Overview of Solventless Processes You Must Know
A solventless process is a chemical reaction in which no solvent is present in the solution. The solvents in a solventless process can be the reactants themselves or be substituted by other substances. A solventless process is also called a solid-state chemical reaction. A solventless process is used when there is no solvent, enabling a higher stereoselectivity of the reaction products. This can increase the reaction rate while reducing the formation of by-products.
Microwave Irradiation
Microwave irradiation can be used in solventless processes like at solventless concentrate bay area to accelerate the reactions of organic compounds. It can be applied to a variety of standard homogeneous reaction media as well as solid-phase systems. This means that most synthetic methods can be carried out using microwave irradiation.
Microwave irradiation promotes maximal interaction of reagents while reducing undesired side products. It is particularly advantageous in solvent-free processes because it is environmentally friendly and cost-effective. For example, it is helpful in the Heck reaction, which is used to produce (E)-3-styrylquinolin-4(1H)-ones, 3-bromoflavones, and 2-aryl-3-iodo-1-methylquinolin-4(1H).
Mechanical Extraction
Mechanical extraction is a solventless method of cannabis extraction. The process retains the true essence of the plant. Its disadvantage is that it cannot correct any flaws or defects in plant material. Instead, these issues will be picked up on the back end of the process. So, the solventless process is a great choice for marijuana-infused products.
This method can be optimized for high sample throughput. It is less expensive to run than solvent-based methods, requires few personnel, and is less hazardous. In addition, it can optimize the plant-to-solvent ratio and extraction time.
Chemical Reactions Under Solvent-Free Conditions
There are several advantages to chemical reactions under solvent-free conditions. Waste can be prevented, reagents can be reused, and solvents are recyclable. A solvent-free reaction system can also prevent the release of pollutants. Reagents and catalysts containing a solid phase can be filtered off and reused for subsequent runs. Alternatively, the solid phase can be kept stationary while substrates are continuously added. Distillation is another advantage of solvent-free processes.
Chemical reactions under solvent-free conditions also have a lower energy cost. In addition, solvent-free conditions allow for more efficient process planning and optimization. In addition to this, solvent-free processes can produce higher yields.
Preserves Volatile Terpenes
Solventless preservation is the process of preserving volatile terpenes using a solvent-free process. The process uses a two-compartment system, with one compartment containing a source of volatiles from external sources and the other compartment containing the cannabis inflorescence. The two components establish an equilibrium according to Henry’s Law, and the external terpenes provide the inflorescence with a replacement source.
Preserving volatile terpenes in a solventless process is a better way to preserve them than traditional methods. The process involves using a high temperature to extract volatiles. The number of UV rays and heat used to extract the volatiles can influence their concentration. In addition, secondary photooxidation of terpenes can cause the production of alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones.
Improves Selectivity
This work aims to improve the selectivity of a solventless process. The main objective is not to improve the conversion and product control in batch mode but to improve the selectivity in flow mode. They can achieve high selectivity of methyl 9,10-epoxy stearate by controlling the volumetric phase ratio and the slug length.
The solvent-free method was then extended to the preparation of aluminophosphates. Jin et al. used this process to synthesize silicoaluminophosphate and aluminophosphate zeolites with good selectivity and a pore volume of 0.27 cm3. The product yield was 88.9%, and the conversion was close to 100%.
Increases Efficiency
The solventless process has many advantages. One is that it meets two of the Twelve Principles of Green Chemistry: preventing waste and improving energy efficiency. It can also be performed in ambient conditions. One significant advantage of solventless reactivity is its remarkable rate of acceleration, thanks to higher reactant concentrations. It also allows for rapid, environmentally friendly reactions.
Another advantage of solventless extraction is that it requires less solvent, which increases sample throughput. Furthermore, it requires less staff and is less toxic than conventional extraction methods. Additionally, optimizing the solvent composition and solvent-to-plant ratio is easy, which leads to reduced operational time.