Process Overview: Terpene refinement is a process of separating fractions which can be used as is or mixed with other fractions from the same material or other strains. A low temperature high vacuum fractional distillation process is typically used but can also incorporate other techniques such as precipitation, crystallization, or solvent extraction to purify or separate fractions further. As the fractions become isolated further the scent characteristics can be wildly different from the original profile. Since there are hundreds or even thousands of compounds the exploration and development of different profiles is endless.
Cannabinoids have become commoditized, but terpenes continue to be the way to increase and stabilize margins. As the industry matures and the economies of scale come into effect, the profit center has shifted over the years from growing, to extraction, to purification. We are now at a stage of formulation and terpene refinement is a vital skill to excel in this new stage.
To learn more about terpene pricing and industry economics check out our white paper post here
Starting Material : Should be extracted by hydrocarbon or CO₂ and should be runny and somewhat thin. Most producers crystalize and sell diamonds and regard the terp sauce or HTE as waste, so this is the best material to work with. A centrifuge helps to remove any diamonds from the HTE and keeps the terp sauce thin. The hotplate cannot stir super viscous solutions so you will lose yield if your starting material is too thick. You can use an overhead stirrer if your starting material is too viscous but selecting the right stir bearings can be tricky. Magnetic bearings are expensive and weak but hold full vac.
We found that mantles insulated the flask too well and wasn’t very stable at lower temperatures. Our system uses a reaction block to transfer heat from an advanced hotplate stirrer to the flask. The block is made of aluminum and transfers more heat to the environment which is needed to help balance the heat load/loss. The best solution we have found is a jacketed vessel with an external heater/chiller, but that can be kind of pricey.
The fractions are so volatile you will need extra cooling for the receiver flasks to avoid vaporization loss to the cold trap. We use jacketed receiver flasks to keep the fractions cold, but dry ice works as well.
Inert gas backfilling and Schlenk line techniques are crucial to avoid oxidation. Terpenes are chemically unstable and can easily be altered by heat, light, O₂, etc. Use ambered vials and bottles also.
Liquid nitrogen can be used for the final vacuum trap to avoid pump contamination and catch ultra-volatile fractions.
We will be doing some runs in the next couple of weeks and will be adding more info on our website blog and here. We should also have classes available after the New Year. I hope people will use this post to share their insight and help everyone else get up to speed on this topic.
How many fractions do you typically pull each run?
What is the yield from each fraction?
How long does it take you?
Have you ever redistilled a fraction to isolate it even more?
Get the cadaverine terps out your orifice
Spdking is dead but he still wants more of this
Spitting foul game the smelliot way
Your mouth smells like shit anytime you say hey
I have thrown away every heat block out there because it’s the most inconsistent and inefficient way to maintain temperature and heat application on mantles, especially when doing terps the flask temperatures swing too much.
LMMFAO. It’s a solid block of aluminum used as a heat sink.
You’re like the guy I know whose dad was a nuclear engineer and so he thought he knew physics. He tried to convince me that protons were inherently unstable. So I calculated for him how many free protons are in a tablespoon of water. Naturally. Autodissociation you know.
Mantles overshoot 10+ degrees, while a good hotplate is much more precise and can gradually transfer the heat to the boiling flask. Especially needed for delicate terpenes.
Good luck using a heat block for a process that sub cools the solution dramatically when opperating. I’m sure you’ve used mantles, so let me know how it goes with the heat block.
Hotplates equipped with heating blocks are so much better for precise temperature control, there’s a reason they’re used so extensively in R&D. Go ask anyone in academia or a med chem lab their thought on this.
I’m always amazed at how much people are willing to talk out of their ass. What do you aim to gain with providing all of this disinformation?
I dont see how thats such a bad thing when its still sitting on a warm aluminum block. How much does it really cool down? Id rather under shoot than over shoot when dealing with terps.
Cant you always add heat rope or a heated cover if thats a problem?
breh
