CBDA Crashing

I have heard from several sources that CBDA doesnt crystallize and therefore hemp sauce is not possible, however my observations are to the contrary.

I recently processed some relatively fresh trim machine dust as well as some fresh frozen larf/oops pile buds of greenhouse grown Cherry Mom and after about a week in the oven i started seeing crystallization on the bottom of the pans. Not big diamonds but crystals none the less. There is a loose (relative term when dealing with hemp hydrocarbon extracts) terpy layer in the pan with a solidly sugared layer on the bottom. I sent out samples of each fraction for testing but havent heard back quite yet. The material was processed using butane in a CLS, ran cold but not dewaxed, bottom drained into pyrex, and then into the oven at 85°F to preheat while i fill the oven over the course of a few days and then full vac for a min of 100 hours.

I guess my questions are: Why do so many people think CBDA doesnt crystallize? How likely is it that I have crystallized CBDA on accident? Is there a way to wash these crystals and collect them from the terp layer? And would it even be worth the effort to isolate CBDA like this?

Im attaching pictures of the sugared oil dripping from the scraper, a sample on parchment, and a thin wipe on glass under the lab scope all of which show crystal growth



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CBDA can definitely crystallize, as you’ve shown. From my research, CBDA is just more difficult to crystallize, and is less likely to do so spontaneously.

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Interesting. I always wondered that

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I tried jarring up some cbd oil a couple years ago when mason jar tech was first making the rounds and after 3 months there wasnt even the first bits of crystal but this stuff started crashing in the pyrex under vacuum in less than a week, I cant wait to get back test results, fingers crossed for 90%+ cannabinoids from a hydrocarbon extraction without dewax

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Yep, not everything you hear about cannabis on the web turns out to be true :shushing_face:

Thank you @AppalachianExtractor for the 1k word substitutes to help squash that misinformation.

If you search around here, you’ll find it stated repeatedly that CBDA does indeed crystallize.

I don’t believe you’ll find any other pictures…

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Ive seen it stated, I even follow a “semisynthetic” chemist on IG who has synthesized jars of CBDA crystals, but I havent seen anyone making CBDA crystals using standard sauce tech and certainly not anyone having them crash without even trying. Even when it is stated that they can crystallize it is said to be very difficult. Throughout the OTSS thread it is stated that the tech will not work with hemp. Also there are many threads suggesting CBDA to help prevent crystallization in CBD carts.

I am very familiar with forums and understand to take every “fact” with a grain of salt but I would expect a place like this to have some correct info in regards to the 2nd most common cannabinoid.

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It does
And you’ve improved it.
Thank you.

“Hemp” can mean different things to different folks. I’d wager genetics are helping in your case. (Correct co-solvent)

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So now that we’ve established that CBDA crystallization is feasable, would it be worth trying to isolate the crystals through some sort of pentane washing? Would that ruin the terp portion? Is there any benefit to CBDA isolate over normal CBD isolate?

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lots of benefit.

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Well… let’s hear it then. :wink:

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Sure

Sure, but remember that unless your crude is super high quality, then youre not going to get a whole lot of the potential CBDA from xtal and filteration.

The reason you get so much CBD out of distillate, is that its been winterized and distilled, and that removes tons of impurities, impurities that take up space and dont alow full crystallization in crude extracts.

CBDA has been shown to have equal if not more anti-inflammatory effect as CBD, so its definitely worth going after

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IIRC @AppalachianExtractor is doing cold butane extraction, that should be good enough starting crude provided it was dewaxed inline.

Edit: Just read that it was not dewaxed… maybe get a dewax column and try it on a batch.

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still, unless your doing major liq sep, second solvent wint, and media treatment, % will be lower than ideal, will make it hard to make production units

Absolutely, CBDa is certainly a different thing to work with, I don’t have any experience attempting to crystallize it. I would imagine if some of these less experienced people out here are having success crashing THCa without additional solvents, CBDa can’t be too much more work. Especially for someone with a wider array of experience.

Edit: Are you referring to making a pure CBDa isolate or just something with high content?

pureified by reX. Its absolutely possible, I think I have pictures on my IG from a few years ago. It just takes longer it seems, and is much more delicate since you have to process it all without decarbing

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Right on, I’ll have to look for those. I’ve only seen one CBDa lattice and it was the lillypad type structure inside a flask. I think about the “wizard stones” that SirGrahamJ makes, and it makes me wonder what type of structure one would get with that much CBDa in solution.

The only CBDa ive seen was a bed of super thin needles

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We typically see 70 to 75% total cannabinoid content on our extracts with cbda making up 92 95% of that. We have been working hard to source quality hemp with minimal oxidization. Not all of our hemp extracts can crystallize but CRC has helped make some of the less quality material produce a more stable extract.

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Woud CBDA not decarb after a few days of 80 degrees? Did it sugar up early?

I’d kill to find a way for CBD to stop crystallizing.

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80F? Thats pretty low for decarb, it sugared up and continued to crash into an apple sauce consistency

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