Solvent Extraction VS. Solventless Extraction
Solvent Extraction
Solvent-based extraction is a process in which compounds are separated according to their relative solubilities. The solvent involved in the process is a kind of fluid that has the ability to dissolve another substance.
It is capable of separating a component from a solution by extraction into another solvent, or receiving a valuable component from the solution, or purifying the original solvent by removing an unwanted component.
There are a great variety of commonly used solvents, such as ethanol, CO2 and hydrocarbons. They have different pros and cons because of their various properties. The commonly used solvent extraction equipment includes closed loop extractors, industrial centrifuges and falling film evaporators. For example, an industrial centrifuge uses ethanol as a kind of solvent to extract cbd or other substances from hemp or other plants.
Solventless Extraction
Solvent-less extraction refers to the process that extracts products mechanically without the use of solvents. It can be safely carried out at home without the risk of burning or explosion from using flammable solvents. It can mechanically produce extracts or concentrates without the use of a solvent, such as hash, dry sift, bubble hash and rosin.
The commonly used solventless extraction equipment includes rosin heat press machine and vortex trichome separators. For example, a rosin heat press machine is a press device to extract rosin by utilizing heat as well as pressure. It is generally considered as the easiest and the most economical extraction technology, which is quite widely used both at people’s home and in commercial field. A vortex trichome separator utilizes the mechanical separation technology to separate cannabinoids and terpene-rich trichome from biomass in order to produce high quality ice water hash.
There are mainly solvent extraction equipment and solventless extraction equipment based on their different extraction methods. The solvent extraction equipment covers closed loop exactor, industrial centrifuge and other devices, while the solventless extraction equipment includes essential oil extractor, rosin heat press and vortex trichome separator.
Closed Loop Extractor
Ethanol Extraction Equipment
An industrial centrifuge is generally used to extract and filter cannabis and other plants. It can extract the active ingredients in plants through a built-in program, which is single-handed, easy to use and large in capacity.
Essential Oil Extractor
An essential oil extractor refers to an apparatus for extracting essential oil and pure dew. Essential oil extractors extract essential oils by utilizing the principle of steam distillation, which can be used to purify or isolate heat-sensitive materials, such as natural aromatic compounds.
Vortex Trichome Separator
A vortex trichome separator refers to a kind of solventless, water-based separation equipment designed to remove the harden trichome heads from cannabis strains, which is known as “bubble hash” or “full melt” as well. It is a sanitary food-grade stainless steel trichome separation and collection system, which is considered as a 100% solventless extraction system by only using ice and water.
A vortex trichome separator has gained its popularity over the last few years. Its popularity may owe to the following advantages: It is simple to operate. A vortex trichome separator only uses water and ice in the separation, and it can also realize auto operations. It is easy and convenient to clean. A vortex separator is made of sanitary food-grade stainless steel material, which is easy for cleaning. It is high efficient. A vortex trichome separator can output an average of 13-15kg of dry hash every day. It is a type of solventless extraction method, which is not only much more natural, but can preserve the unique flavor profile of the cannabis strain.