I came across a fascinating essay two weeks ago, and I’d like to share it with you, dear reader.
Upon checking my E-mail, one of my monthly feeds – www.wama.com – caught my eye immediately. The headline of the essay shouted “Is Hemp Stronger Than Steel?” Ever the Curious George, I began reading.
The first part had to do with tensile strength, i.e. how much tension a given material can endure before it reaches its breaking point. Tests revealed that the breaking point of hemp is higher than that of steel, as measured in megapascals (hemp 4000 MPa, steel 3000 MPa). Hemp’s weakest variation can withstand 10 times the amount of compression than steel’s weakest variation; overall, hemp is six times more efficient at mending and bending than steel.
Of course, steel is materially stronger than hemp, but when you make plastic out of hemp fibers, the reverse is true. And here is where the fascinating part enters the picture.
Making hemp plastic requires four separate steps. Step 1: Extract the cellulose from the plant to create a pulp. Step 2: Use hot water, or a weak acid to produce cellulose nanocrystals. Step 3: Melt the nanocrystals to create a moldable liquid. Step 4: Pour the liquid into a specially designed mold for whatever purpose you desire. When the liquid hardens, it becomes super solid, stronger than steel, materially.
To test the theory, Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, manufactured a hemp car in 1941. The hood, the grill, the side panels, the trunk lid, and the roof all were plastic made from hemp fibers. The vehicle weighed 300 pounds less than a comparable steel vehicle which gave it a 25% higher fuel efficiency. Witnesses to the unveiling were invited to take an axe to the car. Not one dent was made!
An added benefit of hemp to one’s driving experience was revealed in tests when hemp seed oil competed against gasoline. One gallon of each was put in the gas tank of two separate vehicles; the hemp seed oil outlasted the gasoline by a considerable margin. Furthermore, the hemp seed oil produced no fumes to pollute the air.
Now, a word of caution, dear reader. When I say “hemp,” I mean “industrial hemp” which is the immature stage of the plant known by its Latin name, cannabis sativa. It’s when the plant matures and blossoms that you get marijuana. You wouldn’t want to smoke industrial hemp!
Hemp has been around for a long time. Its fibers have been used to make clothing, canvas sails, and rope because of their durability (Levi Strauss used hemp-derived canvas to manufacture the pants. named after him, because working-class men needed something rugged to perform their duties.) The fibers were used to make paper because they were cheaper and more accessible than wood pulp. Hemp can grow in any soil type and in any climate; it doesn’t require artificial fertilizers and can produce three crops per year. (The Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were written on hemp-derived paper.) The oil from its seeds was used to light lanterns long before petroleum was discovered. And its seeds were ground into meal and baked into bread.
All this came to a screeching halt in 1937. The newspaper mogul, Mr. William Randolph Hearst, owned a forest that he wanted to harvest for its wood pulp in order to make paper on which to print his newspapers. He couldn’t do that because of the competition from hemp. He had to stifle the competition, and he did by seizing on the fact that marijuana, a mildly addictive drug, was derived from the mature plant
Mr. William Randolph Hearst convinced the U.S. Congress with a carefully crafted argument (and perhaps a few re-election contributions) that marijuana was a gateway drug which ultimately led to more lethal drugs, such as heroin and opium. The Congress passed the Marihuana (sic) Tax Act of 1937 outlawing the growing and selling of hemp commercially and restricting its growth to medical-research facilities under a special permit. Mr. William Randolph Hearst proceeded to decimate a whole forest to enrich himself.
In 2018, a less gullible Congress passed a farm bill which legalized the growing and selling of hemp commercially. Since then, a variety of products have been made from hemp fibers, seeds, and oil, e.g. soap, pet food, snacks, and beverages. (Full disclosure: The Chas uses a liquid soap which contains hemp oil; it cleans oneself thoroughly even in cold water.)
Interestingly, hemp fibers can be added to concrete in order to make a 20% more durable road-building product, thereby lessening the cost of upkeep of streets and highways. The military is looking into the use of hemp plastic to manufacture bullet-proof vests lighter than Kevlar. Just about anything manufactured can benefit from hemp, from clothing to cars/trucks to houses.
Hemp is the future, dear reader!
Just a thought.