Thermography of cannabis extract vaporization cartridge heating coils in temperature- and voltage-controlled systems during a simulated human puff.

ABSTRACT

Vaporized cannabis is believed to be safer than smoking, but when heated to excessive temperatures nearing combustion (>900 °C) harmful byproducts may form. While some cannabis extract vaporizers operate well below these high temperatures, heating coil temperatures obtained during actual use are frequently not reported and many operate at high temperatures. We report on two major objectives: 1) development of an infrared thermography method to measure heating coil temperatures in cannabis extract vaporizers during a simulated puff and 2) a comparison of temperature- to voltage- controlled cannabis extract vaporization systems during a puff. Infrared thermography was used to measure heating coil temperatures in one temperature-controlled and two voltage-controlled systems. The cartridges were modified for direct line-of-sight on the heating coils, the wick and coils were saturated with cannabis extract, and fixtures were developed to force two liters per minute air flow past the coils for the full duration of the puff allowed by the device. The voltage-controlled systems produced higher temperatures with greater variability than the temperature-controlled system. At the highest temperature setting (420 °C) the temperature-controlled system reached an average heating coil temperature of 420 ± 9.5 °C whereas the 4.0V setting on the variable voltage system reached an average temperature of 543 ± 95.9 °C and the single voltage (3.2V) system an average of 450 ± 60.8 °C. The average temperature at the lowest setting (270 °C) on the temperature-controlled system was 246 ± 5.1 °C and the variable voltage system (2.4V) was 443 ± 56.1 °C. Voltage alone was a poor indicator of coil temperature and only the temperature-controlled system consistently maintained temperatures less than 400 °C for the full puff duration. These lower temperatures could reduce the likelihood of harmful thermal degradation products and thus may reduce potential health risk to consumers when vaporizing cannabis extracts.