Is there any companies producing systems that utilize butane, propane, or isobutane in its supercritical state as the solvent?
It seems like co2 is the only solvent that is used in its supercritical state.
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Guy mentions propane on my thread here. Not sure what the benefits are, better solubility I’d assume?
Pushing flammable gasses into their supercritical state is very dangerous. Any “benefits” you would get from doing so vastly underweigh the potential hazards of it.
Liquid butane/propane in a tank is already a bomb, pushing it into its’ supercritical state simply for extraction purposes is like asking for trouble.
Edit: The greatest benefit of super vs sub-critical CO2 is the slight increase in yields and reduced extraction times. The yield increases are due to the fact that supercritical fluids permeate the cell walls and draw out any cannabinoids that are within. (Yes, they’re in fact not just in the trichs.)
Considering the fact hydrocarbons already extract very quickly, and the amount of cannabinoids within the cell walls is very small, the equipment needed for the procedure, safety ratings, etc. make this a very inefficient use of money.
(Opinion) Although, when we finally figure out that a natural, diverse, balanced terpene profile is necessary to produce highly effective medicines, we’ll use this concept to extract ridiculously large quantities at a time while preserving -all- of the terps. (Unlike ethanol, which is what people currently think is the future of extraction.)
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