Secret CRC Tech

Choosing the Right AFS Cartridge: Light vs. Medium vs. Heavy Filtration

In processing botanical and culinary oils, achieving consistent clarity, color, and purity requires a precise filtration strategy. Using the wrong media blend can result in under-remediated, hazy oil or over-processed material that strips delicate aroma profiles and lowers throughput.

At Absolute Filtration Systems (AFS), our pre-packed, disposable filter cartridges replace messy hand-packing with laboratory-grade consistency. Each cartridge features an integrated, molded 2.5 µm paper filter and media matrix engineered to prevent channeling, eliminate blow-through, and streamline swap-outs.

To help you dial in your run parameters, here is a complete breakdown of when to deploy Light, Medium, and Heavy AFS cartridges.

Quick Comparison Matrix

1. The Light Cartridge: Fine Polishing & High Throughput

The Light cartridge is built for high-quality starting material that only requires subtle color correction or final particulate polishing.

Best For: Fresh-frozen extractions, premium trim, or oils with low baseline pigment levels.

What It Removes: Minor cloudiness, fine dust, and faint yellow or orange hues without altering the delicate aromatic terpene profile.

Operational Advantage: Delivers the highest flow rate with minimal resistance. If speed and preserving subtle flavor notes are your top priorities, the Light cartridge provides clean, bright output without slowing down production.

2. The Medium Cartridge: The Workhorse for Daily Runs

The Medium cartridge is the most versatile option in the AFS lineup, engineered to strike a balance between aggressive pigment binding and steady flow rates.

Best For: Standard cured biomass, mixed trim runs, or general day-to-day processing.

What It Removes: Moderately heavy carotenoids, mild chlorophyll, and oxidation products that give oil a dull brownish tone.

Operational Advantage: Provides dependable, batch-to-batch color remediation. It pulls out unwanted dark tones while maintaining acceptable flow speeds, making it the ideal starting baseline for most labs.

3. The Heavy Cartridge: Maximum Remediation for Challenging Input

The Heavy cartridge is formulated for tough starting feeds where significant color remediation, lipid reduction, or heavy oxidation removal is required.

Best For: Older biomass, heavily oxidized oil, or biomass with high chlorophyll content.

What It Removes: Deep greens, dark browns, polar contaminants, and stubborn plant pigments.

Operational Advantage: Packs a denser media matrix engineered for intense adsorption. While it operates with higher contact resistance than the Light or Medium options, it delivers dramatic visual improvements, turning dark input into clear, marketable golden extract.

Key Takeaways for Lab Technicians

Match Media to Feedstock: Don't run a Heavy cartridge on fresh, pristine biomass—you'll restrict flow unnecessarily. Save Heavy for darker input and use Light or Medium to maximize throughput on cleaner material.

Zero Channeling: Because AFS cartridges are factory press-packed, you get consistent bed density across all three recipes, preventing bypass pathways regardless of pressure.

Plug-and-Play Efficiency: Every cartridge swaps into existing housing in seconds, eliminating manual powder handling, dust inhalation risks, and post-run column scraping.