Been looking for something like this! Thanks heaps! Although now with this information has anyone considered perhaps we could use it to analyse the cannabinoid content of bud? Kind of like fractional distillation The idea would be that with a set of accurate scales (0.001g or so) you could weigh the cannabis before starting then after heating it to the temperature just below the lowest boiling point of a cannabinoid (confirming temp with IR thermometer). Then work your way through them weighing after each time. Calculating the amount lost each time. Divided by the total mass to give the percentage m/m for each cannabinoid. I think this would need to be done with the fan on blowing through the bud as in a chemical system when the products of a reaction (vapour) is removed the reactants (liquid/solid) are turned to products, this would ensure that all of each compound could be removed? I'm going to try this out when I get some better scales but I'd be really interested to see some MMJ patients who have cannabis that has had it's content analysed try this to see if it is accurate or if I've totally missed the mark haha. What do you guys think?
Yaaaaaaa, well the scale needs to have at least a few more zeros to even see a difference.... I have mine analyzed and they use a gas chronograph with a mass spectrometer... A gas chronograph runs around $10-12K and the mass spectrometer is around $15-18K... And then those are the cheap ones....
Haha yeah not cheap, I've been lucky enough to use a gas-liquid chromatogram once, amazing machines. I've weighed out that I usually put in about 0.3 grams, if it was 10% THC (not unreasonable?) then that would be a 0.030g/30mg loss after it was boiled off. Measurable on 0.001g resolution scales? I don't mean to call you wrong or anything, it just seems plausible to me. Although compounds with similar boiling points would interfere with results.
I could be wrong, cause I never built a Hillbilly mass spectrometer before.... So ya, keep us posted on your findings...
Haha will do! I've tabulated your data in excel and made it so that one can enter their vaporisation temperatures and view which compounds they will get. I'd like to share it here if it's ok with you?
Here's a spreadsheet with this data tabulated and a calculator that will show what compounds are being vaporised when you imput your temperature. It's a little rough around the edges (I've had to change temp ranges to half way between) and some other things no doubt. Hope it's useful!
Guys, I hate to burst your bubble but with the cannabinol vaporization temps it is kind of a ballpark thing. If you have an accurate vape and set it to 300, you will still get vapor (mind you wispy, but it'll get you high). When you set your vape somewhere in the middle of all of these cannabinoids (say 365, where my Solo starts) you're getting a mixture of more of the lower temp cannabinoids and less of the higher temp cannabinoids (since they can resist the heat better).
I mean due to molecules violently running into each other. Temperature is an average speed of the neighboring molecules. So even if you set your vaporizer at 316, you will get CBD's (definitely not as much as THC, but you'll still get some) and it's possible to get even CBC's at that temperature. If you've ever had the reason water evaporates explained to you, you'd understand what I'm saying. Basically, water evaporates at 70ËšF, even though that's not even close to 212ËšF, the boiling point. This is because molecules bounce around violently, and being a liquid they move around quite easily. If one molecule gets violently bumped and doesn't get stopped by other neighboring molecules, it will turn into a gas and float away because it gained enough energy to leave. This is the same concept to the 60+ cannabinoids, only some are more temperature resistant than others.
Ok yeah I follow you, yeah I did consider this although I've got some more accurate scales and am going to try it anyways. The molecules below the boiling point tend to take up only a small range of temperatures so hopefully this can ensure that a lot of then THC present can be removed. I guess we'll see how much it alters the values
Alright I tried it out as follows: Weighed the bud: 0.127 grams Heated the bud to 140C according to IR thermometer. Ran the vape fan for a while as I expect no/trace THC would be removed at this temperature (http://www.canorml.org/healthfacts/Study-Shows-Vaporizers-Reduce-Toxins-in-Marijuana-Smoke) Weighed the bud again: 0.103grams Heated the bud to approximately 180C and ran the fan for a while Weighed the bud again: 0.080grams I'm aware that this will have removed a large or all of the CBD and some other cannabinoids so the end result is not necessisarily %THC although given THC is typically by far the most abundant cannabinoids present it nearly is. result: approx. 12% THC/cannabinoids. Given the strength of this bud when smoking it, I think this is actually a semi-reasonable figure.
It's to be expected that it'll lose weight at under the boiling point of THC. There are lots of terpenes and other things that boil off, and again my theory of some THC boiling off because of a chance molecule hurdling into a THC molecule, knocking it off the bud and into vapor form.
Of course, although based on that info from the link the amount of THC removed in vapour form was below detection limits at 140. That is that the maximum energy any molecule can may as well be considered not enough to to vaporise THC. Also the 3 masses recorded were used in the calculations. 0.127-0.103=0.024, mass of terpenes and more volatile compounds present 0.103-0.080=cannabinoid mass=0.023 0.023/0.127)x100 = approx. 12% Not to claim this is a perfect calculation but the distribution of temperature should only effect the top end although not much as there is something of a gap between THCs boiling point and that the next lesser volatile non cannabinoid compound.
Bump... Updated the first post's information and added the last chart which I feel is very useful information....