Volcano efficacy tests, by Dr. Hornby "Well we ran some preliminary experiments on Friday with the Volcano. I will report these findings with a caution that they are merely pilot experiments, to find our way only.
Figure i put my foot in it by promising results, not thinking about the consequences that the findings may bring. And now we're realizing that we may be opening up a whole new can of worms.
Firstly, we have known for some time that the Volcano does not deliver all of the THC, particularly at the lower settings, of around 5 and 6. We know this since we use high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) to measure the amounts of the most abundant cannabinoids, that are present in the sample, before and after vaporization. By measuring the THC, for example, left behind in the sample carcass,
we can determine the efficiency of the vaporizer setting, since we also know what we started out with.
Since this is a study of heating cannabis we must consider a couple of things. One is that THC, plus the other cannabinoids, are not active as they sit in nature. For them to interact with the THC receptor, firstly they must be de-carboxylated or activated.
Meaning CO2, must be kicked off the parent molecules, that in the un de-carboxylated form are acids, chemically speaking. De-carboxylation, in this case, is accomplished by heating, which, in turn, excites the chemical bonds of the, for example, THC molecule causing it to release carbon dioxide at the weakest bond. This, subsequently, activates the molecule, allowing receptor interaction.
If more heat is applied to the molecule, eventually it will reach its boiling point and enter the vapor state. De-carboxylation occurs before evaporation and over a broader range of temperatures. And is critical for understanding cannabinoid pharmacology. Therefore in vaporization we have a two-fold process occurring that allows the medicine to be delivered. De-carboxylation, followed by evaporation.
When we run cannabinoids by HPLC we see the acids of CBD, CBN and THC, plus trace amounts of these already de-carboxylated cannabinoids (alcohols as they're called, chemically). We normally total the acids with the alcohols to come up with total THC, CBD or CBN for the sample.
In the experiments discussed here we vaporized a cannabis sample that had already been shown to contain an unusually high amount of THC, with relatively high CBD.
We ran three separate experiments at Volcano settings 6, 7.5 and 9. At each test, the same weight of cannabis was placed in the volcano and two bags vapped for the same time period. Following vaporization, the carcass (sample left behind), for each temperature setting was analyzed for the three most abundant cannabinoids.
We will attempt to tabulate below our experimental results.
Volcano Setting THC remaining mg/g CBN remaining mg/g CBD remaining mg/g
Temp: 6 THC: 260 CBN: 0.05 CBD: 0.6
Temp: 7.5 THC: 245 CBN: 0.05 CBD: 0.6
Temp: 9.0 THC: 75 CBN:0.05 CBD: 0.15
With all HPLC analysis there is an error window associated with the quantification. This window is normally acceptable if it has a coefficient of variation of 15% or less. This is simply a statistical evaluation of the standard deviation or variation around the mean, divided by the mean and a percent value taken.
So with THC there is often an error window of plus or minus 2% around the measurement and for CBD and CBN this is more like plus or minus 0.05%. To convert the above results to a percent value, simply divide by 10.
So, what do we learn from these results. Nothing about decarboxylation, since it's not presented here, although much is gained from observing the chromatography (not shown), where a one to one decrease of the cannabinoid acid and increase in the alcohol is seen. Nevertheless, in the table we are showing only the de-carboxylated actives that are left behind.
As stated earlier, the cannabis sample used in this experiment tested particularly high in THC, running at 260, + or - 40 mg/gram. As shown in the table, this did not change for setting 6 on the Volcano and changed only slightly for setting 7.5. We only see a significant decrease in THC at setting 9. These results also confirm earlier observations.
The boiling points of the three cannabinoids measured are as follows:
THC 200 C
CBD 190 C
CBN 185 C
We can see from our before and after sample, that CBN is virtually all gone at setting 6, leaving only residual amounts. The THC, however, all remains at this setting. As does the CBD. At setting 7.5 the THC is fully de-carboxylated, but still present to roughly 95% of its original value. Interestingly, at this setting the CBD is only half de-carboxylated.
At setting 9, all three are fully de-carboxylated and have moved to the vapor state. A small amount of CBD remains as does some THC.
We can conclude from these very preliminary experiments that with the Volcano at setting 6 all the CBN is gone along with the more volatile terpenes and aromatics. Yet at this setting, although the THC and CBD are being activated they have still not received enough heat
to enter the vapor state. In addition, at setting 7.5, similar conditions hold, with the THC still not evaporated. It's only at setting 9 that THC receives sufficient energy to become volatile.
That's it for today. And remember these results are preliminary. We will continue to conduct more experiments on the Volcano, next
time focusing more on what happens to the CBD and at what setting."
"We did another experiment to six bags and behold, ALL IS GONE!!!!!!! THC acid, converted THC, CBN and CBD, all gone skyward.
This is at Volcano setting 7 and six bags were taken. So between 2 bags, where virtually all the THC is still present,
and bag six the THC is being boiled off. To 2 bags it's all terpenes and aromatics.
Suppose, we will have to narrow it down, to see if there is one bag where the THC, fly's, at setting 7. Bet it's bag 4. We'll see..."
"We ran another experiment with the Volcano. This time we collected 6 bags at setting 6. This just doesn't move the THC into the bag, only decarboxylating about 20% but not boiling any off. Its aroma therapy at setting 6, very little, if any, active THC is delivered.
Of course at this setting you will be blowing off the terepenes and other lower molecular weight aromatics, that do, indeed, have psychoactive properties. Incidently, these compounds, termed the essential oils, have been banned, as long as the plant. It's my notion that the euphoric part of the cannabis experience is a result of the essential oils and not THC.
Finally, i must remind that these are merely preliminary experiments, used to guide the way to collecting more confirmatory data. All experiments of this type must be repeated a number of times, with means and standard deviations from the mean, determined."
"We used roughly 250 mg or a quarter of a gram, in all the experiments. And bw2, that makes perfect sense, since THC boils at 200'C and it comes off in a bell curve, it would take a few minutes to boil it all off. You need at least 200'C to blow off the THC, 190'C, won't cut it, even after a few minutes, there's just not enough heat."
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