About CO2 Extraction:

CO2 extraction or Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SFE) is known for being the most effective way to extract beneficial essences from plant matter. [1] This method is not only used for cannabis concentrates, but is also used to create pure essential oils and to strip out or separate different elements of botanicals. Popular products manufactured using this method are: herbal essential oils, hops for beer, high value pharmaceutical precursors and decaffeinated coffee. [2]

How It Works:

Supercritical fluid extraction is a method of using high pressure to force a solvent through plant matter. In our case, the solvent we use is carbon dioxide. [1] When the solvent is pushed through the plant matter at such a high pressure, it can separate the matter precisely which allows us to isolate only the purest essence of our botanicals- in this case, cannabis. The result is pure, transparent, amber oil.

  > See the different phases of CO2 during SFE

Why CO2?

Supercritical CO2’s high diffusion rates allow it to penetrate solids faster than a liquid solvent [2]. The benefit of using Carbon Dioxide as an extraction solvent is its place in nature. Carbon Dioxide is a natural product which leaves behind no residues. CO2’s purity is its biggest advantage over all other solvents used for plant extraction. Currently, a popular extraction solvent is butane which can potentially leave heavy metals behind in your finished product.

[1] Supercritical Extraction

[2] LEEDS University