Micron Waste Technologies Inc., Vancouver, Canada, has announced it has received a Health Canada cannabis research license to develop its aerobic waste digester technology for the treatment of cannabis waste. The digester can also be used to process food waste.
The license, effective for five years from Aug.23, will be used to further develop the "world's first waste treatment system" that alters and denatures cannabis waste while recovering reusable water, the green technology company says in a news release.
Led by Micron’s Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder Bob Bhushan, Micron’s team will “employ the new license to accelerate and expand the cannabis waste and wastewater programs,” both through Micron’s Cannavore waste processing system for the cannabis industry and through its developing wastewater management program at the Micron Waste Innovation Centre, Delta, British Columbia.
"The Micron R&D team is focused on the current and future needs of cannabis facilities seeking sustainable waste management, both solid and liquid," Bhushan says. "The company is developing the most efficient, compliant management of green waste through our Cannavore digester technology. In addition, we are now expanding our wastewater treatment protocol to better assist licensed producers domestically and internationally to reclaim, reuse or compliantly discharge all facility wastewater generated in the cultivation of cannabis."
Micron will also begin profiling and cataloging cannabis cultivars to identify resin and fiber content “for the highest performance in the Cannavore digestion process. Micron's blends can then be targeted for the most rapid and efficient destruction, digestion and denaturing of biomass and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) according to leaf, flower and stalk ratios and cannabinoid content.
"Micron's team of scientists and engineers, assisted by the support of strategic partners Aurora Cannabis Inc. and BC Research Inc., is unique in the world in terms of specialization, experience and knowledge in the management of solid cannabis waste and the purification of cannabis-containing wastewater," says Micron’s President and CEO Alfred Wong. "We intend to leverage this valuable portfolio of expertise to expand our potential revenue base, consulting to and servicing cannabis cultivators seeking overall sustainable, compliant solid waste and wastewater management.”
Micron's Cannavore waste system “continues to meet milestones” at Aurora Cannabis Inc., Edmonton, Canada, where is it undergoing full throughput processing. The company says the first closed loop cannabis waste processing system was designed to Aurora's specifications to be a clean technology solution to process organic waste generated from the growth and cultivation of cannabis, while mitigating concerns about the potential environmental impact.
Micron says it has additional Cannavore systems under construction.