System for filtering organic compounds

Abstract

A system for removing undesirable organic compounds so that the desirable cannabinoids, terpenes, and any other beneficial organic compounds can be easily and effectively captured is provided herein. The system makes use of diatomaceous earth filters through which a solution containing the organic compounds is rinsed with liquid non-polar solvent. The undesirable components remain in the diatomaceous while the beneficial organic compounds pass through and are collected in a liquid solution.

Claims

1. A system for filtering organic compounds comprising: a filter configured to hold diatomaceous earth, the filter having a filter component that catches and prevents diatomaceous earth from exiting the filter; a receptacle to catch a crude solution that includes less than 0.1 g of hemp and/or cannabis oil per mL; a vacuum pump attached to the filter and to the receptacle, the vacuum pump operating to draw the filtered solution through the filter during operation of the system; and a liquid non-polar solvent solution that is operable to rinse the diatomaceous earth after the crude solution is passed through the filter a plurality of passes, wherein a first pass has less diatomaceous earth than a second pass of said crude solution.

2. The system of claim 1 further comprising a second receptacle to catch the liquid non-polar solvent solution that is operable to rinse the diatomaceous earth.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the filter is a glass Buchner funnel.

4. The system of claim of 1 further comprising a plurality of filters that are attached to the vacuum pump.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the receptacle for catching the crude solution is a glass flask.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein the vacuum pump is attached to the filter and to the receptacle by way of vacuum tubes.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

(1) FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a method for filtering organic compounds using diatomaceous earth as according to an embodiment of the present invention, and

(2) FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the components of a system for filtering organic compounds using diatomaceous earth as according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

(3) Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, the invention comprises a method and system of using diatomaceous earth for filtration. The purpose of the filtration is to remove undesirable compounds (200) from a liquid non-polar solvent solution that are not cannabinoids or terpenes. The cannabinoids and terpenes provide medical benefits and are desirable extraction products of the cannabis plant. The method of filtration described herein starts (100) with preparing the filter (101) that will extract undesirable organic compounds from a solution (202) such as pigments as well as plant waxes, lipids, or other plant cells that are not considered active ingredients in hemp or cannabinoid products (200). The pigments include chlorophyll, anthocyanin and carotenoid. These undesirable compounds have no medical benefit and are undesirable byproducts (200) from the process of extracting cannabinoids and terpenes from cannabis using a liquid non-polar solvent. Liquid non-polar solvents that can be used with the present invention include butane, hexane, pentane, heptane, ethanol, MCT oil, cold pressed hemp oil, olive oil, benzene, toluene, diethyl ether, chloroform, 1,4 dioxane and other non-polar liquids.

(4) The filter preparation step (100) comprises preparing at least one filter by placing a filtering device, such as a paper, glass or quartz frit, woven metal, spun or woven rock, clay or cloth filter designed to trap particles roughly the size of diatomaceous earth particles and larger, into a filter container. The filter container can be a glass Buchner funnel or could be a larger funnel made of a different material (205). Alternatively, the filter could be a large-scale industrial apparatus such as a 1,000-ton stainless steel reactor half full of diatomaceous earth with a large 10,000-liter extraction pump that distributes the entire solution over the filtration material all at one time. Next in the filter preparation step is to attach a vacuum pump (207) and hose lines to the funnel (205) and a receptacle that will catch the filtered solution such as a glass flask (203). Then, diatomaceous earth (204) is added to the filter container (205). For the first iteration, a lesser amount of diatomaceous earth (204) is desirable whereas subsequent iterations can use greater amounts. It is preferable to evenly pack the diatomaceous earth (204) in the funnel (205) so that solution flowing through the diatomaceous earth (204) cannot find a path of least resistance and avoid proper filtration. One possible technique for packing the diatomaceous earth (204) is to activate the vacuum pump (207) to draw down the diatomaceous earth (204) into the funnel (205).

(5) In an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of filters (205) are connected to each pump (207) so that a maximum number of filters (205) are attached to each pump without detrimentally effecting the suction performance of each pump (207). The optimal ratio of filters (205) to pumps (207) will vary from embodiment to embodiment.

(6) The next step in the process is to prepare the solution for filtration (102). Before filtering, it is necessary to properly dilute the solution (204). Ideally the solution (204) should be thin enough that it is less than 0.01 g/mL of a liquid non-polar solvent (206) to minimize potential yield loss. Dilution is performed by adding a liquid non-polar solvent to the solution.

(7) Adding a liquid non-polar solvent also provides the benefit of minimizing the loss of cannabinoids and terpenes. An ideal solution dilution mixture is 0.009 g/mL of a liquid non-polar solvent (206).

