Fact Checked by Doctor NameEthanol hash oil (EHO) is a potent cannabis extract created through ethanol solvent extraction processes.
Ethanol’s polarity allows it to extract a wide range of compounds from cannabis plant material.
What is Ethanol Hash Oil?
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Ethanol extraction utilizes food-grade or denatured ethanol as the solvent.
Cannabis material is soaked in ethanol, which acts as a solvent to separate and collect trichome resins containing desirable compounds. The solution is then strained, and the ethanol is purged.
Ethanol is an effective solvent because of its intermediate polarity.
Compared to hydrocarbons, ethanol more easily collects polar compounds like chlorophyll, flavonoids, and sugars, in addition to cannabinoids and terpenes.
The initial resulting EHO will have a dense, viscous consistency and green hue due to extracted plant compounds.
The crude extract undergoes secondary filtering or processing to remove undesirables and refine the material.
How is EHO Made?
Production requires starting material of either marijuana trim or flower. Buds offer higher quality EHO.
Key steps include:
- Freezing material for 24-48 hours to help separate trichome resins from biomass.
- Mixing plant material with ethanol solvent for 1-5 minutes. Longer exposures extract more chlorophyll.
- Filtering the liquid from biomass. Multiple filtrations may be used.
- Evaporating the ethanol to recover collected resins.
- “Winterizing” crude EHO by chilling it to remove waxes, lipids, etc.
- Removing any remaining ethanol under vacuum conditions.
Properly purged EHO provides a broad spectrum of cannabis compounds in concentrated form.
However, hydrocarbon solvents often produce higher terpene content than polar ethanol.
