Arsenal Oils and Extracts is a Veteran owned extraction outfit based east of Denver in the pleasant community of Aurora Colorado. Starting off as a small hand-built company we have grown to service clients from all levels in the industry. Experience, knowledge and the willingness to learn is what set us on the path to serve our clients with integrity with all we do. As we continue to grow we continue to strive to be more efficient in providing the best cannabis-based oils on the market today.
Why CO2
Extraction?
CO2 is nontoxic and (GRAS) by the FDA for use in food products. With CO2 as a solvent for oil extraction, no toxins, heavy metals or hydrocarbon materials come in contact with the extracted oils.
CO2 is “solvent free”.
Other extraction solvents, such as hydrocarbon based propellants like propane and butane, hexane and pentane, or ethanol/alcohol mixtures require additional distillation or purging beyond the extraction process to separate the solvent from the extracted oil. CO2 has a very low boiling temperature and wants to be a gas a room temperature, thus it naturally separates from the extracted oil the same way a soda goes “flat”.
The spent plant material is also free of residual solvents so it can be re-used. CO2 is “cold”, and extractions can be done at temperatures that are native to the botanical material, minimizing thermal degradation of the plant material and the extracted oil.
CO2 has the ability to selectively extract and create unique extractions that have varying levels of desirable oils and waxes. Less desirable plant constituents, like chlorophyl, can also be “de-selected”.
CO2 is environmentally friendly, industrial CO2 for extractions comes from byproducts – primarily hydrogen and ammonia manufacturing and fermentation for ethanol. CO2 used for extractions does not contribute to the overall atmospheric CO2 levels.
Watch this video to learn how liquid CO2 is heated in a pressure cell until it reaches the critical point were it changes into a supercritical fluid
How Does It Work?
CO2 is the most frequently used gas for Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) because it’s critical point is reached around 900 F, which is cool enough that the delicate plant terpenes and cannabinoids are not deactivated. The shape of the CO2 molecule also allows it to act as a nonpolar solvent, similar to the way butane and hexane are nonpolar.
Supercritical fluids behave as both liquid and gas, diffusing through solids like a gas, but dissolving compounds like a liquid. The fluid has little surface tension, and can easily penetrate the cuticle of cannabis’ trichomes, dissolving the oils in its path. As the temperature rises the CO2 becomes supercritical and the solution becomes turbid and opaque. The dissolving powers of scCO2 change with pressure to separate extractions that have different components. Altering the pressures allows complete separation of terpenes, cannabinoids, and everything in between. Supercritical carbon dioxide then runs through an extraction vessel at a set temperature and pressure. After gathering the available terpenes, waxes and cannabinoids the solution passes to a separator vessel, that can be used to change the composition of the extract. After the extraction is complete, a drop in pressure allows the CO2 to easily evaporate and be recovered.