Green Mill Supercritical recently announced validation tests measuring its Real-Time Winterization (RTW) process for THC extraction in a full production setting confirmed results previously achieved with CBD. For many end-product categories, a full lab isn't necessary since fully de-waxed oil is produced straight out of the machine.
What this means for extraction operators is they no longer need ethanol winterization, which is a time-intensive and costly process. Instead, winterization is accomplished with the same CO₂ used during the primary extraction, and it is accomplished in real-time. RTW brings production times down from days to hours and saves hundreds of thousands of dollars compared to the cost of building and operating a traditional extraction and refinement laboratory while creating a simple, ethanol-free, mono-solvent workflow.
Green Mill’s testing partner for the THC validation tests is Organic Remedies, a vertically integrated clinical research licensee located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Their cultivation, manufacturing, and research center is a 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility.
Cannabinoid loss highlights a cost caused by ethanol winterization that is not visible, but is significant nonetheless. It is one example — among many — that makes up a complete picture of a lab’s efficiency once one looks beyond the amount of biomass that can be sent through the extraction machine itself.
“The typical THC extract producer that winterizes with ethanol is losing 5-8% of their valued compounds, or about $150,000 per year, just in the act of transfer and processing,” said Green Mill Director of R&D, Jesse Turner.
Initial equipment delivery is planned for Q3 2021.
