CBD Extraction Methods Explained: Which is the Best?

Whether you’re a long-time hemp enthusiast or a first-time CBD user, you might be wondering how exactly your CBD-infused oil, gummies, or other products are made.

Though it’s naturally occurring in the hemp plant, CBD has to be chemically extracted in order to be used in products. The extraction process is what makes or breaks a CBD product; “naturally occurring” doesn’t mean anything if the final extract is full of harmful chemicals or isn’t potent.

Generally speaking, the best CBD extraction method is supercritical CO2 extraction because it produces extremely potent and safe-to-consume CBD products.

In this article, we’re going to cover the five main extraction methods which are typically used to make CBD products. Then, we’ll discuss the best and safest methods — you’ll know what to look out for, whether you’re buying products or making your own at home!

Why Does CBD Need to be Extracted?

There are actually over 100 naturally-occurring cannabinoids in hemp. Although CBD is the most abundant, it’s still only a small part of the hemp plant — natural hemp oil contains just 3% CBD.

Because of this, CBD has to be isolated from the other components of the hemp plant and extracted so it can be concentrated in large enough amounts to make effective products.

What Happens Before the CBD is Extracted?

Before we discuss extraction methods, here’s a quick overview of how hemp goes from being a tiny seed to being put through extraction systems:

• Hemp seeds are planted and undergo germination, in which the roots emerge from the seed and the plant starts to grow out of the soil
• The hemp is transplanted twice to larger growing beds as it grows
• The hemp is then harvested and lab tested by a 3rd-party to ensure it doesn’t contain more than 0.3% THC (per the 2018 Farm Bill)
• If the hemp passes the lab testing successfully, it is dried and sent to be processed!

Now that you have a general idea of how hemp seeds turn into hemp biomass that can now have CBD extracted from it!

The Main CBD Extraction Methods

There are five main CBD extraction methods:

• CO2 extraction
• Ethanol extraction (more broadly referred to as solvent extraction)
• Oil extraction
• Dry ice extraction
• Steam distillation

The first two, CO2 and Ethanol, are the most commonly used in the CBD industry, because they’re the safest and more effective – you could say they’re the “best.”

Oil extraction, on the other hand, is a DIY method used by people who want to make CBD oil at home.

Dry ice extraction and steam distillation are two methods used in the CBD industry, however, they’re not used much in comparison to CO2 or ethanol.

Let’s discover how all the methods work and the pros and cons associated with each.

1. CO2 Extraction

CO2 extraction uses carbon dioxide to separate the oil containing CBD and other cannabinoids from the rest of the hemp plant. It’s one of the most common methods in the CBD industry, and it’s also commonly used for making beer.

There are two forms of CO2 extraction — supercritical and subcritical.

Supercritical vs. Subcritical CO2

At normal temperatures, CO2 is a gas. However, when heated above its critical temperature of 31.10 Celsius and pressurized past its critical pressure of 1,071 psi, it assumes properties of both a liquid and a gas. Carbon dioxide in this state is known as supercritical CO2.

Subcritical CO2, on the other hand, is heated until it assumes liquid properties, but not to the point that it begins to assume gaseous properties, too.

CO2 starts as a gas and goes through two phases when it’s heated. As you increase the temperature, it turns to a liquid. And if you increase the temperature even more,

Both types of CO2 can be used to extract CBD, and each has pros and cons (more on this below).

How it Works

The CO2 extraction method involves transferring carbon dioxide between chambers to achieve the proper reaction with the hemp plant. It’s the same process for both types of CO2, but we’ll use supercritical for this example:

1. One chamber holds pressurized supercritical CO2 and the other chamber holds hemp biomass.
2. The CO2 is pumped into the chamber containing the hemp biomass. The supercritical CO2 breaks the hemp into two things: oil and plant material.
3. The CO2 and oil (but not the other plant matter) are pumped into yet another chamber. The CO2 gas evaporates, leaving pure CBD extract behind.

The Pros and Cons

There are two forms of CO2 extraction, and each has unique downsides and upsides.

Supercritical CO2 extraction is the most commonly used methods in the CBD industry, and it’s not hard to see why.

