So happy to be apart of this community and wanted to start it off with a bang. Proendo Wholesale is a B2B wholesaler of fully complaint cbd distillate, non crystalising cbd distillate (2months out) and then rarer cannabinoids further down the line. There will also be highend vape carts and gummies to begin with. Im not trying to slang anything yet as I have not been vetted by @Future im just giving you a brief over view of what my company does. Proendo Wholesale is specifically focused in Oregon and MA. But thats enough about the company now I would like to contribute to the community.
Im helping my friend start a company in IRELAND and he wanted me to give him a breakdown of the CBD market. As I was typing it up I realized there is probably a lot of other people who could find this useful. Im here to help build this community if there are errors or additions you would like to see then please add them in the comments and I will update this.
Looking forward to seeing everyone tonight at the GLG meet up at the Witch Dr.
Understanding the extraction process from start to finish
Hemp (high cbd marijuana) is grown in a field and once chopped it begins the extraction process
Flower —> Crude Oil —> Distillation (process can stop here and you will have full spectrum oil )—> Isolation of cannabinoids (CBD Isolate) or remediation of cannabinoids (EG THC removal)
Extraction process
- Flower is dried, tested and weighed then is prepared for extraction.
- Preparing for extraction means confirming tests results, making sure flower is dry enough then it has to be grinded up in a hamermill to the desired consistency.
- Oils are extracted from biomass using solvents (butane or ethanol ) or pressure (Super critical co2)
- Once oils are extracted post processing begins. If solvents have been used you will need to make sure all the solvent will be removed from oil before moving to next stage which is filtration
- More common ways to remove solvents is through evaporation of solvents leaving behind the oil
- Filtration requires removal of all fats, lipids, chlorophyll there are a variety of ways to do this such as adding alcohol at a 10-1 ratio and then dropping the temperature and then running that mixture through different micron filters, you could do a methanol 1-1 ratio either is using distillate or you can do a LLE (liquid to liquid extraction) which always you to remove a the unwanteds without the energy requirements of cooling and freezing. There are other tools such as carbon scrubbing which will pull more chlorophyl and improve color. This list goes on and every extractor has their own pros and cons as to what post processing makes the most sense for them.
- Distillation - Further refining of cannabinoids, by applying heat and cooling. depending on budget you can get more automated equipment that can put out a higher volume of oil these are called wiped film extractors.
- Isolation - Solvents such as heptane/pentane are added to extract and cooled to allow crystals to grow. once crystals are crashed out of the solution the solvents are removed and now you have isolate.
Terms explained
Crude Oil - This is the oil that is extracted using solvents or pressure
Cannabinoids - different compounds found in the hemp plant thats each has its own properties
Terpenes - this is the flavors and smell of the plant. Marijuana is one of the only plants that can mimic the terpene profiles of other plants, fruits and vegetables. When you smell a lemon for instance you are smelling d-limonene. Terpenes also have an effect on the properties of the hemp being consumed. Some terpenes have a more awake feeling (A-pinene , d-limonene) while others have a more sleepy feeling (Mycerene, Linalool which is commonly found in lavender)
The Entourage Effect - This is the term used to describe how terpenes and cannabinoids have a synergistic effect. They work better together each helping each other for the most desired effect.
Warm wash - when using ethanol is you warm wash you keep all of the fats and lipids in the oil
Cold wash - the ethanol is brought down to a super cold temperature which freezes all the fats and lipids during the extortion so there is less post processing work after.
Winterization - removal or fats and lipids from the oil. you cannot distill if this step has not been completed
Distillation - refined oil is put into a boiling flask that is heated. cannabinoids will boil off at different temperatures. The different boiling points are called fractions. These fractions have a beginning a middle an end which are called - heads, main body, tails.
Heads - first fraction containing a lot of the unwanteds - crappy terpenes primarily
Main body - the most desired and highest purity cannabinoids - best color and clarity
Tails - low potency cannabinoids, poor color, the last dribs and drabs. These will typically be collected and then run again to be repurified. Running the oil is called a second pass.
Chromatography - the process of using solvents to single out specific compounds. Equipment is very expensive and staffing is also very expensive. This is the biggest bottle neck in the industry.
Price points - the further you go down the extraction chain the more expensive the product becomes (note this is not always the case as I will explain below )
Flower - Priced by potency. 15-25cents per point during harvest season, 25-35 cents per point during middle, 35-45cents during dry season. EG if flower tests 10% cbd and you are been charged 35cents per percent of cbd you would pay $35 per pound.
Smokeable flower - Hemp flower thats smells and smokes just like cannabis but is completely legal depending on the time of the seasons and the location of purchase prices can range from $200-400 at point of origin to $1000-1600 to the end user.
Warm Crude (unwinterized crude) sells for $1.35 per g so $1350 per kilo - 50-60% potency
Winterized crude (fats and lipids removed ) sells for about $2.20-50 per g so $2200-$2500 per kg. Depending on the solvent used pricing will change. Co2 for instance requires more upfront cost and lower yields so the price is higher($4500 in some cases), bho provides a better all-round extract and is lowest cost over all $3500 in some cases. Ethanol is the most widely used and is easiest for entry and scale so its cheaper. 70-80% potency
Full spectrum distillate - the term is very debatable but to me it means cbd oil with other cannabinoids including THC that is above the legal limit of .03% this ranges in price from $3500-$4500 per kilo depending on volume. Eg 1kg will be 4000, 10 might be 3800 and 50 might be 3500. 80%+ potency
Fully compliant Distillate - THC testing below .03% this is a further refining process and as such costs more, this is also crucial for inter state or international trade. price points range from
$7500 for 1 to $6500 for 10 or more
THC free distillate - this is where the the in below the LOQ which is the limits in what can be shown on a test. as this can only be done with chromatography it costs more that fully complinat oil in my opinion.
Isolation - Once you get to distillate you can skip the whole the removal by just removing the isolating the CBD. This process requires the use of solvents such as pentane and heptane to crash out the cbd from the distillate. By crashing out I literally mean crystals begin to form in the oil and you remove them thus having a per compound. Even though this is an extra step the price points for this are dropping like mad because its not very hard to do. Right now you can get single kilos for $4800 and 100s-1000s for 4k or less. As I mentioned earlier about the enterouge effect having more cannabinoids and terpenes together increases the efficacy. That been said as there is no worries with thc being present it is the choice of many institutions and companies.
Depending on the cannabinoid been isolated will determine the price point - cbd used to be 30k per kg of isolate and now is less than 5k, CBG is currently becoming the next big cannabinoid that everyone wants and it ranges from 27k per kg of isolate to 35k for kilo of distillate. CBN is about 55k+ for kilo of isolate and the list goes on.
NOTE THESE PRICES ARE FOR NORTH WEST AMERICA AND COULD BE DIFFERENT IN YOUR COUNTRY OR STATE
The bulk distillate and isolate is then sold to other manufacturers who make a variety of products such as Tinctures, vape cartridges, salves, chocolates, gummies, capsules and many many more.