Packaging System for Storing Agricultural Biomass

Abstract

A flexible packaging system for containing, storing, preserving, and transporting agricultural biomass, such as cannabis or hemp, including an outer shell and an inner liner nested within the outer shell. The inner liner is made of a liquid and gas impermeable material, in which the inner liner defines an interior space and includes a fillable opening through which the biomass is loaded and also includes a two-way sealable spring valve, which allows the controlled passage of gases into and/or out of the interior space, allowing the biomass contained therein to be surrounded only by inert gas, such as nitrogen for up to several months. Containing biomass within the disclosed flexible packaging system maintains the moisture content of the biomass and also prevents the cannabinoid levels from degrading over time.

1 . A flexible packaging system for containing agricultural biomass comprising:
 an outer shell comprising an open top; and   an inner liner nested within the outer shell, wherein the inner liner is made of a liquid and gas impermeable material, wherein the inner liner defines an interior space, wherein the inner liner comprises a top fillable opening through which the liner may be loaded and further comprising a small opening, located near the top opening of the liner, fitted with a two-way sealable spring valve that is contained within a housing, wherein a top of the valve is designed to engage a hose connector for delivering and extracting gas into the interior space, wherein the engagement of the hose connector with the top of the valve compresses a spring in the valve and disengages a seal in the valve to allow for the delivering and extracting of gas into the interior space.   
     
     
         2 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the outer shell further comprises a full discharge bottom. 
     
     
         3 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the outer shell is reusable. 
     
     
         4 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the outer shell is made of woven polyolefin. 
     
     
         5 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the inner liner is made of linear low density polyethylene. 
     
     
         6 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the inner liner's top opening is sealable with sealing means selected from the group consisting of Ziploc closure, heat sealer, chemical sealer, and zip tie sealers. 
     
     
         7 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the small opening is about 2 inches in diameter. 
     
     
         8 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the valve is positioned about 20 to about 30 inches below the top opening of the inner liner. 
     
     
         9 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the interior space is designed to contain up to about 200 cubic feet of biomass. 
     
     
         10 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the inner liner has a closed bottom opposite the top opening, wherein the inner liner further comprises a drain positioned on the closed bottom for removing settled moisture from the biomass. 
     
     
         11 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 1 , wherein the inner liner further comprises a second small opening, located near the top opening of the liner, fitted with a two-way sealable spring valve that is contained within a housing. 
     
     
         12 . A method of containing agricultural biomass comprising:
 loading a volume of agricultural biomass into a flexible packaging system, wherein the flexible packaging system comprises:   an outer shell comprising an open top; and   an inner liner nested within the outer shell, wherein the inner liner is made of a liquid and gas impermeable material, wherein the inner liner defines an interior space, wherein the inner liner comprises a top fillable opening through which the liner may be loaded and further comprising a small opening, located near the top opening of the liner, fitted with a two-way sealable spring valve that is contained within a housing, wherein a top of the valve is designed to engage a hose connector for delivering and extracting gas into the interior space, wherein the engagement of the hose connector with the top of the valve compresses a spring in the valve and disengages a seal in the valve to allow for the delivering and extracting of gas into the interior space;   sealing the top opening of the inner liner;   extracting air from interior space of the inner liner through valve;   introducing an inert gas into the interior space of the inner liner through the valve; and   holding the biomass within the inner liner of the packaging system.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the inert gas is nitrogen. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the biomass is held within the inner liner for at least 6 months. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the biomass is held within the inner liner for at least 9 months. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein sealing is by heat sealing. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein extracting is by vacuum suction. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein moisture content of the biomass is measured both before the step of extracting of air and after the step of holding the biomass. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the change of moisture content of the biomass less than 2.5% by weight. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein cannabinoid content of the biomass is measured both before the step of extracting of air and after the step of holding the biomass. 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein cannabinoid quality is maintained within 1%. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising, after the holding step, an unloading step, wherein the unloaded biomass is substantially free of contaminants. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the volume of biomass loaded is up to 200 cubic feet. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the volume of inert gas introduced is greater than about 0.5 cubic feet. 
     
     
         25 . A flexible packaging system for containing agricultural biomass comprising:
 an outer shell comprising an open top;   an inner liner nested within the outer shell, wherein the inner liner is made of a liquid and gas impermeable material, wherein the inner liner defines an interior space for holding agricultural biomass, wherein the inner liner comprises a top fillable opening through which the liner may be loaded and further comprising a small opening, located near the top opening of the liner; and   a two-way sealable spring valve fitted within the small opening that is contained within a housing that covers the small opening in the inner liner, wherein the valve comprises a cylindrical stem, a gas stopper top, an o-ring shaped seal that engages the housing, and a spring surrounding the cylindrical stem, wherein the gas stopper top is designed to engage a hose connector that fits within an inner circumference of the housing for delivering and extracting gas into the interior space, wherein the engagement of the hose connector with the gas stopper compresses the spring of the valve and disengages the seal, creating a gap that is designed to allow the delivering and extracting of gas into the interior space.   
     
     
         26 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 25 , wherein the small opening is about 2 inches in diameter. 
     
     
         27 . The flexible packaging system of  claim 25 , wherein the valve is positioned about 20 to about 30 inches below the top opening of the inner liner.