What’s up guys, i have been messing around with formulating THC-A isolate into my baked goods and candies, and decarboxylating in the baking and candy process with alot of great results.
My main question is what is the rate of decarboxylation. I have been assuming 12% loss from thc-a to thc and just looking to see if someone has concrete info before I start decarbing weights to find out.
The decarboxylation rate is going to vary based on what you are baking or cooking not to mention the volume. If you decarb it prior to infusing you’ll have a more consistent rate with less factors in play.
THCa decarboxylation from what I’ve read is typically considered to be a first order or pseudo first order reaction. there is a logarithmic relationship between the mass of THCa and the rate of decarboxylation as compared to time. this is a helpful article if you would like to use rate constants to determine how long and hot you would need to cook. Keep in mind that there is an activation energy that will need to be applied to the system before the rate constant becomes relevant to your calculations. the Arrhenius equation is helpful in this situation.
These guys also got similar results…but used flower instead of extract. They also look at the contribution of oxygen whereas the 2016 paper is all done under vacuum.Cannabinoid Decarboxylation A Comparative Kinetic Study.pdf (2.3 MB)
Shatter, diamonds, sugar all take different lengths of time even if it’s the same weight. They also lose different amounts of weight. Sugar / terpy stuff is 10-15% where shatter is around 10% weight loss
When I decarb I do it in a beaker on a hot plate until the bubbles stop. Temp can be 160c to 300c on the hot plate depending on how fast I need to get it done. Once bubbles stop it’s time to pull it
This study I found on overgrow says 8% total molar loss of THCA + THC when decarbing THC extract. I cant post the link because this is a new account but just look for decarboxylation studies on OG.
So I guess you would apply that, then the 12% for THC weighing less, but idk if anyone is actually doing that or if you are losing the same amount.