Cannabidiol, more commonly referred to as CBD is one of three core compounds present in the hemp and also the cannabis plant. During the last year, an increase in interest has developed because of high profile court cases for the use of THC and CBD products in children with epilepsy.

In the UK and many western nations, the THC compound is banned. THC is a psychoactive substance that gives users a high. This has caused a stigma around the hemp and cannabis-derived products which has held back CBD products for years. With increasing relaxation of the legalisation on cannabis across the world and a wider acceptance of the benefits of the compounds found in the plants, consumers are becoming more and more aware of the products.

At CBD Worxs we exclusively use the Sativa variety of hemp in our products. Why? Purely because it has a naturally lower concentration of THC which means that there is less to remove when extracting the CBD.

To get CBD from the field to lab, we must process the plants in order to produce the desired compounds. There are three common processes which to extract CBD:

 

Solvents

Butane, isopropyl alcohol, hexane, or ethanol are passed through the plant to harvest the cannabinoids and terpenes to the liquid. Then by using an evaporation process to remove the solvents, you are left with a concentration of CBD and Terpenes which can then be used in a product.

This approach is straightforward and cheap, but unfortunately the solvents leave impurities in the CBD, while this can be minimalised it's not perfect. Additionally, other chemicals and compounds can be removed from the plant leaving a bitter taste to the product.

Oil Extraction

Another simple method is to use olive oil to facilitate the extraction of CBD. Firstly the producer heats the plant to a certain temperature for a specific amount of time; this activates the compounds in the plant. The plant is then submerged and heated again in olive oil for around 2hrs. Heating the oil to 100 degrees infuses the oil with CBD, however, because of the quantity of oil required the CBD concentration is quite low meaning the consumer must take a lot to receive the desired dose. Additionally, the oil is unstable and can go off quickly, it's, therefore, advisable to store in a cool dark place consuming it quickly.

CBD C02 Extraction

With a minimal risk of contaminating the CBD oil and much quicker than using an evaporation process, C02 extraction is the best way to produce CBD on an industrial scale.

Using a closed loop extractor CBD can be harvested from the plant. This machine has three chambers, the first containing solid C02 (dry ice), the second the plant material and the third is used to capture the CBD extract. At first, the solid C02 is pumped into the second chamber containing the plant. This occurs at a specific temperature and pressure which makes the C02 behave like a liquid. In this state, it is called supercritical C02. As it is passed through the plant material, it extracts the CBD and flavours. Finally, this blend of C02 and CBD is moved into the third chamber where the C02 gas and CBD oils can be easily separated and made ready for use.

Based on this the C02 extraction method is one of the best ways to produce CBD. While this is the most expensive process for producing CBD and only limited to professional producers like ourselves, it creates the purest CBD possible.

At CBD Worxs, we exclusively use CBD extracted through the C02 method. Whether for use on gummies, E-Liquids, oils and sublingual sprays we never reduce the quality of our raw materials. We continuously check the levels of THC to ensure the products are legal for UK sale and that our CBD compound maintains a 98% purity rating. By using CBD Worxs products you know, you are consuming the highest quality CBD products.