Butane Honey Oil Lab or a Butane Hash Oil Lab is a process of BHO Extraction.
There are two types of extraction systems used to make BHO: open-loop and closed-loop. Open-loop systems are only found in DIY home setups. Commercial extractors use closed-loop systems, regardless of the solvent used.
In both systems, cannabis is loaded into a tube and rinsed with liquid solvent, in this case, butane.
The advantages of closed-loop extraction systems are that there’s no loss of solvent. In open-loop systems, solvent leaks out of one end of the tube. Since butane is highly flammable, there’s a high possibility of an explosion in an open-loop system.
Once the butane washes over the plant material, it brings with it the THC crystals and other materials from the plant. What you’re left with is cannabis concentrate, which is then purged (which means removing all the solvent from the material) using heat and pressure.
Depending on the temperature, extraction process, and purging process used, what you’ll be left with is shatter, budder, or crumble.