CannabCo, a Colombia-based cannabis cultivator and manufacturer of medical marijuana products, has procured an enhanced integrated extraction platform to be deployed in their Colombian extraction facility.
“The equipment to be installed in CannabCo Colombia's facility, located 45 minutes outside Bogotá, will facilitate the processing of over 100,000 lbs of hemp and cannabis biomass monthly with expandability to over 500,000 lbs as needed,” reported the company via a press release. “While the sheer volume of the system makes it one of the most capable extraction processing centers in South America, the true value of the production line is the ability to inline process and 'winterize' the extracted oil product with no human intervention.”
Phillip Chen, CannabCo Colombia's chief business development officer explained how important the extraction platform is.
"One of the most tedious, time-consuming, and ultimately costly tasks is that of winterization. By utilizing a customized in-line process, we greatly increase productivity and decrease costs associated with the extraction process."
Chen added that the lack of human intervention also decreases the risk of contamination and increases overall product purity.
How does it work?
The CannabCo extraction line is being hailed as one of the most advanced extraction systems in South America and will be used to process biomass supplied from the company's three agricultural projects which boast over two million sq/ft of greenhouse production when completed.
In addition, the company has extraction agreements for the processing of third-party biomass from independent farms in the region.
CannabCo provided a detailed description of cannabis winterization (the extraction process) and how this revolutionary equipment works.
Winterizing is the process of removing compounds such as fats, lipids, waxes, chlorophyll and other undesirables from bulk cannabis oil prior to distillation.
The most common winterization method is taking the oil and dissolving it in sub-zero ethanol at -20 to -80C. This removes the undesirable compounds and leaves the processor with a semi-refined product. The processor then filters and separates the ethanol from the valuable winterized oil which can now be used for various products such as vaporizers or edibles, or further processed to a highly concentrated and purified distillate.
This multi-step process is labor-intensive, subjects the operator to harmful solvents and fumes, and can take between 24 to 72 hours to complete.
"We simplify the entire extraction process whereby cannabis biomass goes in one end and refined winterized hemp or cannabis oil comes out the other," Chen said. "The goal of the company is to always have an eye for increased efficiency, product quality, and cost reduction and we have achieved all these factors with our system. The entire batch process takes hours instead of days and is highly efficient.”
Photo Courtesy of CannabCo Pharmaceutical Corp-Colombia S.A.S.
