ABM Equipment of Vancouver, WA has developed a new system which dries up to 10,000 lbs. of cannabis per hour with minimal loss of cannabinoids. This is a significant improvement over last year’s larger & more expensive tumbler & belt dryers, which burned more CBD and energy respectively.
ABM’s process accepts fresh or baled whole plants, shreds and meters the hemp into fluid-bed dryers, then separates the stalk and premium material. The premium biomass is then packaged for extraction.
This method is able to retain more cannabinoids than tumble dryers because it uses heat as an accelerant rather than a primary driver of evaporation, thereby burning less CBD. Additionally, the majority of lost trichomes are captured and returned to each batch instead of accumulating on the wall of the dryer or being lost into the environment.
Fluid beds are also distinct from belt dryers in that they push air up through the product which is being constantly shifted by vibration. This fluidizes and maximizes the hemp’s exposure to air. Belt dryers pull air from above, creating concentrated air streams which need more time to remove the inevitable wet spots.
ABM Equipment Co. Inc. is a systems development and integration firm with 40 years’ experience in bulk processing and hundreds of proprietary solutions in place for large players in the food and pharma industries. ABM believes these technologies will help bring the cannabis industry up-to-speed with efficiencies being achieved in other sectors.
“Now that cannabis is being grown in the volume needed for large scale processing, leveraging the most controlled and efficient systems will be crucial,” said Jeff Walling, owner of ABM Equipment. Regarding their system, he went on to say, “We’re extremely confident that this approach will provide some of the best results in the industry.”
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If you would like more information about this topic, call John Hilgendorf at 503-347-8104 or email jhilgendorf@abmequipment.com. More information can also be found at abmequipment.com/hemp-dryers.
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