ABOUT
3 Carbon is the industry solution to healthy, compliant, and safe hydrocarbon cannabis and hemp extraction.
We offer the best in class hydrocarbon extraction equipment, design premium extraction facilities, and provide tested and secure extraction solutions for responsible, controllable, and practical botanical extraction needs. Our platform brings together service, regulation, education, training, experience and science to provide a safe and holistic approach for hydrocarbon extraction.
3 Carbon’s vision is a future where medical-grade extraction
is the standard for all cannabis products
SERVICES
- Research-grade extraction assistance for large-scale and micro-scale commercial business facility design
- Quality assurance standards for light hydrocarbon-based manufacturing and extraction methods
- Standard and custom employee and team training programs
- Operating and regulatory guidance
- Best support after the sale
- Product formulation and development strategies

EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE
Our network of engineers, regulation specialists, and developers are always working to advance processing capabilities that help to create a wider array of products, while maximizing profits.
- 15+ years experience in legal jurisdictions
- Government certified partners in hydrocarbon extractions across North America
- Medical grade understanding for extraction in current and emerging markets
- Significant existing operating infrastructure
- On going contribution to health and safety policy development in Canada and the U.S
- GPP and GMP national and international operational standards

EVERY COMPANY HAS A DEFINING PRINCIPLE AT ITS CORE, AT 3 CARBON OURS IS A FUTURE INSPIRED BY HEALTH.

CERTIFIED & PATENTED HYDROCARBON EXTRACTION EQUIPMENT
As the exclusive partner of ETS, 3 Carbon offers the highest quality, best-designed closed loop extractors followed by the industry’s best support after the sale. All machines and components have been peer reviewed by a third-party engineering firm.
Welcome to The-1300™, The miniMeP™, and The Modular Extraction Platform™ (The MeP™)
PURPOSE-DRIVEN,
APPLICATION-BASED EXTRACTION
- Homogenous and isolated compounds
- Medical-grade for nutraceutical and pharmaceutical delivery systems
- Food-grade for use in edibles and beverage
- Skin-grade for use in cosmetics and topicals
- Vape-grade for use with heating technology hardware
Hydrocarbons are already used across both food and medical industries, and are one of the most diverse and efficient solvents for extracting plant-based oils.
HYDROCARBON ADVANTAGES

- Most efficient production method
- Faster run times
- Lower labour requirements
- Optimized yields
HEALTH CANADA SUBMISSION
As Health Canada moves forward with the legalization of edibles, concentrates, and topicals 3 Carbon, in partnership with ETS, HAL Extractions and Lab Society, submitted a detailed recommendation outlining Health and Safety solutions.
Our submission is supported by extensive protocol documentation and certification approval.

NETWORK
Our network of partners has worked across North America to advance technology and develop a new standard for
purpose-driven, application-based product extraction.
Our combined expertise offers best in class industrial grade equipment for GPP and GMP processing and extraction.




Standards and Certifications







FOUNDER, PHIL KWONG
An unexpected diagnosis in his early 20s redefined founder Phil Kwong’s life and subsequently created a relationship with the cannabis, which inevitably charted the course of his career. Kwong is a certified cannabis extraction specialist, and an active member in developing standards and best practices for the legal cannabis industry.

CONTACT
Contact 3 Carbon to explore hydrocarbon extraction and find solutions custom to your business needs.
Fill out our form or email us directly
Request a Facility Assessment Consultation
hydroconsult@3carbon.ca
Request information on Safety and Training Education Programs
safetraining@3carbon.ca
FAQ