(8) It should be noted that the steps of preparing the filter (101) and preparing the solution (102) can be done in any order or simultaneously. It is not essential to embodiments of the present invention that they be performed in the sequential order as shown in FIG. 1.

(9) Once the filter(s) and solution are prepared (101, 102), the vacuum pump (207) is engaged. In an embodiment of the present invention, at least one vacuum pump (207) is attached to at least one funnel (205) containing diatomaceous earth (204). In other embodiments of the present invention, a plurality of vacuum pumps (207) are attached to a plurality of funnels (205) with the ratio generally being one vacuum pump (207) for as many funnels (205) as possible without significantly degrading the efficiency or performance of the pump (207). The invention is scalable and can be expanded to meet whatever production capacity is required by adjusting the size of the vacuum, or the size of the filtration apparatus.

(10) After the vacuum pump is engaged (103), the solution to be filtered is poured over the top of the packed diatomaceous earth (104) and allowed to flow through to the bottom of the funnel (205). This is the filtration step and it can be repeated with the liquid non-polar solvent rinse, described below, as many times as required. The first filtration step (104) is performed with a lesser amount of diatomaceous earth (204) because of the high wax content of the crude solution. The greater the wax content, the greater the loss of the desirable organic compounds (201). The desirable organic compounds (201) are the cannabinoids and terpenes. The exact amount of diatomaceous (204) earth used during filtration varies from embodiment to embodiment based on the scale of the filtering system. Larger apparatus and pumps will allow for greater amounts of diatomaceous earth (204) to be used.

(11) The resultant solution from step (104) is collected in a receptacle such as a glass flask (105). This is the collection step that captures the filtered solution that should contain very little to no undesirable compounds (200). If the solution was properly prepared in step (102), then substantial amounts of desirable compounds (201) will be collected without the filter becoming clogged.

(12) To extract additional amounts of desirable compounds (201), the diatomaceous earth (204) can be rinsed with a liquid non-polar solvent (106). The term “rinse” and “wash” can be used interchangeably to describe the process of adding additional amounts of a liquid non-polar solvent (206) to the diatomaceous earth (204) through which the solution that was filtered.

(13) The rinsed solution is collected (107) and the rinse can be step (106) can be repeated as many times as necessary. Optimally, the rinse step (106) will be repeated until the solution exiting the filter is clear (108).

(14) The diatomaceous earth or other filtration medium can be replaced (110) and the entire filtration process repeated (103-110) as many times as necessary.

(15) Parameters that affect the efficiently of the filtration process include the suction power of the vacuum pump (207), the amount of the diatomaceous earth (204) placed in the filter (205), and the initial dilution of the crude solution. The crude solution is considered to be the solution that is to be filtered (202) prior to it being filtered.

(16) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, for every 1 unit of crude solution (202) approximately 1.6 to 3.8 units of diatomaceous earth (204) is used while 3.3 to 8 units of a liquid non-polar solvent such as butane, hexane, pentane, heptane, ethanol, MET oil, cold pressed hemp oil, olive oil, benzene, toluene, diethyl ether, chloroform, 1,4 dioxane and other hydrocarbon oils (206) is required. The primary factors that change the amount of diatomaceous earth (204) and a liquid non-polar solvent (206) required are the strain of the cannabis being filtered and the age of the crude solution (202). The number of rinse steps (108) required varies depending on the amount of desirable compound (201) yield per run.

(17) In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, approximately 1.6 to 3.8 times more diatomaceous earth (204) than crude solution is used in every filter (205). A crude solution containing a ratio of a liquid non-polar solvent (206) to desirable compounds (201) is 0.001 g/mL to 0.009 g/mL. At this ratio, the diatomaceous earth (204) can effectively pull out high concentrations of undesirable compounds (200) from the crude solution (202) due to lower PPM measurements of the undesirable compound (200). The crude solution contains cannabinoids that contain, but are not limited to: THCA, delta 9 THC, CBN, CBD, CBG, THCV CBC, CBDA, CBDV, as well as any other unnamed, but present, cannabinoid found in hemp or cannabis as long as it is suspended in anything liquid and non-polar.

(18) Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Although methods and materials similar to or equivalent to those described herein can be used in the practice or testing of the symmetrical measuring tool, suitable methods and materials are described above. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to the extent allowed by applicable law and regulations. The symmetrical measuring tool may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof, and it is therefore desired that the present embodiment be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. Any headings utilized within the description are for convenience only and have no legal or limiting effect.