Extraction-grade Ethanol: Everything You Need to Know

In this article, we will talk about ethanol for extraction, as well as how we grade various substances.

​These products can significantly vary in terms of their purity and other traits. Ethanol solvents are especially popular for botanical extraction and, in particular, extraction of cannabis plant substances.

If you wish to get the best results during ethanol extraction, it is best to purchase the product from reputable sources such as the Simple Solvents store.

What is ethanol and how do we use it?

Ethanol is also known under the name ethyl alcohol. It is a versatile solvent that can be used in water. You can also combine it with other liquid solvents such as benzene, chloroform, glycerol, toluene, and so on.

According to the general categorization, this is a category 2 flammable liquid. When you introduce it to a normal room temperature, the substance will combust. Ethanol has a flash point of 55 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as a boiling point of 173 degrees Fahrenheit.

This solvent is used for the common process of alcohol extraction. It can be utilized as a way of removing oil and water-soluble components. What makes it really great as an extraction product is that it's cheap, readily available, and relatively easy to handle on a larger scale.

Ethanol grades and concertation

When utilizing alcohol extraction, it is very important to use liquids with the highest purity. In other words, products such as pure ethanol. Such items would help with irregularities and would reduce the chance of complications during the process.

​When using lower-tier liquids, you have much less control over the contaminants. As a result, your end product might be full of oils and other unwanted materials.

If you wish to start with ethanol extraction, it is very important to get acquainted with the basic terms beforehand. That way, you will know which substance to look for.

Sometimes, companies reduce or change the composition of their alcohol substances in order to avoid high taxes, restrictions, and other problems. While these products still have their purpose, they will not be ideal for solvent extraction.

In order to stay safe, you will need to get the proper documentation from the alcohol provider. That way, you can see what’s precisely in a barrel.

• 100% alcohol or 200 proof alcohol

If a product has more than 99% alcohol concentration, it is regarded as 100% alcohol or pure alcohol. These items are ideal for botanical extraction, and companies commonly used them for getting hemp oil and various other types of plant oils.

• 95% alcohol or 190 proof alcohol

This product is the highest concentrated type of alcohol item that we can get through distillation. Keep in mind that companies don’t require any special processing methods to get these substances.

• Denatured alcohol or altered alcohol

Companies created denatured alcohols by changing the basic composition of an alcohol product. They will add various liquids to the mix, thus altering its taste, color, or smell. Companies do this in order to avoid high taxes imposed on ethanol substances. Denatured alcohols can be really dangerous if ingested or if you don't use them properly.

Different ethanol grades

• FCC-grade ethanolThis type of product is generally considered to be safe. It is the most common liquid utilized for making food and other consumables. In certain states, you need FCC chemicals if you wish to perform solvent extraction.

• USP-grade ethanol

When creating USP-grade alcohol, a company needs to follow strict rules imposed by the FDA. The manufacturing process is streamlined, ensuring that the substance is precisely as intended to be. During the manufacturing process, the FDA will control various production procedures, including packaging, storage, and inspection. If a liquid is classified as USP-grade, it will be more expensive than the regular stuff. However, it will also be much purer than industrial or laboratory-grade substances. This product is considered completely safe, and it shouldn't have any toxic denaturants that might be found in some other types of ethanol.

• HPLC-grade ethanol

HPLC stands for high-performance liquid chromatography. It is a method that ensures that a buffer will not have any ions that would disrupt HPLC detectors.

What is so specific about pure ethanol?

As mentioned, the best solvent product for extraction is pure ethanol. It is a non-denatured product that has only one component. Unlike other types of ethanol, it will have a minimal concentration of water.

Given that the substance doesn’t have any toxic materials, you can use it for food. In fact, this substance is commonly utilized for creating drinks.

Organizations perform monographs and various tests to ensuring that these chemicals are completely pure. On top of that, there is also LCMS and HPLC analysis that would further verify their purity.

By using molecular sieves, you can get ethanol products that have more than 95.6% alcohol concentration. This is something you cannot get with regular distillation processes.

In order for a product to be considered pure, it shouldn't have anything else aside from pure water. Even so, the water concentration should be minimal.

What is the ideal water content during ethyl alcohol extraction?

When extracting oils, we use 99% ethanol to prevent situations where water traps unwanted material such as chlorophyll. This is otherwise a common issue with the cannabis extraction process.

Not only will you receive extracted cannabis oil, but you will also remove chlorophyll from the plant that will change the oil's taste and appearance. Although ethanol extraction can be a bit more complicated than CO2 extraction, it is much cheaper and easier to scale.

If you need FCC grade ethanol, you will need to utilize very pure water during dilution. These substances are microfiltered to 0.2 microns. During the process, a producer will utilize de-ionized water.
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This is water of the same purity as the one utilized for critical manufacturing processes. By using such a liquid, you can rest assured that the ethanol doesn’t have any metals, microbes, and other particles.