Hemp fuel
Hemp fuels- Environmentally friendly fuel sources
The basics: Hemp can provide two types of fuel.
1. hemp biodiesel – made from the oil of the (pressed) hemp seed.
2. hemp ethanol/methanol – made from the fermented stalk.
To clarify further, ethanol is made from such things as grains, sugars, starches, waste paper and forest products, and methanol is made from woody/pulp matter. Using processes such as gasification, acid hydrolysis and enzymes, hemp can be used to make both ethanol and methanol.
In this day of oil wars, peak oil (and the accompanying soaring prices), climate change and oil spills such as the one in the gulf by BP, it’s more important than ever to promote sustainable alternatives such as hemp ethanol. Hemp turns out to be the most cost-efficient and valuable of all the fuel crops we could grow on a scale that could fuel the world.
And as it turns out, the whole reason for hemp prohibition – and alcohol prohibition – may have been a fuel the realization that OIL production is threatened by any competing fuel source, especially one that requires no modifications to your car!
What is Hemp Biodiesel?
Hemp biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester based oxygenated fuels made from hemp oil. The concept of using vegetable oil as an engine fuel dates back to 1895 when Dr. Rudolf Diesel developed the first diesel engine to run on vegetable oil. Diesel demonstrated his engine at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 using peanut oil as fuel. Hemp biodiesel come from the pressing of the hemp seeds to extract the oil. Through a process explained here , hemp biodiesel can be made.
Hemp biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp. With over 30 million successful U.S. road miles hemp biodiesel could be the answer to our cry for renewable fuel sources. Learning more about renewable fuels does not mean we should not cut back on consumption but does help address the environmental affects of our choices. There is more to hemp as a renewable fuel source than you know
Why Hemp Biodiesel?
- Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel that runs in any conventional, unmodified diesel engine.
- It can be stored anywhere that petroleum diesel fuel is stored. Biodiesel is safe to handle and transport because it is as biodegradable as sugar, 10 times less toxic than table salt, and has a high flashpoint of about 300 F compared to petroleum diesel fuel, which has a flash point of 125 F.
- Biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp.
- Biodiesel is a proven fuel with over 30 million successful US road miles, and over 20 years of use in Europe.
- When burned in a diesel engine, biodiesel replaces the exhaust odor of petroleum diesel with the pleasant smell of hemp, popcorn or french fries.
- Biodiesel is the only alternative fuel in the US to complete EPA Tier I Health Effects Testing under section 211(b) of the Clean Air Act, which provide the most thorough inventory of environmental and human health effects attributes that current technology will allow.
- Biodiesel is 11% oxygen by weight and contains no sulfur.
- The use of biodiesel can extend the life of diesel engines because it is more lubricating than petroleum diesel fuel, while fuel consumption, auto ignition, power output, and engine torque are relatively unaffected by biodiesel.
- The Congressional Budget Office, Department of Defense, US Department of Agriculture, and others have determined that biodiesel is the low cost alternative fuel option for fleets to meet requirements of the Energy Policy Act.
Click here to view one method of making biodiesel with hemp seed oil
5 Comments for “Hemp fuel”
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You do know that by saying hemp everyone still knows your talking about pot right? All your trying to do is get pot legalized. Too much of a pot head to get a job to afford your habit?
Well bubba that’s the view most Americans will have towards this post. The demonazation of Cannabis will be the only real fight to face if you want to see hemp fuel in this country.
Points of interest:
Hemp grows in moderate-poor soils (not fit for food crops)
Hemp grows in moderate-poor climates (not fit for food crops)
It is drought resistant, flood resistant, free of pest infestation, chokes out weeds without pesticides, needs no fertilizers, revitalizes the soil, has a 50 year crop rotation cycles know to remove toxins from the soil, based on climate it can have 3 harvest per year, 10 times more wood pulp than trees per acre, can be used for both gas and diesel, the byproduct of distillation makes high grade chicken feed, remaining fiber can be used to make canvas, rope, clothes that last up to 10 times longer than cotton, the seeds make a more nutritious flour than wheat, blablabla.
Ok all of what I’ve said is true and more good stuff is know about it. In mid-America we have more than 11 million acres of moderate-poor land not being used for crops. As the AFT likes to point out they burn millions of tons of pot a year grown in America. Most of the crops are grown under cover of forest, not out in the open. So it can grow under what would be very adverse conditions without cultivation.
Let’s review what I really just said:
To all the multinational corps. like Monsanto, Dow and others, we won’t need your pesticides or herbicides.
To all the multinational food growers, we won’t need your GMO corn for bio-fuel. As a result of the no cultivation thing, any idiot can grow it and get paid for it (uncontrollable market).
By the way OPEC at just 2 million acres we won’t need your oil anymore.
So you may have 1 or 2 players in the game that might not want hemp on the seen man. But like I said their not the real fight. The real fight will be public opinion. After almost 100 years of hearing that pot is harmful (not 1 death related to the use or consumption of hemp in 12,000 years?) it has been proven that even those that do smoke pot will not publicly admit it or support it.
I understand that you are not talking about Cannabis-indica, pot. Your talking about Cannabis-sativa, hemp. Doesn’t matter. People have be told for almost 100 years by their peers and government that it’s the same thing.
To legalize 1 you will have to legalize the other.
Not really a bad thing as Indica produce’s as much as 3 times as much oil as Sativa.
Good luck, my 2cents worth, Think I need to catch a buzz.
Tayro
Indica and sativa are both the kinds that get you buzzed… you are mistaken to think otherwise. Sativa is the tall, skinny kind of cannabis thought to originate in eastern Asia, with highs noted to he very heady and energetic. Also known to be bad for indoor growing because of its great height. Indica is small, bushy, with a body, stoney high. Known for being ideal to grow indoors due to its short, bushy stature. Hemp is simply hemp, or industrial hemp.
this is why we need to put Ron Paul in the presidential seat.
hemp for life. lets do it
^^ Hey yea, first comment. You’re numb. Hemp is not weed. Good job… lol.
as for the first comment: the hemp industry has the potential to devistate certain industries that have been strategically instated… and whose demise could be a tough and possible violent battle. these industries that we are talkign about revamping are some of the biggest in the entire world. we talking a mob mess- when you mess with big money you risk your life… because that big money is like life for some people.. and theyre willing to do anything to defend it. now there is no question our economy would profit immensely.. as it would create jobs, make products cheaper, and reduce money spent on environmental rehabilitation. we could finally start focusing on innovation instead of treating symptoms of the failures of our current system.we could feed the masses, keep them healthier, find better medicines, use our hemo industry to profit through international trade, and so so much more… you have to realize that hemp has been and still is the answer to our existaence if we hope to survive much longer. tell the children the truth.. and spread the word… hemp for life hemp for health, hemp for economy….