now that says BIG oil!
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Iād like @BR-Instrument to comment on this. We run a BR 9200 and just upgraded to 22L. We always run low vacuum (.05mmHG or lower) but weāve never seen any meaningful way to separate THC from CBD there.
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no, but the all knowing one canā¦
https://www.google.com/search?q=separating+THC+from+CBD+via+chromatography
ConfuseUs say: practice you your googlefu 
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I guess my point is that it is not as nearly as scalable as the process I perform to remove thc from cbd crude.
Also these distillation units you have posted do not seperate compounds as close in boiling point as thc and cbdā¦
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Its really concerning to me the amount of smart people in this thread and the prevelent wrong info it containsā¦ molecular distillation is not suitable for separation of cannabinoids to the point of isolation.
It may be possible theoretically, but not one working model, not one valid test result has popped up. save yourself the trouble that countless companies ive consulted for have made. dont rely on distillation for separation at that levelā¦
Nor can you rely on crystalization! you cannot crystallize 100% of a target molecule in an impure solution! you will only be able to crystallize a solution until your taget molecule falls under a 50% concentration in the remaining solution!
Can you remove the bulk of your cbd or thca through xtals? sure, nowhere near individual isolation of the mother liquid compounds.
Liquid partitioning seems promising, but untested.
Savve your money and r&d for liquid, superfluid, or centrifugal chroma
tl:DR chroma chroma chroma
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I have to agree. Getting a super deep vacuum doesnāt change the distillation to separate THC and CBD, since molecular distillation (achieved with deep vacuum) is still based on molecular weightsā¦ which are the same for THC and CBD. One might be able to segregate the 2 using selective media in the distillation column, but that is fractional distillation more dependent on boiling point, using a selective material to split the boiling points further apart. It is very similar to chromatography, in action.
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Ive always wondered about cannabinoid vapor flowing through a heated media columnā¦ had always come to the conclusion that it would just be a high energy-requiring bump trapā¦ but youre saying that decent separation is feasible this way?
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Hypothetically, yes. Even the ethanol:water azeotrope can be broken significantly with the right media and careful distillation, like ceramic raschig rings. Since the strongest force between the CBD and THC is the hydrogen bonding, and since CBD has 2 OH versus THCās 1 OH, it is possible that ceramic rings would aid separation in cannabinoid distillation, too. However, because fractionation typically requires a longer column, the separation in a short path may not be sufficient. Worth a shot, though.
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interesting, but as for a tightly packed column of silica/ alumina type adsorbant? that would be problematic as far as reflux goes but an interesting take
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I would still recommend getting as deep a vacuum as possible, just to get the b.p. as low as possible, making a longer packed column feasible. The local pressure in the column will still be fractional level, even if the vacuum is strong enough to get b.p. down to 150Ā°C.
Also, if you buy ceramic rings, make sure you wash them and check through them for contaminants and bits of detritus (especially metal) from the kiln! They can be surprisingly filthy.
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Yeah, I am not recommending a powder packed column, as would be used in chromatography. Most efficient would be a structured packing that perfectly fits the column, but any random packing should be rather chunky, too.
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Ok so while it theoretically may be possible it is definitely NOT practical.
Letās say for whatever reason you canāt do chromatography and you canāt do crystallization to remove THC. I would still tell you that spinning band is not the tool.
Iāve separated the isomers of xylene on a spinning band. However, I did it on a 36-100 column (much smaller and longer than a 9200) and I did it at atmospheric pressure over the weekend at a very high reflux ratio. The point that I want to make by saying this is that you can get some really tight separations on spinning band.
There was previously a little bit of misinformation that we at BR had about separating THC from CBD. Someone told us they did it and there was āa littleā waste. What we later found out was that they ran less than 50 g of material that was ~1% THC and got like less than 10 g of CBD back or something. That is a crazy amount of waste and more THC was created in the process.
So again, possible? Maybe. Practical? I say no.
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Honesty despite a possible economic disincentive!??? Unheard of in this industry take notes, i wont name names but you know who you are lol.
10/10 im gonna buy a b/r instrument for no reason now maybe to distill columbos tears lolol
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Thats good because my tears can only be distilled with a B/R 
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ive was told that a short path with a really longg head made of steel with many many plats with very very small precise openings at very specific heights was getting 99% disty and 4 kinds at the same timeā¦ish cbd cbg thc and thcaā¦ yayaya i know but thats the lore. The head had many bends. Was told 2l an hour of 4 fractions 99% 
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maybe pics and Iāll believe it. Havnt heard of anyone doing anything like this. Especially not on a production scale
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Would you be able to elaborate on this process?
Thanks for the information, thatās currently what direction Iām going. Do you consulting?
What rates are you able to remove THC from your crude??? That would be ideal!
Your thinking using ceramic crashing rings may accomplish this separation???
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