What Is CBD Distillate?
Distillation is an ancient method of creating concentrated compounds of molecules by using their boiling points. The technique is applied in various industries today, but it’s primarily associated with alcoholic spirits.
However, few people know distillation is frequently used in the cannabis industry as well.
This article explains what CBD distillate is, what is the difference between distillate and isolate, and more related questions. We’ll also discuss the importance of CBD and THC steam distillation.
Cannabis Distillate 101
CBD distillate is a pure, highly concentrated extract of the hemp plant. It consists of 90% cannabidiol, with the rest often including terpenes, cannabinoids, and other plant extracts.
Due to their high potency, you can often hear of distillates as “pure” product forms. Thanks to cannabis distillate’s wide range of applications, it’s becoming more popular across industries.
To create CBD distillate, the hemp biomass is processed with solvents like ethanol or high-pressure CO2. This action separates the hemp trichomes from the plant, leaving a raw extract (known as CBD crude). The solvent usage is important because it picks up on unnecessary compounds such as chlorophyll and plant waxes. The next step is winterisation, where the product is washed in alcohol and frozen overnight.
The whole process involves applying heat, steam, and vacuum pressure to isolate the compounds to get the cannabis distillate. The distillation procedure can be run multiple times until a golden yellow hue for CBD distillate is obtained.
CBD distillate is only second to CBD isolate in terms of purity. But more on their differences later. Now let’s answer the what is THC distillate question.
What is THC Distillate?
THC distillate is a highly concentrated extract of tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive component of the cannabis plant. THC distillate is especially popular in patients due to its potency. In fact, THC distillate is almost exclusively used for medicinal purposes.
THC distillate can be consumed sublingually, by vaporising, smoking, or as a suppository. It can also be added to edible content.
Isolating THC compounds into oil requires multiple layers of refinement. THC has varying boiling points from other compounds of the cannabis plant, so it must be separated from the plant with a CO2 extraction technique. In short, this process removes other compounds from the plant, leaving fats and lipids.
The next step is winterisation, which is using ethanol to remove undesirable compounds. Next, comes decarboxylation, where the compounds get heated to activate the medicinal benefits. Finally, THC stem distillation purifies the compound to the isolated state.
Now let’s have a look at some distillate vs isolate facts.
What Is the Difference Between Distillate and Isolate?
Distillate vs isolate is a crucial factor to consider when purchasing your CBD product. The CBD isolate is an isolated form of cannabinol. Before isolation, CBD is just one of many broad-spectrum cannabis oil ingredients. Isolating CBD means removing all other components, resulting in a pure crystalline CBD product without taste and smell.
Depending on the process type, the isolates can be over 99% pure and are later added to other oils for topical use or ingestion. This is where the main difference between a CBD distillate and isolate lies. Isolates only have traces of other substances, while distillate can have from 50%-70% CBD, with up to 50% of other cannabinoid compounds.
Both the CBD and THC steam distillation process is necessary to isolate the primary compounds from the plant.
As you can see, distillate vs isolate products mainly differs in pure CBD or THC extract percentages.
Understanding CBD Distillate
CBD distillates are highly-concentrated forms of hemp compound called cannabidiol. These products have a diverse range of use, from edible products to oils. They can also be consumed individually. It’s essential to understand the distillate vs isolate difference so you make the right choice when purchasing your product.
Hopefully, this article helped you learn more about CBD, what is THC distillate, how both of them are obtained, how important is CBD and THC steam distillation, and what is the difference between distillate and isolate.