Fill ‘Er Up…With Hemp Biodiesel

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

researchers from the University of Connecticut are developing biofuel from hempHemp could be on the verge of joining the growing number of weeds that could power your car. Researchers at the University of Connecticut have found that industrial hemp seeds could make an ideal feedstock for biofuel production. Slight hitch: growing hemp, industrial or otherwise, is still illegal in the U.S. However, given that medical marijuana is rapidly approaching mainstream status and some states are relaxing marijuana-related laws, the chances for an industrial hemp comeback look a little brighter.

Biodiesel from Hemp

A couple of things about hemp make it ideal as a sustainable biofuel. First of all, industrial hemp is not a food crop.  Second, it flourishes in sub-quality soil with a minimal amount of water or fertilizer. The UConn research team found that 97 percent of the virgin hemp seed oil they tested converted to biodiesel, and this high efficiency of conversion offers good potential for commercial production. The team also found that hemp seed biodiesel could be used at lower temperatures than other biodiesels currently in use.

Plenty of Room for Hemp Biodiesel

With hemp production barred here in the U.S., the researchers hope their findings will prove useful in other countries where hemp is grown, since in most cases the seeds are simply discarded. In any case, as mentioned above, chances are that the ban will eventually be lifted, not only because of relaxing cultural attitudes about hemp in general but also because the U.S. military is going heavily in for biofuels, with camelina biofuel for Air Force and Navy fighter planes leading the way.

Image: Hemp ring by Vanessa Yvonne on flickr.com.


Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.

Latest CleanTechnica TV Video


Advertisement
 
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

Tina Casey

Tina specializes in advanced energy technology, military sustainability, emerging materials, biofuels, ESG and related policy and political matters. Views expressed are her own. Follow her on LinkedIn, Threads, or Bluesky.

Tina Casey has 3275 posts and counting. See all posts by Tina Casey