Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Cannabis Processing
What is MIPs? Mipillate technology, or MIPs for short, is the use of “smart” molecules that help to extract unwanted molecules from fluids. The MIP beads “trap” the unwanted molecules and filter them out. These “smart” molecules then get flushed out and reused. This process is much more space, cost, and labour efficient than traditional winterization and distillation systems and results in the same removal of fats, waxes, and lipids. This cannabis purification system uses MIPs to capture the full spectrum of cannabinoids from crude extracts, including acid forms.
Why do we need MIPs?
- Cannabis extraction is very costly and labour intensive, involving expensive older equipment and inputs to produce a small amount of crude oil.
- With full-spectrum products, very cold ethanol is used which comes at a high energy and storage cost.
- The scale at which biomass can be grown is greatly decreased due to the production bottlenecks caused by slow equipment and a multitude of steps.
- In the production of large volumes, winterization can become a very expensive and time-consuming part of the process.
Why Invest in MIPs technology? MIPs provides the ability to process large volumes of extract easily and cost-effectively, removing complex and expensive steps in the manufacturing process and producing a higher quality product. The MIPs system removes the need for winterization, decarboxylation, and distillation, assuming that a full cannabinoid spectrum product is desired.