Hempoline?

Hemp for Fuel
Biodiesel can be made from domestically produced, renewable oilseed crops such as hemp. With over 30 million sucessful U.S. road miles hemp boidiesel could be the anwser to our cry for cheaper fuel. We have spent the last century polluting our beautiful country with our petroleum based fuels that could have easily been replaced with fuels derived from hemp. It would only take 6% of our U.S. land to produce enough hemp, for hemp fuel, to make us energy independent from the rest of the world.

What is Hemp Fuel?
Hemp stems are 80% hurds (pulp byproduct after the hemp fiber is removed from the plant). Hemp hurds are 77% cellulose a primary chemical feed stock (industrial raw material) used in the production of chemicals, plastics, and fibers. Biodiesel is the name for a variety of ester-based oxygenated fuels made from hemp oil, other vegetable oils or animal fats. 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.

Why Hemp Fuel?
* 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.


What do you think about all this? Why hasn't the government done this instead? We need to unite with the plant!

[Edited on 4-10-2003 by Lysergic]

It's a great idea,
but why is it potheads pushing this I see most of the time?
do they think they will hide their plants in there for no-one else to see?

Actually, I've seen something about hemp-use for a variety of applications on the Discovery Channel some years ago. They want to use it for construction (it can replace most wood-products) & such.

As a point of fact, they've cross-bred different strains to *reduce* THC levels that develop within the plant as it grows. So far, they've gotten the THC levels so low that you'd die from smoke-inhalation long before you could even catch a buzz...

The main obstacle they have in developing hemp-based technologies is that the legal system only works to suppress the *plant* itself, regardless of what the THC content is. They have to keep pushing the legal system to update their laws on hemp itself.

MDS,

agree with everything you are saying here but,

it is always potheads I see pushing the idea to use hemp,

I just wonder what the connection is?

do they think if they can get hemp usage back then it is just one more step to wide open marijuana usage?

if so then I think this is dishonest frankly.

If you believe in hemp that is fine and okay that justifies itself, but if you have an ulterior motive than that is underhanded that's all.

nor am I implying that anyone here does or does not endorse usage.

I have encountered people in the past that I personally knew that loved to smoke and they were always going on about using hemp, the two ideas seemed to go together to them for some reason even though they know that hemp has minimal THC content.

maybe it is a 'lifestyle' thing, like marketing I guess.

I don't want no hippy sucking on my exhaust pipe.

Ah it's long been known that hemp is incredibly useful, especially for fuel.

But of course, we don't want to save resources or money, because "Marijuana is evil boys and girls, and don't take lollipops from strange men in raincoats".

Originally posted by THENEO


it is always potheads I see pushing the idea to use hemp,

I just wonder what the connection is?

do they think if they can get hemp usage back then it is just one more step to wide open marijuana usage?

if so then I think this is dishonest frankly.

If you believe in hemp that is fine and okay that justifies itself, but if you have an ulterior motive than that is underhanded that's all.

lol, THENEO, I think you fail to see that any "potheads" as you call them do not need an excuse to get weed, it's not hard and I'm sure only 2 out of a million smokers would ever see any kind of personal gain in using hemp for fuel, what a zany idea. The reason non-smokers dislike the idea is because they have been brought up thinking that marijuana is satans own plant, and nothing good can come of it.

It's not so much political or stoner philosphies ruling here, but rather the issue that we don't really change until things get into a crisis.

Fuel alternatives and supplements have been tried before (anyone remember gasahol?) and flopped. In addition, most cars AREN'T diesel so the number of customers would be fairly small.

I'm curious to know how they got that testing consumption figure.

[Edited on 5-10-2003 by Byrd]

As far as using hemp for fuel, the strongest resistors towards the development of hemp has *got* to be the oil industries...After all, they stand to lose a *lot* of money that they've already invested in oil supplies.

Same thing happened with solar power, hydrogen fuels, etc...Oil companies put up a lot of negative propaganda against any new ideas that didn't stand to keep their own profits up.

Actually, it's not the oil industry against "hempoline." If anything, the first energy company to come up with a really good alternative that the public would accept would be making money hand over fist. I do remember the race to get gasahol on the market.

