Environment

Hemp biofuel blazes competition

Researchers at University of Connecticut have found that industrial hemp has properties that make it attractive as a raw material for biofuel production
Researchers at University of Connecticut have found that industrial hemp has properties that make it attractive as a raw material for biofuel production

While the food versus fuel debate continues to put crop-based biofuel production on the back burners it might just be Cannabis sativa that blazes the competition. Researchers at University of Connecticut have found that industrial hemp has properties that make it viable and even attractive as a raw material, or feedstock, for producing biodiesel. Hemp biodiesel has shown a high efficiency of conversion (97 percent) and has passed laboratory’s tests, even showing properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any biodiesel currently on the market.

The plant’s ability to grow in infertile soils also reduces the need to grow it on primary croplands, which can then be reserved for growing food according to Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering at UConn.

“For sustainable fuels, often it comes down to a question of food versus fuel,” said Parnas, noting that major current biodiesel plants include food crops such as soybeans, olives, peanuts, and rapeseed. “It’s equally important to make fuel from plants that are not food, but also won’t need the high-quality land.”

Cannabis sativa is known for it's ability to grow like a "weed" in many parts of the world, needing little fertilizers, or high-grade inputs to flourish. But the seeds, which house the plant’s natural oils, are often discarded. Parnas points out that this apparent waste product could be put to good use by turning it into fuel.

“If someone is already growing hemp they might be able to produce enough fuel to power their whole farm with the oil from the seeds they produce. The fact that a hemp industry already exists means that a hemp biodiesel industry would need little additional investment," he said.

Although growing hemp is not legal in the U.S., Parnas hopes that the team’s results will help to spur hemp biodiesel production in other parts of the world. And while the Proposition 19 ballot in California to legalize Marijuana was defeated last week, the pathways have been opened for more discussion on Cannabis sativa production in the U.S..

As for other industries that utilize Cannabis plants, Parnas makes a clear distinction between industrial hemp, which contains less than one percent psychoactive chemicals in its flowers, and some of its cousins, which contain up to 22 percent.

“This stuff,” he pointed out, “won’t get you high.”

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8 comments
Stradric
Hemp has always been a cash crop. Fuel may be the most important product you can get from hemp for our growing energy needs, but there are literally thousands of different products you can make from hemp. From clothing, to makeup, to biodegradable plastics, it\'s pretty much a miracle plant. It has 4x the yield of tobacco, is incredibly resilient to changes in environment and it grows very quickly. I would argue that hemp would be a staple in any sustainable society. It\'s really a shame that it\'s illegal in the US.
I\'m pretty sure that harvesting hemp (basically the stalks and stems of the plant) comes mostly from the male plants, while the female plants are the ones with all the potent psychoactive flowers that get you high. And there are medical benefits to that aside from a relaxing social benefit. So it really is quite an amazing plant that people need to be made aware of it\'s tremendous benefits.
jrup
I smell yet another ballot initiative - this time it will have a much broader appeal and a much more powerful profit (tax) potential ...
Facebook User
I don\'t know if it\'s true but Hearst got marijuana illegal cause it was cutting into his timber profits.
greytoma
This is another thing that China is powering ahead with while many Western countries still hang on to J. Edgar Hoovers legacy. Hemp cropping will be huge in the next 20 years, as Stradric rightly says it is the miracle crop used for paper, clothing, makeup, particle board you name it, even the fibre in composite materials for motor vehicles. Australia also is allowing pilot farms to be established.
Dan Malo
hemp is the winning lottery ticket!
http://www.facebook.com/free.the.leaf
Mr Stiffy
OK so some people like smoking weed but most don\'t. The war on drugs never worked - it just criminalised entire generations of people and wasted enormous amounts of resources, time and money.
I for one LOVE the smell of nice oily hashish, I just do not like getting stoned. It\'s that really nice smell like sprigs of rosemary on roast lamb.... or molassas.... or some of the pine tree varities.
The industrial HEMP which is the high fiber plant - which is great to grow and use; and about as good to smoke as rope, and then there are the \"get stoned\" varities.
But todays todays drug varities some of them are many times more potent than the weed the people were smoking back in the 60\'s...
Growing it for fiber, fuel or food - great!
I don\'t care what varities are grown, I just don\'t want to be stoned!
Diana Wulf
HOW can it be disposed ? CAN it be UTILIZED as FUEL? = Hemp grown in nuculear soil
Chris Jordan
Biofuel the wave of the future