Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Ethanol extraction is a better method than CO2 extraction... right? Well, maybe not. The fact of the matter is that ethanol extraction is common in the hemp and botanical industry because it is a powerful and effective solvent. This may be great, but there are underlying issues that are disregarded by extractors and overlooked by consumers too. These issues range from operating costs, to unsafe products and much more.
Food grade ethanol has been used for decades as a proper solvent to extract things like vanilla, essential oils and other consumable products. However, the same cannot be said for the hemp and botanical extraction industry. Due to its high cost, denatured ethanol is often used instead of food grade ethanol by many extractors. This opens the door for chemical denaturant residuals left in a final product for consumption. Not to mention, even denatured ethanol is vastly more expensive than CO2 in long term production. So, is ethanol really the best extraction solvent?
Dr. Jon takes 10 common reasons why ethanol is "better" than CO2 and debunks them one by one. Dr. Jon covers it all from residual denaturants, long-term costs, scalability and why these 10 reasons are not as true as they seem.
If you need detailed information about Ethanol Extraction then check out our comprehensive article here extraktlab.com/supercritical-co2-extractors/ethanol-extraction
We have tons of useful information in our No Holds Barred playlist youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQX9clbTgskpmjbiHCtAY9Y_zti3hvrtH
Visit our blog for other important resources at extraktlab.com/blogCalculators to valuable information: extraktlab.com/calculators
Download our Advanced Extraction Guide that takes you through the whole extraction process:
extraktlab.com/advanced-extraction-guide
Download our Distillation Guide to learn the ins and outs of all things distillation:
extraktlab.com/wiped-film-distillation-guide
Are you stuck in your business, need a solution? Schedule a free CBD Jam Session to get you the solution you need: extraktlab.com/jamsession
Time Stamps:
Introduction [00:00]
Top Ten Reasons [0:21]
Myth #10. CO2 has low solvent Power [1:13]
Myth #9. CO2 has long run times [3:47]
Myth #8. Low throughput [5:51]
Myth #7. Not safe because CO2 process is at high pressure [7:44]
Myth #6. Not Scalable [10:24]
Myth #5. CO2 equipment is not reliable [12:45]
Myth #4. CO2 needs ethanol for winterization [15:35]
Myth #3. Solvent residuals are no big deal [17:26]
Myth #2. CO2 equipment is too costly [20:13]
Myth #1. CO2 is too costly [21:08]
Outro [23:04]
Ethanol extraction is a better method than CO2 extraction... right? Well, maybe not. The fact of the matter is that ethanol extraction is common in the hemp and botanical industry because it is a powerful and effective solvent. This may be great, but there are underlying issues that are disregarded by extractors and overlooked by consumers too. These issues range from operating costs, to unsafe products and much more.
Food grade ethanol has been used for decades as a proper solvent to extract things like vanilla, essential oils and other consumable products. However, the same cannot be said for the hemp and botanical extraction industry. Due to its high cost, denatured ethanol is often used instead of food grade ethanol by many extractors. This opens the door for chemical denaturant residuals left in a final product for consumption. Not to mention, even denatured ethanol is vastly more expensive than CO2 in long term production. So, is ethanol really the best extraction solvent?
Dr. Jon takes 10 common reasons why ethanol is "better" than CO2 and debunks them one by one. Dr. Jon covers it all from residual denaturants, long-term costs, scalability and why these 10 reasons are not as true as they seem.
If you need detailed information about Ethanol Extraction then check out our comprehensive article here extraktlab.com/supercritical-co2-extractors/ethanol-extraction
We have tons of useful information in our No Holds Barred playlist youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQX9clbTgskpmjbiHCtAY9Y_zti3hvrtH
Visit our blog for other important resources at extraktlab.com/blogCalculators to valuable information: extraktlab.com/calculators
Download our Advanced Extraction Guide that takes you through the whole extraction process:
extraktlab.com/advanced-extraction-guide
Download our Distillation Guide to learn the ins and outs of all things distillation:
extraktlab.com/wiped-film-distillation-guide
Are you stuck in your business, need a solution? Schedule a free CBD Jam Session to get you the solution you need: extraktlab.com/jamsession
Time Stamps:
Introduction [00:00]
Top Ten Reasons [0:21]
Myth #10. CO2 has low solvent Power [1:13]
Myth #9. CO2 has long run times [3:47]
Myth #8. Low throughput [5:51]
Myth #7. Not safe because CO2 process is at high pressure [7:44]
Myth #6. Not Scalable [10:24]
Myth #5. CO2 equipment is not reliable [12:45]
Myth #4. CO2 needs ethanol for winterization [15:35]
Myth #3. Solvent residuals are no big deal [17:26]
Myth #2. CO2 equipment is too costly [20:13]
Myth #1. CO2 is too costly [21:08]
Outro [23:04]
