Baking has become a common topic among extractors who use pre-baking filtration media. However, the real question to ask is not “Do I need to pre-bake the media?” but rather “Will pre-baking the media enhance my process?” There are a few variables to consider when deciding if there is any benefit to adding pre-baking media to your current method.
Carbon Chemistry’s filtration media consists of minerals like clay or carbon, which have varying degrees of porosity. The greater the porosity, the more opportunities there are for liquids or gases to permeate. Carbon Chemistry’s media is highly effective because the surface pores of the minerals selectively capture impurities while the extract solution passes through the media in a column or filter. In some cases, baking can enhance the efficiency of certain media for specific methods.
It is important to note that thermally activated media is not the same as preprocess media bake outs. Several products, including Carbon Chemistry’s ZeoClear L, are thermally activated or calcined. This process optimizes the media for targeted adsorption.
Preprocess Bake Out
A preprocess bake out is a common industrial or lab procedure to remove superficial/surface water from a solid. This is done to maintain a strong vacuum, increase lipophilicity, and enhance adsorption performance. Baking adsorption media product prior to use is very beneficial. Some benefits of baking include eliminating process interference by water molecules, increasing the effectiveness of target impurity adsorption, enhancing the flow efficiency of alcohol or non-polar solvents, and reducing volatiles. Read more on How to Incorporate Baking Into Your Cannabis Oil Process.
Nearly all solids with high surface area, such as powders, macro-porous and microporous silicate minerals, can absorb water, other liquids, and gases. Most will also adsorb at least a “monolayer” of water or other surrounding molecules to their surfaces, with varying degrees of strength or “affinity”. Adsorbents like Carbon Chemistry’s media, however, have particularly vast surface area, and a special propensity for attracting and binding to ‘specific’ types or functional groups of molecules around them.
Whether you choose to employ a drying process or not, you can certainly utilize pre-baking filtration media. Considering the variables, incorporating pre-baking media into your existing approach can yield benefits.
Still curious about the advantages of baking or baking in general? Get in touch. We would be more than happy to discuss this and any other questions you have.