Pros of supercritical CO2 extraction:

• It produces extremely potent extracts
• It doesn’t rely on harmful chemical solvents – it uses carbon dioxide, the gas you breathe out
• It produces a safe, effective product

Cons of supercritical CO2 extraction:

• It can be hard on the hemp plant and destroy terpenes and other delicate constituents in hemp

Pros of subcritical CO2 extraction:

• It, too, produces a very clean and safe product
• It is better than supercritical extraction at preserving delicate hemp constituents

Cons of supercritical CO2 extraction:

• It produces much less potent extracts than supercritical CO2 extraction, as well as other methods such as ethanol extractions — this means it isn’t as efficient at making high-effectiveness products

2. Ethanol Extraction

This method submerges the hemp plant in ethanol, or alcohol (yes, the same alcohol in beer, wine, and so on), in order to extract the CBD from it. Like CO2 extraction, it’s commonly used in the CBD industry and is reputed for the quality of extracts it produces.

How It Works

The ethanol extraction process happens in three primary steps: extraction, evaporation, and distillation. Here’s how it goes:

1. Ethanol and hemp biomass are cooled to near-freezing temperatures and mixed. Once mixed, ethanol, which is a polar solvent, “pulls” the cannabinoids and terpenes from the plant.
2. The mixture is placed in a vacuum and heat is applied, which boils off the ethanol. This leaves a crude oil product containing cannabinoids but at low potency.
3. Heat and the vacuum are applied again, but this time, to a greater degree. This targets the cannabinoids (rather than the ethanol, as in the first application) in order to separate and refine them. After this step, you’re left with the final extract!

The Pros and Cons

Ethanol extraction has many of the same “pros” as CO2 extraction does, however, there are some differences.

Pros of ethanol extraction:

• Like CO2 extraction, it produces a safe-to-consume, high-quality product
• Ethanol is a natural solvent
• It’s environmentally friendly — the ethanol used in extraction equipment can be re-used for future extractions to reduce the system’s ecological footprint

Cons of ethanol extraction:

• It’s more costly to operate than CO2 extraction due to energy, testing, and solvent changeover cost, as well as solvent loss — the practical implication for consumers is that ethanol-extracted CBD will cost more
• Since ethanol is a polar solvent, it can absorb the naturally-occurring chlorophyll in the hemp plant, and this compound isn’t always filtered out. Chlorophyll is necessary for the growth of hemp, and for hemp’s green color, but it can make the extract taste bad if it isn’t removed

3. Oil Extraction

Oil extraction is a method favored by DIY enthusiasts who want to make CBD oil in the comfort of their own homes.

It isn’t used at a large scale by the CBD industry, though, because it can’t reliably produce high-quality extracts.

How It Works

Here’s how oil extraction works:

1. CBD-rich hemp buds are ground into a fine powder. This ensures that when they’re heated in the oil, they will be decarboxylated (in layman’s terms, turned from CBDa into CBD).
2. Buds are heated in a 50/50 mixture of water and vegetable oil (often olive oil). The heating starts at lower temperature and progresses to a boil, and it stays there for 50-60 minutes.
3. Now, the oil is done and can be cooled and put into jars!

The Pros and Cons

Oil extraction is typically only used by people wanting to make oil at home, because it isn’t a very thorough process.

Pros of oil extraction:

• It can be done at home
• It’s safe
• It produces a good-tasting extract

Cons of oil extraction:

• The lack of specialized equipment used means that the final extract will be very inconsistent in just about every way — CBD content, terpene content, taste, etc.
• It produces an unfiltered extract — you’ll have to deal with flower powder
• It produces a much less potent extract than methods using specialized equipment

4. Other Extraction Methods

There are also some other methods by which CBD can be extracted, but they aren’t commonly used to make products because they’re not viable from either an economical and/or quality standpoint. These methods are:

• Dry ice extraction
• Steam distillation

We won’t go very in-depth on either, but it’s worth knowing how these methods work.

• Steam distillation
• Dry ice extraction

These methods either very aren’t economical, don’t produce the best-quality extract, or both. Still, we’ll briefly cover what they are and how they work.

Steam Distillation

Steam distillation uses steam to separate CBD oil from the hemp plant. Here’s the basic process: boiling water sends steam into a flask containing the hemp biomass, which then causes the hemp to give off vapors that are condensed and refined.

Steam distillation produces pure and safe CBD products, but it isn’t commonly used because it requires much more hemp than other methods to produce the same amount of extract.

Dry Ice Extraction

This method uses dry ice to freeze the cannabinoid-rich resin glands in the hemp plant, making them able to be shaken loose from the rest of the plant.

While dry ice is a solidified form of CO2 gas, the dry ice extraction process is nothing like CO2 extraction; the dry ice method is not used to extract CBD for tinctures or gummies (as the other four methods are), but rather is used to isolate other parts of the hemp plant such as trichomes or resin.

What Happens After the CBD is Extracted?

