and each…
How to Make Cannabinoid Distillate
Distillation is a common purification process based on the difference in boiling points between individual components in a sample. Simply put things that boil at a lower temperature are boiled off while higher boiling point compounds remain. In this case terpenes distill first are condensed and collected. Then cannabinoids distill after and are condensed, collected in…
Dewaxing SOP
Obtain 95% ethanol (195 proof). You can buy grain alcohol of this proof from certain websites. You can also buy liquor from a nearby store and distill it. Get a hydrometer (which reads alcohol percentage or proof). Do not under any circumstances use denatured alcohol. You can use isopropyl alcohol, but it will not be…
Terpene Extraction SOP
Process Summary The distillation of terpenes is a steam distillation process. Water is turned to vapor and is diffused through the plant material. The water vapor (steam) sweeps out the flask and carries terpenes along with it to the condenser. As the terpenes and water condense back into a liquid the terpenes will naturally float…
Purification Through Distillation
Purification requires the separation of compounds and distillation is a common purification process based on the difference in boiling points between individual components in a mixture. Simply put things that boil at a lower temperature are boiled off while higher boiling point compounds remain behind. As heat and/or vacuum are applied the compounds which have…