Hemp Biodiesel: The Future of Fuel
Apr 17th 2024
For decades, we have relied on the fossil fuel industry to supply us with the fuel necessary to run our cars and vehicles. As we all know, fossil fuels are a limited resource - meaning that when we run out, we run out for good. As we get closer and closer to the end of our crude oil supplies, it's time to start looking into more sustainable alternative fuel options.
Electric Vehicles have been rising in popularity, but EVs still have a few major drawbacks: they are expensive to purchase, expensive to charge, there are very few charging stations across the country, and if the use of EVs increases too quickly, it could lead to an overburdened electricity grid.
The good news is that some scientists believe Hemp could be the answer we're looking for!
The idea for a car fueled by hemp is actually not a new idea at all. In fact, Henry Ford first created his original Model T to run on either gasoline or hemp-based fuels. However, the discovery of large oil deposits halted his design for a more sustainable car. Today, his design may be exactly what we need to start moving away from fossil fuels.
At the University of Connecticut, researchers are taking a much closer look at the viability of hemp biofuels. These researchers found that the seeds from industrial hemp can be used to create a sustainable diesel fuel.
Richard Parnas, a professor of chemical, materials, and biomolecular engineering who led the study, along with graduate student Si-Yu Li and colleagues James Stuart of the Department of Chemistry and Yi Li of the Department of Plant Sciences, used virgin hemp seed oil to create biodiesel using a standardized process called transesterification. The fuel was then tested for a number of characteristics in the Biofuels Testing Laboratory at UConn’s Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.
"The hemp biodiesel showed a high efficiency of conversion – 97 percent of the hemp oil was converted to biodiesel – and it passed all the laboratory’s tests, even showing properties that suggest it could be used at lower temperatures than any biodiesel currently on the market."
Parnas also states that 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."
"Parnas, Yi Li, and colleagues Steven Suib of the Department of Chemistry, Fred Carstensen of the Department of Economics, and Harrison Yang of the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment are preparing to build a pilot biodiesel production facility using a two-year, $1.8 million grant from the Department of Energy."
Even though this new hemp based biofuel sounds totally amazing, there are disadvantages as well as advantages to this project:
Advantages:
- Hemp is a Carbon-Neutral resource, meaning that it does not release carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into the atmosphere. In fact, hemp ingests CO2 even faster than trees to help clean the surrounding air of CO2 pollution.
- Hemp, in addition to cleaning the air, can also help pull toxins from the soil as well! Through a process called bioremediation, hemp has the ability to restore soil from toxic pollutants and even radioactive agents, and the contaminated plant can still be used to make diesel fuel! Making Hemp Biofuel the only fuel made by a plant which left the soil in better condition than it found it.
Disadvantages:
- Although we are moving towards a more hemp-friendly world, current infrastructure for producing hemp biofuels is not yet established - between politics and taxes, there are many hurdles to jump through to complete this project and ensure that it will be accessible in all areas to all people.
- There is also the possibility of increased deforestation to make room for new hemp crops that will be used to make this fuel.
While there is hope for a greener fuel industry, there is always more research to be done. However, it is exciting to see yet another way hemp and cannabis can help us promote a more sustainable, healthier future!
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