The goverment hates desiel engines because they cannot control the large number of things that can be used to power said desiel engines. They can't tax you if it wasn't from a pump. You can't really regulate waste oils, which the desiel will burn as fuel. If you had enough land, you could produce your own fuel independance from everyone. Yes, it would be awesome for US, but not THEM.

First of all, hemp is not the same as the female marijuana plant that you smoke, so arguing that it has anything to do with legalizing bud is silly.

Second, there are more known uses for hemp than any other plant known to man. Everything from fuel to clothing to vitamin suppliments to structural products can be made from it. It is 10X more renewable than wood.

There are a lot of reason why it is kept shelved (not the least of which is how easily anyone could grow it...who's going to make the profit if people are sustaining it on their own). But saying it has anything to do with getting high is a bald faced lie.

Originally posted by Byrd
Actually, it's not the oil industry against "hempoline." If anything, the first energy company to come up with a really good alternative that the public would accept would be making money hand over fist. I do remember the race to get gasahol on the market.

Thats a false statment. The oil companies are making record profits every single quarter right now. Why would a company, making a steal like that, want to do anything to change the flow?

No, it is about oil. It is about the select few who have major interest in the oil companies. Dont fool yourself.

reply to post by cautiouslypessimistic


Some how this thread has recently come out of a 5 year retirement... We will see how long it lasts out here....

Personally, I think that hemp oil fuels, fibers, and foods are the only way for humanity to survive in the future. (Possibly near future)

Unfortunately, the plant that provides these resources also has been used to perpetuate a boondoggle known as 'The War on Drugs'. Actually, the female plant with medicinal capabilities is in fact the same plant that provides Industrial Hemp Fibers, but has been selected for medicinal capabilities instead of fiber. It also is grown without Pollen from male plants getting on the flowers, producing seeds instead of medicine. That is the main problem. Otherwise Hemp would have been legalized a while ago while 'marijuana' could have remained illegal. It also is a main reason why Industrial Hemp will not be grown so long as Medicinal Cannabis is so profitable. The pollen form the Hemp plants can travel miles, and then fertilize the medicinal flowers running the medicinal genetics for the next generations, and also curbing production of flowers as the plant stops making them, putting its energy into seed production.

98% of the plants destroyed by the DEA are Hemp Plants free of THC, that went feral after WWII.

Washington, DC: More than 98 percent of all of the marijuana plants seized by law enforcement in the United States is feral hemp not cultivated cannabis, according to newly released data by the Drug Enforcement Administration's (DEA) Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program and the Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics.

98 Percent Of All Domestically Eradicated Marijuana Is "Ditchweed," DEA Admits

In addition, the number one 'cash crop' in the United States is Cannabis, due to the black market inflated price because of the 'War on Drugs'...

Weeding through the value of the nation's cash crops, a study released today states that marijuana is the U.S.'s most valuable crop and promotes the drug's legalization and taxation.

Marijuana Called Top U.S. Cash Crop

Based on a comparison with average production values of other crops from 2003 to 2005 marijuana is the top cash crop in 12 states, one of the top 3 cash crops in 30 states, and one of the top 5 cash crops in 39 states. [23] Marijuana is the largest cash crop in Alaska, Alabama, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

Marijuana Production in the United States (2006)

Unfortunately, if Cannabis were returned to the legal status that it deserves, the American Economy would tank. All the DEA agents would lose their jobs. The Black Market dollars floating in and out of every American citizen's bank accounts would cease.

One hidden cost of this 'War on Drugs' is that it has forced farmers of Cannabis for medicinal uses to go underground, often growing their plants indoors. The thousands of Watts (billions of Watts if you add up all the illegal operations) per hour of electricity that is being used to do this is only adding to the demand of all citizens, and hurting us in the pocketbooks at the same time, in addition to burning more fossil fuels needlessly.
This is a plant that can grow just about anywhere there is enough water and sun (sand, soil, peat moss, even in just water), no fertilizers really needed.

DocMoreau

California with Prop 215 is leading the Hemp movement. If only other states will follow in their footsteps.
It is a very interesting plan indeed, and they seem to have it working quite well!