CBN from hemp

[JacksinPA]

From a abstract of tis journal article, I found a relatively easy method for converting hemp fiber to CBN but as I don't have the full article I don't have the exact details of the process.

Hemp contains cannabadiol (CBD) & a little THC. Using toluene as the solvent with iodine as the catalyst, the CBD & THC are converted to CBN in 70% yield.

There are a lot of problems with this. For one, toluene is toxic & flammable & not available except from lab supply companies that don't sell to any guy off the street. I don't have a fix on how much CBD is found in hemp, so it looks like you'd have to run this process on a pretty large scale (55-gallon drum, etc) in order to get any significant amount of CBN. Isolation & purification of the CBN might involve cooking the toluene/iodine/hemp mixture for some time, then pouring it into water. The CBN is likely not soluble in water so it might rise to the surface to be skimmed off & dried. The iodine acts as a catalyst & is not consumed, so it would have to be recovered for reuse.

Iodine-Promoted Aromatization of p-Menthane-Type Phytocannabinoids

• Federica Pollastro

Cite this: J. Nat. Prod. 2018, 81, 3, 630–633
Publication Dateecember 14, 2017

 

[JacksinPA]

From a abstract of tis journal article, I found a relatively easy method for converting hemp fiber to CBN but as I don't have the full article I don't have the exact details of the process.

Hemp contains cannabadiol (CBD) & a little THC. Using toluene as the solvent with iodine as the catalyst, the CBD & THC are converted to CBN in 70% yield.

There are a lot of problems with this. For one, toluene is toxic & flammable & not available except from lab supply companies that don't sell to any guy off the street. I don't have a fix on how much CBD is found in hemp, so it looks like you'd have to run this process on a pretty large scale (55-gallon drum, etc) in order to get any significant amount of CBN. Isolation & purification of the CBN might involve cooking the toluene/iodine/hemp mixture for some time, then pouring it into water. The CBN is likely not soluble in water so it might rise to the surface to be skimmed off & dried. The iodine acts as a catalyst & is not consumed, so it would have to be recovered for reuse.

Iodine-Promoted Aromatization of p-Menthane-Type Phytocannabinoids

• Federica Pollastro

Cite this: J. Nat. Prod. 2018, 81, 3, 630–633
Publication Dateecember 14, 2017

CBD oil extracted from hemp is commercially available, so you can skip the extraction from hemp step. You would still need the iodine in refluxing toluene to convert the CBD to CBN. I would suggest thin-layer chromatography as the cheapest & simplest way to monitor the progress of the reaction. The CBD spot would be the only one on the plate to start, and then the CBN spot would appear & get more intense (UV light).

 

[Demon]

CBD oil extracted from hemp is commercially available, so you can skip the extraction from hemp step. You would still need the iodine in refluxing toluene to convert the CBD to CBN. I would suggest thin-layer chromatography as the cheapest & simplest way to monitor the progress of the reaction. The CBD spot would be the only one on the plate to start, and then the CBN spot would appear & get more intense (UV light).

Even if you just let some of your weed get old, it will have CBN.

 

[JacksinPA]

Even if you just let some of your weed get old, it will have CBN.

I was looking at ways to make the pure chemical CBN itself starting from commercially available starting materials. But you are correct that light, heat & age all can increase CBN by converting THC.

 

[JacksinPA]

The inventory at my dispensary changes each day, They have only one flower in stock at the moment but 20+ extracts. Since they are open every day, I might try a few different ones. To use in the vaporizer they advise mixing the wax or resin with cotton or steel wool. These extracts are 70-90% THC.