"A ‘Godsend’ to American Producers”
In its ongoing work to make CBD mass-production more simple and scalable, Sixth Wave Innovations Inc. (CSE: SIXW,
OTC: ATURF, Forum) reported encouraging results for its solution that is dedicated to a market that is expected to reach $20 billion (USD) in value by 2024.
While CBD’s market value is high, processors in the industry have faced a challenge of separating THC content from CBD in a cost-effective manner. It appears this Company is one step closer to finalizing a solution.
Sixth Wave, a development stage nanotechnology Company focused on extraction and detection of target substances at the molecular level recently released successful results of a pilot scale testing program for its Affinity system. In collaboration with a major North American hemp processor, this system is intended to reform cannabidiol (CBD) distillate.
CBD processors take note: Standard chromatography technology for removing THC content from CBD had been widely considered to be less than desirable when it came to capital and operating costs, as well as with efficiency and scalability. This latest round of testing looked to customize the Affinity system to produce CBD distillate that was free of any detectable THC content but would also keep all other valuable cannabinoids in a new method that is likely to be much more efficient.
Why this important, is best explained by GrowerIQ.ca - Cannabis buds are covered in cannabinoid resin, each with its own characteristics that can produced desired “entourage effects”. Many of the common methods of extraction aren’t exactly precise and can even degrade the plant in some cases.
In-house testing of the Affinity system’s remediation capabilities found that its CBD distillate contained roughly half of the amount of undesirable THC, relative to traditional chromatography. This is a significant performance gain, especially in view of stringent US standards regarding allowable THC content in marketable CBD products,” said Dr. Aris Kalivretanos of Aurora Analytics.“The USDA has set allowable content of no greater than 0.3% THC in products marketed as “T-Compliant” in the US, and is expected to have a zero-tolerance policy for non-compliant producers, The Affinity platform is a godsend to such producers, given its significant performance gains over legacy technologies, and the virtual elimination of THC non-compliance risk. This is not a small consideration, since rejected production runs can be costly to new producers, both in terms of capital loss and market credibility.”
(Chart via Sixth Wave Innovations.)
Sixth Wave President and CEO, Dr. Jonathan Gluckman pointed to the pilot results as an example of the Affinity system’s superior selectivity and extractive capabilities, when compared chromatography.
“I’m very excited and proud of the Sixth Wave team and their ability to rapidly pivot to meet the changing demands of the cannabis/hemp industry. As we know, a major challenge for the cannabinoid purification industry will be the delivery of customization and flexibility, with medicinal and recreational applications demanding exceptional product diversity. The Affinity System is highly capable in this regard, with the potential to tailor extraction media to recover any one of the hundreds of cannabinoids available to us. Our current accomplishment in delivering a T-Free distillate at an industrial scale is important but is only scratching the surface of our capabilities in the cannabis sector.”
The advancement of the Affinity system is thanks in big part to the 2018 Farm Bill, which established that cannabis plants and derivatives that are deemed T-Compliant would no longer be controlled substances under United States federal law. This allowed for federally sanctioned hemp production under the purview of the United States Department of Agriculture and Sixth Wave’s testing team has been tailoring the Affinity unit to below “non-detectable” amounts of THC.
This pilot project represents the culmination of hard work between Sixth Wave and its collaborative test partners, ranging from polymer bead design, bead production scale-up, machine design, and cannabinoid extraction. Each one of these successful bead formulations opened the door to the next generation of Molecular Imprinted Polymer (MIP) design and quantitative improvements in THC remediation.
The Company is taking these promising results and is moving ahead to the production scale operations. Sixth Wave Innovations is now in the process of collecting and analyzing the performance data that is essential to refine the design of the Affinity system and begin its full-scale production process.
sixthwave.com
FULL DISCLOSURE: This is a paid article produced by Stockhouse Publishing.