Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 2

The legalization of cannabis for recreation purposes in Canada has opened a large market to Canadianproducers and distributors. Cannabis products based on THC, which is found predominantly in the leaves andfruits of the plant, however, cause a logistic problem through the disposal of stems, stalks and roots. Theresidues only contain a small proportion of active ingredients and cannot be used for THC extraction.There are currently no prescribed methods, under the Canadian Cannabis Act, for their disposal. The onlyprovision is that the residues must be rendered inert and unusable, most generally through a complex dispersionprocedure including shredding and mixing with other products.The quantity of residues is bound to increase with increasing cannabis production, and it becomes imperative todevelop and implement valorisation techniques that go beyond basic composting or incineration.An innovative, value-added, alternative for the stems and roots is to further process the residues to extractcellulosic sugars to produce cannabis edible products. This project aims to develop the key biomasspre-treatment step of this process.