How efficient is the process?

A: It Varies

The process efficiency is dependent on several factors most certainly the cannabinoid profile of the plant material extracted.  Industrial hemp is characterized by having a THC content less than 0.3% by weight.  THC and other minor cannabinoids and other compounds represent the other compounds that will co-distill with the CBD when we do the wipe film distillation.  Different plant varieties have different cannabinoid profiles with other non-THC or CBD cannabinoids could be several dozen different compounds at very low levels.  So the process efficiency to make CBD from hemp extraction depends on the other extractables that come along for the ride.  In practice it takes about 50 lbs (22.7 Kgs) of dried plant material to make about 1 kilogram of pure CBD isolate which is about 4% by weight yield.  There’s loss of CBD in the mother liquor from the CBD crystallization process which can be reconstituted up to three times before they will no longer crystallize CBD since it’s now enriched with the minor cannabinoids after getting 3 crops of crystals from it.  The more potent the plant material is in CBD without the minor cannabinoids like THC to interfere with crystalline formation of CBD enriched distillate, the more efficient the process will be from plant material to CBD product.