Ethanol
200 & 190 ProofFood-grade and lab-grade ethanol for extraction and winterization.
Supply Specifications
- Grades
- 200 Proof (Anhydrous) & 190 Proof
- Container sizes
- 5 gal, 55 gal, 275 gal totes
- Certification
- USP Grade available
- Compliance
- All applicable state regulations
Technical Properties
- 200 proof
- Anhydrous — minimal moisture carryover
- 190 proof
- ~95% ethanol / 5% water — at the azeotrope
- Typical use
- Extraction, winterization, post-processing
- Testing
- Sourced from certified suppliers, tested for residual impurities
200 Proof vs 190 Proof: Which Your Process Needs
The two grades are not interchangeable. Ethanol and water form an azeotrope at roughly 95.6% ethanol by mass, which is why 190 proof is the practical ceiling of conventional distillation. Reaching anhydrous 200 proof requires a separate dehydration step after distillation, typically molecular sieve adsorption or azeotropic distillation, which is the underlying reason it carries a price premium.
That 4 to 5 percent water differential changes polarity, freezing behavior, and post-extraction handling. Facilities running winterization-heavy workflows or crude oil rinses often prefer 190 proof, since the water fraction can broaden the extracted polarity range and the solvent is being evaporated off regardless.
Facilities chasing minimal moisture carryover into distillate, or running cold extraction at deep sub-zero recirculation temperatures where water raises the freezing point, generally specify 200 proof.
Denaturant Status Determines Consumability
Proof describes water content. It says nothing about whether a solvent is fit for a consumable product. That is determined by denaturant status, and it is the specification most often confused in procurement.
Denaturants are toxic or bittering agents added by design so ethanol qualifies for federal excise tax relief. No specially denatured (SDA) or completely denatured (CDA) formula is fit for a product that will be ingested, inhaled, or applied. If a finished good ever touches denatured ethanol at any process step, the batch is compromised.
Undenatured ethanol is the only category appropriate for consumable-product extraction, and it carries correspondingly stricter federal permit and recordkeeping obligations under TTB rules. Ethanol sourcing sits at the intersection of two regulatory systems, TTB alcohol rules and your state cannabis or hemp licensing framework, and satisfying one does not automatically satisfy the other.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What container sizes is ethanol available in?
- We supply ethanol in 5 gallon, 55 gallon, and 275 gallon totes, in both 200 proof and 190 proof, with USP grade available. Contact our team to match container size to your throughput.
- Is 200 or 190 proof better for cannabis extraction?
- It depends on the process step. 200 proof minimizes moisture carryover where water activity matters downstream. 190 proof is frequently used for biomass rinses and winterization-heavy workflows where the water fraction is inconsequential and cost matters more.
- Can denatured ethanol be used for extraction?
- Only for non-consumable applications like equipment cleaning. Denaturants are toxic or bittering agents added specifically to make ethanol unfit to drink, so denatured ethanol is never appropriate for a product that will be ingested, inhaled, or applied.
200 Proof vs 190 Proof Ethanol: A Lab Buyer's Guide →
Compare 200 vs 190 proof ethanol, denatured vs undenatured grades, USP purity standards, and cold extraction selectivity for licensed cannabis labs.