Any industry that uses large-scale equipment knows that proper CO2 extraction equipment cleaning and maintenance is crucial to producing safe, quality products. This is especially true for industries that make products for consumption, such as CBD or Essential oil.
Determine a Cleaning Schedule
As with any machinery, maintaining a consistent cleaning schedule is key to ensuring residue does not build up and impact the product’s quality. However, how often you should clean a machine will largely depend on the machine itself. Naturally, machines that are used more and produce a greater volume of Essential Oil will need to be cleaned more often. You will also need to clean machines that work with products with a higher concentration of Essential Oil more often than others.
Facilities should regularly inspect their machines to see how quickly residue builds up, as this will help them determine a schedule for extraction equipment cleaning. The machine owner’s manual should also offer insight into how often you should clean a machine.
It must be noted that we must perform a cleaning of the CO2 extraction machine before each different extraction work. Especially after a heavily pigmented extraction job is over and before preparing a new extraction job.
The cleaning of small CO2 extraction machines can be done with edible alcohol or edible oil, and their procedures are the same as ordinary extraction work. The goal of cleaning is to separate the liquid discharged from the container to be colorless.
Choose the Optimization Cleaning Method
If biomass is exposed to a substance, that substance will make its way into a facility’s extraction equipment every time you use the machine. This can include metals, pesticides, and mycotoxins. Selecting the optimization method for removing these materials is crucial for maintaining your CO2 extraction processing equipment and preventing cross-contamination. The owner’s manual should also offer insight into the optimization cleaning methods for each individual machine.
Often, you may find that your equipment needs a combination of cleaning methods. As we mentioned in the previous section, use edible alcohol or edible oil to clean the CO2 extraction machine.
Scheduled maintenance
Maintenance of a CO2 gas compressor pump. On a weekly basis, the oil level and running oil pressure should be checked and recorded. Changes in noise level or vibration while running also should be noted, as this could indicate a potential problem. Every month, the pump should be inspected for any loose connections and/or leaks, and the belt tension needs to be checked. The oil filter should be changed every six months, and the diaphragm replaced every 18 months. These activities will ensure that the compressor pump will operate reliably and minimize downtime.
The heart of the CO2 extraction equipment is the high-pressure liquid CO2 pump, it forces supercritical CO2 into the extraction vessel where it meets the plant and breaks the trichomes allowing it to dissolve part of the plant material.
Check the high-pressure liquid CO2 pump lubricant before starting the pump. If the lubrication is not enough, replenish the lubricant in time.
Works cited: “Cedarstone Industry”, https://www.cedarstoneindustry.com/tips-for-extraction-equipment-cleaning/