SRI Instruments
Laboratory testing can be an important facet for growers and processors to better understand the plants they are growing and the different techniques and methods they are trying.
For businesses that are churning out commercial quantities of marijuana on a regular basis, it might not be feasible or cost effective to send samples to labs in the middle of a grow cycle or to test more product per harvest than the state requires.
SRI Instruments, a company based in California, has developed a possible solution for those in the cannabis industry that need to keep a close eye on test results without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on equipment and complex training.
SRI manufactures several gas chromatographs that can analyze cannabis samples and produce potency results in as little as 30 minutes. These machines are similar to the equipment used by the DEA and other state and federal laboratories to measure cannabis potency, terpene and cannabinoid profiles and even residual solvents in concentrates.
After the initial investment of about $12,000, each test costs about 15 cents, and the process is relatively simple, requiring only a few hours of training.
The test requires one-tenth of a gram of cannabis flower or concentrate to be measured out and placed in a small bottle. The bottle is then filled with denatured alcohol, which extracts the cannabinoids. The bottle is placed in a heated tray which is the part of the gas chromatograph. The heat ensures that all the cannabinoids dissolve in the alcohol.
After about 20 minutes, a small amount of the alcohol extract is injected into the machine with a syringe. After about 10 minutes, the results appear on the screen of a laptop, tablet or desktop computer that’s connected to the gas chromatograph with a USB cable.
The machine is also small enough to be portable. It can sit easily on a counter or the tailgate of a truck to be used indoors or out.
In most states, SRI gas chromatographs cannot be used as a substitute for state-mandated laboratory testing, but they can be helpful to make quick in-house tests during the production process.
More information: www.srigc.com.