Method and apparatus for dehydration and decarboxylation of cannabis
OwnerJose Rivasinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a system for performing a multi-step process for selectively purifying various pharmacologically-relevant components of a source plant such as cannabis, an initial step of the process provides a low-temperature, robust process for dehydrating and decarboxylating the starting product—fresh raw cannabis—by means of a vacuum-assisted microwave distillation process. An important by-product of the dehydration/decarboxylation is a terpene-rich distillate. By doing the terpene capture under vacuum, distillation temperature may be kept low. The low distillation temperature maximizes yields of thermally-sensitive components such as terpenes and cannabinoids.
Claims16
A system for dehydrating and decarboxylating cannabis comprising:
- at least one distillation system, each of said at least one distillation system comprising:
- a distillation vessel having a gravity drain;
- a source of microwave energy sufficient to heat a portion of raw cannabis contained within the distillation vessel until the cannabis is substantially dry and decarboxylated;
- a source of torque coupled to said distillation vessel to keep said vessel in constant rotation at a predetermined rate during operation of said system;
- a condenser for receiving vapor and liquid drained from the distillation vessel during heating;
- and
- an unvented oil/water separator coupled to an outlet of the condenser, the oil/water separator including an outlet for draining accumulated distillate;
- the system further comprising:
- at least one vacuum source configured to maintain at least a partial vacuum within each of said at least one distillation system;
- and
- at least one common collection vessel coupled to each of said at least one distillation system such that accumulated distillate from each of said at least one distillation system drains into said at least one common collection vessel.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.