Current regulations allow for THC potency up to 76 percent. To achieve these high levels of THC marijuana production facilities produce solvent-based marijuana concentrate by using the hydrocarbons N-butane, isobutane, propane, or heptane to extract the cannabinoid from plant material. After extraction is complete the solvent must be purged from the product through evaporation. Often there is not complete evaporation of solvents leaving dangerous chemical in the concentrate.
The following solvents will be tested for in all marijuana concentrates. Values below are given in Parts Per Million (PPM). 1% is equivalent to 10,000PPM. Therefore if there is a 1 gram sample of concentrate the upper limit of butane allowed would be 800/10,000 x 0.01 or 0.08mg. Those with limits higher than the values below will be rejected and not sold in retail outlets.
To achieve high levels of THC marijuana production facilities produce solvent-based marijuana concentrate by using the hydrocarbons N-butane, isobutane, propane, or heptane to extract the cannabinoid from plant material. After extraction is complete the solvent must be purged from the product through evaporation. Often there is not complete evaporation of solvents leaving dangerous chemical in the concentrate.
The following solvents will be tested for in all marijuana concentrates. Values below are given in Parts Per Million (PPM). 1% is equivalent to 10,000PPM. Therefore if there is a 1 gram sample of concentrate the upper limit of butane allowed would be 800/10,000 x 0.01 or 0.08mg. Those with limits higher than the values below will be rejected and not sold in retail outlets.
Residual Solvent testing uses Gas Chromatography (GC) with Flame Ionization Detection (FID) and Headspace Injection. To conduct this test first a very small sample (50mg) is heated to 140 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes in a sealed environment (the Headspace). This creates a gaseous mixture of residual solvents. The sample gas is fed into a Gas Chromatography (GC) column through the use of a carrier gas such as Helium. The GC column, due to the chemical properties of the column liner, reacts uniquely with each gas present in the mixture.
Each compound takes a specific amount of time to pass through the column. As the compounds exit the column they are detected by the GC and sent to a computer processing system. The program produces a graph or chromatogram of residual solvents elicited from the column over a period of time. For the peaks of the chromatogram to have quantitative meaning a calibration must be done prior to testing. A residual solvent mixture of known concentration is procured from a company such as Restek, Inc. The sample is diluted to make mixtures of several different concentrations. Each concentration is tested as per the above description to create a calibration curve. The peaks of the sample can than be compared to the calibration curve to determine the actual concentration of each compound in the chromatogram.
Residual Solvent testing uses Gas Chromatography (GC) with Flame Ionization Detection (FID) and Headspace Injection. To conduct this test first a very small sample (50mg) is heated to 140 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes in a sealed environment (the Headspace). This creates a gaseous mixture of residual solvents. The sample gas is fed into a Gas Chromatography (GC) column through the use of a carrier gas such as Helium. The GC column, due to the chemical properties of the column liner, reacts uniquely with each gas present in the mixture.
Each compound takes a specific amount of time to pass through the column. As the compounds exit the column they are detected by the GC and sent to a computer processing system. The program produces a graph or chromatogram of residual solvents elicited from the column over a period of time. For the peaks of the chromatogram to have quantitative meaning a calibration must be done prior to testing. A residual solvent mixture of known concentration is procured from a company such as Restek, Inc. The sample is diluted to make mixtures of several different concentrations. Each concentration is tested as per the above description to create a calibration curve. The peaks of the sample can than be compared to the calibration curve to determine the actual concentration of each compound in the chromatogram.