What is a hydrocarbon?
A hydrocarbon is an organic chemical compound composed only of the elements – carbon and hydrogen.
Hydrocarbon Extraction vs. CO2 and Ethanol
Each method of extraction has its place and purpose. Hydrocarbon extraction is what would be considered as a “gentle” method of extraction. Hydrocarbons have a short runtime vs. other solvent methods and does not degrade botanicals in the same way. Resulting in a higher retention of chemical compounds of plants. Hydrocarbon is also a cost-effective method of extraction with a large product diversity capability. Ethanol extraction is great for large scale field processing of botanicals like hemp. Ethanol can also be cost efficient but is limited for product diversity but great for crude oil production at scale. CO2 is the most aggressive method of extraction. CO2 can serve a purpose of fractional terpene separation and limited product lines. However due to its long runtimes, extreme pressure and temperatures – CO2 (when done incorrectly) can degrade botanicals and also leave excessive amounts of moisture – resulting in products developing mould or going rancid.
What is a closed loop system?
A closed loop system is – A system that uses the concept of an open loop system (open blasting), as its forward path of direction. It has one or more return paths between its output and input.
Present Day Use of Solvent Extraction
Why Hydrocarbons?
Local Safety Concerns
Health Safety Concerns
Naturally, there is concern that the operator will be over exposed to solvent causing health complications or the end-consumer may ingest product containing residual solvent that may harm them. As an extraction environment requirement, it is necessary to constantly replace the air in the C1D1 room, spontaneous replace all the air in the event the detector reads 25% of the LFL, and use peer-reviewed equipment by a trained operator. “The 10-min Acute Exposure Guideline Limit (AEGL-1, non-disabling) value is 10,000 ppm (24,000 mg/m3) which is greater than 50% of the lower explosive limit for butane in air of 19,000 ppm. Therefore, extreme safety considerations against the hazard of explosion must be taken into account.”[3] Likewise a similar response is given for propane; “The AEGL-1 (non-disabling) value is greater than 10% of the lower explosive limit for propane in air of 23,000 ppm. Therefore, safety considerations against the hazard of explosion must be taken into account.” [4] The AEGL value is the value at which a human can start to feel the effects of exposure to solvent, at AEGL-1 (19,000 ppm over 10 minutes) this effect is drowsiness, at AEGL-2 (24,000 ppm over 10 minutes) this effect is disabling, at AEGL-3 (77,000 ppm over 10 minutes) this effect is lethal. Due to the fire and explosion protections in place the operator is extremely unlikely to feel the effect of exposure to solvent even in the worst-case scenario because he will never be exposed to even half this amount in any given instance over any period of time.
This same concept explained above extends to the end-user’s safety. The safety of the solvents used for cannabis extraction need to be re-evaluated from a scientific and health perspective in order to determine if residual solvents in products are detrimental to our health. The best-case study for this is from the oldest regulated cannabis market in the US. Colorado changed their residual solvent content in cannabis extracts to be consistent with the pharma industry. “The proposed limits are consistent with those adopted by international organization [5] for residual solvents in pharmaceuticals and by the Association of Public Health Laboratories [6] for residual solvents in cannabis extracts. These proposed health-based limits (except benzene) are based on the toxicity of individual solvents and the magnitude of exposure expected to occur from consuming 10 grams.” [7] In short, the regulation adjusted the maximum residual solvent content in cannabis extracts to be consistent with other industries which raised the limit from <800 ppm of butane to <5000 ppm of butane and from <500 ppm of propane to <5000 ppm of propane. This massive increase was a conclusion “to reflect conservative health-based criteria” [7] drawn from scientific data collected and/or analyzed by the International Conference on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use and The Association of Public Health Laboratories. This conclusion makes sense given that a person must be exposed to 10,000 ppm over the duration of 10 minutes to reach AEGL-1 and the act of smoking or using a product derived from concentrate cannot come remotely close to ingesting the amount of solvent needed to cause drowsiness or any other adverse effect. On the manufacturers’ side, in practice, the actual likelihood of producing a product with a residual solvent level of 5000 ppm is very unlikely due to the boiling point of butane being -1⁰C and propane being -42⁰C and the post-processing steps require the use of low heat under vacuum which lowers these boiling points much further