What is Hydrocarbon Extraction?
Hydrocarbon extraction is the most popular extraction method. Hydrocarbon extraction is used often in large scale production facilities due to their clean & fast process (Both Butane & Propane have much faster processing times than alcohol or CO2 extraction methods). The process uses hydrocarbon solvents (butane, propane, or a mix of both), to extract the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), and terpenes from the cannabis plant material. The process produces a highly concentrated extract, which is used then to create shatter, glass, hash, wax, and other products. Hydrocarbon is a clean method of extraction, which leaves little or no hydrocarbon residue when the process is utilized properly. The resulting clean product contains very high levels of cannabinoids and terpenes.
What is the difference between
Propane & Butane, or a mix?
Butane
(Boiling Point: 30.2 F (-1C):
Using Butane as a solvent produces less pressure within the system due to its higher boiling point. The higher boiling point, and lower pressures make Butane run slower than Propane. Butane will pull more plant matter, and produce a higher yield, but also produce a darker color. Customers using Butane as their solvent can make a variety of highly potent end products such as shatter, budder, wax, live resin, and more.
Propane
(Boiling Point: -43.6F (-42C):
Using Propane as a solvent produces a high pressure with in the system due to its lower boiling point. The increased pressure within the system speeds up the solvent recovery, which reduces the total process run time, making Propane faster than Butane. Propane produces a lighter color extraction than Butane as it pulls less chloroplast from the plant matter (which causes the darker color in the product). Similar to Butane, Propane can make a variety of highly potent end products such as shatter, budder, wax, live resin, and more.
Mix
When using a mix, you can get the best of both Butane & Propane.
The Butane will keep the pressures within the system lower, and will pull out a large percentage of the plant oils, while the propane will increase the pressure slightly, and will grab less of the chloroplast from the plant material (which is the cause of the dark color in the extract). The end product of a mix is typically a more blonde and clear extract. For a blend, you have to calculate the pressure within the system. For example at 40 degrees F (Propane=65 PSI, Butane=3 PSI). With a 70/30 Butane-Propane mix (.3 x 65)+(.7 x 3) = 21.6 PSI at 40 degrees F. The 70/30 blend is typically used for shatter and budder production. Depending on the desires product characteristics, and color, any combination of Butane to Propane can be used.