What is Supercritical CO2 Oil and How is It Healthier Than BHO?

The popularity of marijuana has increased exponentially in the past few decades, especially when it comes to harnessing the plant's inherent medicinal properties. With 29 states legalizing medical marijuana and 8 legalizing it for personal recreational use, quality is becoming a focus point. Many users are simply not content smoking the plant and thereby inhaling the carcinogens that occur through combustion. Not only does this method of ingestion waste excess product but it can be a little more strenuous on the body. This is why vaping and the use of concentrates is becoming an increasingly popular method of ingestion. Concentrates are usually vaped, dabbed or taken as a tincture. Many are created using butane which leaves behind residual petroleum particles and other toxic elements that are inhaled along with the concentrate. Supercritical CO2 extraction offers a much healthier way of making concentrates and the CO2 oil left behind is safer, containing only the good stuff that you want to ingest.

How CO2 Oil is Often Cleaner Than Flower

CO2 stands for carbon dioxide, a gas that is produced naturally when we breathe. For this reason, it is considered harmless and perfectly safe. It is nontoxic and the CO2 extraction process doesn't contribute to carbon emission in the atmosphere nor does it contain any flammable petroleum based solvents. The process of making a CO2 based product actually cleans the marijuana as well, killing any microbial bacteria, mold, mildew or insect mites that could be in the cannabis. For this reason, it creates a much cleaner concentrate. The extraction process involves only taking the positive desired compounds from a marijuana plant to create a CO2 oil concentrate that is cleaner, safer and healthier.

What is Supercritical CO2 Oil?

CO2 is an interesting gas because when you increase the pressure of it and reduce it to a temperature below -69 degrees, you can turn it into a liquid. By further increasing pressure and reducing the temperature, the liquid becomes supercritical. This means that CO2 becomes able to be take on the properties of both a gas and a liquid. When this supercritical CO2 passes through cannabis in an extractor, it pulls out all the terpenes and cannabinoids that give marijuana its medicinal composition. There is no ethanol alcohol or butane used throughout this process. The resulting CO2 oil is an extremely high grade concentrate that doesn't contain toxins and unwanted elements. It can be vaped or dabbed to produce a healthy high or deliver the desired medicinal results.

Variations on Supercritical CO2 Oil

The supercritical CO2 extraction process is not just good for creating an oil or liquid cannabis concentrate. Experienced manufacturers can also produce CO2 shatter, wax and budder so there's a concentrate to suit everyone's taste and needs. Different textures work better with different methods of consumption. Many rigs or vaping contraptions can be expensive so it’s important to use the best CO2 concentrate for your equipment too. The most incredible aspect of CO2 extraction is that it allows scientists to isolate and study the individual terpenes and cannabinoids, such as THC and CBD, that make up cannabis, so that the medicinal properties of the plant can be better understood. All in all, CO2 methods of extraction offer an even healthier and potent way to enjoy cannabis.