So, after the CBD is extracted using one of the methods above, how does it end up in your tinctures or gummies?

Here’s what happens:

1. It’s distilled — though we mentioned this before with some of the methods, it’s a critical step of the preparation process. Distillation removes wax, lipids, and chlorophyll that get extracted along with the CBD.
2. It’s made into CBD tinctures — once the CBD has been extracted in its purest form, it’s combined with:
   • Carrier oil — typically MCT oil or coconut oil. Carrier oil is a healthy fat, which your body requires in order to absorb CBD.
   • Flavoring — can be natural or artificial (we use natural flavors only!)
   • Terpenes — natural compounds in the hemp plant which enhance the flavor and effect of CBD. Some tinctures have terpenes included in the initial extract, while others have them added afterwards
   • Other cannabinoids — if the product is going to predominantly feature more than one cannabinoid (e.g. CBD and CBG together), multiple extracts can be combined into one product
3. It’s made into other products — products such as gummies, softgels, or drinks require varying processes, but they’re all begin with distilled hemp extract(s)
4. The products are tested — products are tested by the batch to ensure they’re safe and potent

Types of CBD Extract

CBD extract may come in a few different forms for use in products:

• Full Spectrum CBD — this is CBD along with other naturally-occurring cannabinoids (including up to 0.3% THC) and terpenes in the hemp plant
• Broad Spectrum CBD — this is the same as Full Spectrum but with the THC removed
• CBD Isolate — this is only CBD, with no other cannabinoids or terpenes

The extraction methods we went through can be slightly modified to produce these various types of extract. In some cases, this is done by changing pressure and temperature, and in other cases, multiple extractions are performed on the same biomass.

Which CBD Extraction Method is the Best?

Deciding which extraction method is the “best” is very subjective, as each method has unique strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, we’ll just talk about which method is best a.) for use by companies and b.) for use in at-home extraction.

• The best CBD extraction method for crafting products is supercritical CO2 extraction — No other extraction method provides the same level of safety, potency, and efficiency as this method. Ethanol extraction comes close, but it’s more expensive.The only concern with supercritical CO2 extraction is that it can be harsh on hemp’s delicate constituents, but this can be avoided if the extraction is performed carefully.
• The best CBD extraction method for use at home is oil extraction — oil extraction is really the only safe way to extract CBD at home, and it produces a safe, good-tasting product.We do not recommend you attempt any other method without the training, facilities, permits, and so on.

Note that this is just our viewpoint — other companies may find that ethanol extraction makes more sense.

What is the Safest Way to Extract CBD?

Of the two methods used by companies (CO2 and ethanol), CO2 extraction is the safest because CO2 isn’t flammable, while Ethanol is.

With both methods, accidents won’t occur if proper precautions are taken and all extraction systems are run by trained personnel. However, in terms of accident potentiality, CO2 extraction is the safest method by which to extract CBD.

Because of this, all CBD, THC, and other cannabinoids are extracted using the CO2 method at Natural Ways CBD. We’ve found that it consistently produces products that are safe, potent, and bring real benefits to our customers.

Conclusion: CBD Extraction Methods

It might seem like extraction matters more to companies, but as a CBD user, CBD extraction is actually an extremely important consideration. The only thing that affects the quality and safety of your product more than extraction is the quality of the hemp used in the first place!

Additionally, CBD extraction method affects price — CO2-extracted products are more affordable.

Though we mentioned five extraction methods in this article, there are likely more out there, and there will likely be more in the future. As time goes on, extraction methods will produce better quality products at better prices — it’s all a matter of patience.

CBD Extraction Methods – Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some related questions we commonly get about CBD extraction and quality.

Can I extract my own CBD oil?

Yes! You can extract your own CBD at home using the oil extraction method (see above).

Is CBD oil extracted from seeds?

CBD is not extracted from the hemp seeds, but rather from the leaves, stalks, and flowers of the hemp plant. However, hemp seed oil, a common carrier oil in CBD products, is extracted from hemp seeds.

How do you increase the bioavailability of CBD?

The bioavailability of a product determines how easily your body can absorb and benefit from the CBD in it. And to absorb CBD, your body needs healthy fasts. That being said, here are three tips for increasing bioavailability:

• Look for CBD products like ours, which have MCT and hemp seed oil as the carrier oil. Both of these oils are healthy fats that increase the bioavailability of CBD.
• Look for nano-infused CBD products. Nano CBD is CBD in very small particles, which is very easy for your body to absorb.
• Pair your dose of CBD with foods that are high in healthy fat, such as avocados and peanut butter.

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