Background <p>Efficient separation of trichomes from plant material is critical for producing high-quality cannabis extracts. Traditional methods of separation, such as wet and dry fractionation, use the difference in mechanical properties (size, density, specific gravity) between cannabis trichomes and plant biomass. However, these methods were developed to process small quantities of raw material and are very much labor-intensive. On the other hand, the quickly growing cannabis industry requires fully automated, scalable technology for the efficient extraction of valuable trichomes from the large volume of plant biomass. Therefore, our research aimed to develop a scalable method and equipment for trichome separation.</p> Methods <p>We have measured electrical properties of trichomes and plant biomass, namely electrical conductivity, dielectric permeability and particle charge, using a Keithley 6517B electrometer in a Faraday cage in controlled conditions. The fundamental forces acting on the charged particle in a strong electric field were analyzed using the theory of electrostatics.</p> Discussion <p>It was found that plant biomass had a positive electric charge, while trichomes had a negative electric charge. A difference in electric charge between trichomes and plant biomass suggested an electrostatic method of separation. This paper explores the application of electrostatic separation as a novel, sustainable, and efficient method for isolating cannabis trichomes. A new concept for a free-fall electrostatic separator for cannabis trichomes is proposed, and the prototype of the electrostatic separator is described. This method minimizes the need for manual labor, allowing the separation of cannabis trichomes to a desirable purity. The separator is scalable from 1 to 100&#xa0;kg/hour and can be fully automated.</p>