A novel efficient liquid–liquid solvent extraction process for cannabinoid mimic recovery

Abstract

Cannabinoids attract worldwide attention due to their well-known medicinal and psychoactive properties. Their efficient recovery from plant material is a significant challenge due to the presence of a complex mixture of secondary metabolites. In this work, 4-tert-amylphenol (4-TAP) was selected as a cannabinoid mimic from five mimic candidates based on an evaluation matrix that included several criteria – toxicity, market price, physiochemical properties, and extraction performance. The COnductor-like Screening MOdel (COSMO) was used to predict the physiochemical properties and extraction performance of the mimic candidates and cannabinoids, and assist in the mimic selection and mimic liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) process development. Three aqueous systems, three volatile organic compound (VOC) solvents, three biodegradable green solvents and one extractant were used to investigate the dissolution, extraction, and stripping of 4-TAP. A three stage LLE recovery process was developed for the selected cannabinoid mimic including leaching, extraction, and stripping. The COSMO model predictions show comparable trends to the experimental data and is shown to be useful for integrating fundamental modelling work into cannabinoid extraction process design.