Pros and Cons of Solvent vs Solventless Extraction

I am always amazed when I look at two nearly identical concentrates, that both have very similar lab results, and yet have completely different effects and price points.  But how and why do we differentiate these products?  The answer lies within solvent vs solventless extraction and live vs dry cured material. 

Solvent or Solventless extraction 

Solvent extraction involves using chemicals to strip plant material of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other essential oils.  These chemicals used in the extraction process are dangerous for human consumption above certain levels.  Due to this, a “purging” process takes place at the end of the extraction, in an effort to reduce residual solvents to below the state required thresholds. 

Solventless extraction does not utilize any chemicals during the extraction process.  Instead, other forms of mechanical separation are used to strip plant material of cannabinoids, terpenes, and other essential oils.  These methods may include sifting, ice water extraction, and pressing.  These methods can often be compounded to produce more complex concentrates. 

Read more about the terms Solventless and Non-Solvent by 710 Labs: https://710labs.com/archive/solventless 

Live vs Dry Cure 

One concept that applies to both solvent and solventless extraction is live vs dry cured.  Live concentrates are created by using live plant matter as the source material for extraction.  Live plant material is quickly processed and frozen immediately after harvest.  Dry cured material is dried after harvest before used as source material for extraction.  Live material can have higher terpene concentrations and is typically harvested slightly earlier than when intended to be used for dry flowers.  More importantly, certain terpenes can increase, and other terpenes can decrease during the dry and cure process. This means that live products and dry cured products can have very distinct terpene profiles. Live concentrations can also often have a lighter color compared to dry cured concentrates, but there are many other variables that can contribute to the visual appearance and texture of the final product. 

Pros and Cons of Solvent Extraction 

• Expensive and dangerous/explosive equipment 
• Quality of source material and trichome anatomy is less important 

• Comparatively high yield returns 
• Can result in a large variety of products/SKUs 
• Price point: $50/gram Wax/Shatter/ Batter/Sugar MA Recreational 
• Price point: $70/gram Live Sugar/Batter/Resin ¹ MA Recreational 

Live Sugar/Batter/Resin ¹ is achieved by using solvent extraction on fresh frozen plant material. 

Pros and Cons of Solventless Extraction 

• Expensive and safe equipment 
• Quality of source material and trichome anatomy is very important 
• Comparatively low yield returns 

• Can result in a large variety of products/SKUs 
• Price point: $25/gram Kief/Sift ² MA Recreational 
• Price point: $50/gram Live Hash ³Recreational 
• Price point: $60/gram Flower Rosin ⁴ Recreational 
• Price point: $70-100/gram Live Hash Rosin ⁵ Recreational 

Kief/Sift ² is often a by-product of hand trimming and collected in the bottom portion of trim bins. 

Live Hash ³ is achieved by using ice water extraction on fresh frozen plant material.  The resulting live hash is then dried and pressed into live hash rosin ⁴ using heat and pressure. 

Flower rosin ⁵ is produced by directly applying heat and pressure to dried flowers. 

So, which is better… Solvent or Solventless extraction? 

Both types of extraction have different applications that can be applied to ever-changing production scenarios.  Both forms of extraction have a place in the industry.  For this reason, many facilities use both forms of extraction.   Solventless concentrates typically cost more due to the elevated importance of quality source material and specific trichome anatomy that is genetically driven.  Although high quality material can certainly be used for solvent processing, it is typically used to reallocate undesirable plant material.  Solvent extraction is also frequently used as a method of remediation for plant material that has failed certain compliance testing. Solventless extraction is less likely to remediate failed material, as biological contaminants may still be found in the product. By-product from solventless extraction (such as pressed micron bags) can be further processed with solvent extraction to extend the value of the source material. As the industry matures, we can expect more of these hybrid methods that continue to increase production.