Steven, auteur sur ZEWEED

Could Cannabis Fuel The World ?

Publié le 2 avril 202022 juillet 2025

Société

Besides making for great fiber and a superb smoke, cannabis can be turned into 2 types of fuel; biodiesel and ethanol. So, why aren’t we seeing hemp fuel at the pumps at Shell? Keep reading for an in-depth look at cannabis fuel, it’s advantages, disadvantages and more.

What Is Hemp Fuel And How Does It Hold Up Against Other Fuel Sources?

Hemp can provide 2 types of fuel; biodiesel, made from the oil of pressed hemp seeds, and ethanol, made from fermented hemp stalks. And it turns out that it might just be the most environmentally-friendly fuel source on the planet.

Crude oil and natural gas, which together fuel almost 70% of the world’s energy consumption, are sourced from reservoirs located thousands of meters underground. Both are fossil fuels formed over millions of years by the decomposition of dead organisms. Their production is expensive and takes a huge toll on the environment.

Hemp, on the other hand, is a plant that can be grown almost anywhere and produces high yields of biomass for fuel production in a matter of months. And while hemp fuels are about 50% less efficient than petrol, the environmental benefits of growing hemp for fuel far outnumber those of digging for crude oil or natural gas (which are exactly zero).

Then again, finding an environmental-friendly alternative to crude oil or natural gas isn’t exactly hard. So, let’s ask a different question; how does cannabis hold up when compared to alternative fuel sources like biodiesel and ethanol?

Biodiesel is made by mixing plant or animal fats and ethanol. According to the US Energy Information Administration, over 50% of biodiesel is made using soybean oil. Ethanol, on the other hand, is typically produced using corn or sugarcane.

As a crop, cannabis boasts a lot of advantages against all 3 of these plants. Plant per acre density for corn, sugarcane and soybean, for example, is usually around 22,000, 25,000 and 100,000, respectively. Hemp, on the other hand, can be grown at a density of up to 1,200,000 per acre, according to Manitoba Agriculture. In fact, hemp is grown at such high densities because it encourages the plants to develop bigger stems as they naturally compete for sunlight.

Hemp also triumphs over soy, corn, and sugarcane in other ways; it’s easy to grow in a variety of climates, can be harvest-ready in just 4 months, and is particularly resistant to pests and diseases. It can even help extract heavy metals and other contaminants from polluted soils, which is a lot more than what we can say for soybean (which kills biodiversity and contributes to soil erosion). Read more on hemp’s potential as a soil remediator here.

Come harvest time, hemp produces A LOT of biomass. According to Manitoba Agriculture, industrial hemp grown for fiber can produce yields of up to 3 tonnes per acre, while grain plants (grown for seeds) produce about 500kg per acre.

So, Why Can’t I Get Hemp Fuel At Shell or BP?

With so many benefits to growing hemp for fuel (besides its countless other uses), it seems hard to fathom that we’re still not reaping the rewards of this miracle plant. What exactly is keeping the world from going green with hemp fuel? Well, the answer to that is very complicated.

First and foremost, turning the world over to hemp biodiesel would take huge amounts of farmland. According to Medium, half the US would have to be covered in hemp just to meet the nation’s own demand. Not to mention, hemp biodiesel would retail about 13-times higher than regular diesel. There is still hope, however, for hemp ethanol which, according to some experts, could be produced for under $2 per gallon.

Unfortunately, hemp is still being held down by the fact that it’s a niche crop that fetches its highest prices when grown for the food, cosmetics, and CBD industries. Oh, and the fact that Standard Oil, Gulf Oil, and DuPont have been linked to cannabis’ prohibition in the 1930s might also have something to do with why we’re not filling our cars with hemp fuel. But that’s a story for another day.

Cannabis Saves The Earth ! (But only literally)

Publié le 22 mars 202022 juillet 2025

Santé

There’s really nothing cannabis can’t do; you can eat its seeds, treat disease with its extracts and essential oils, make clothes and paper from its fiber, and feel high and mighty after smoking its flowers. But did you know that cannabis can literally clean the earth ?

Phytoremediation is a process that uses plants to clean contaminated soil. And it turns out cannabis might be one of the best plants for phytoremediation. Keep reading to learn why.

Understanding Soil Contamination and Phytoremediation

Soil is a complex ecosystem and the heart of plant life. Unfortunately, our way of living is taking a hard toll on the ground beneath our feet.
Industry, manufacturing, land development, waste disposal, agriculture, and transport are some of the main human activities jeopardizing soil health around the globe. But even the daily use of shampoos, soaps, detergents, and toothpaste creates toxic runoff that’s detrimental to the quality of soil and the life of plants and animals. Luckily, soil remediation can help reverse some of this damage.
There are many different forms of soil remediation and they all have their respective limitations.
Offsite remediation processes (like the excavation and removal of soil from a contaminated site), for example, are very expensive and usually limited to smaller areas of land. Meanwhile, some on-site remediation processes rely on chemicals or processes that can create infertile soil.
That’s where phytoremediation comes in; by using plants to absorb contaminants from the ground, it offers a natural and extremely cost-effective way to recover the health of our soil.

Is Cannabis The Best Plant For Phytoremediation ?

Cost is a major concern for almost any human venture. In fact, you might argue that our obsession with cutting costs is one of the main factors driving the pollution of our planet. Luckily, phytoremediation with hemp might be one of the cheapest ways to start healing Mother Earth.
The term phytoremediation was first coined by Profesor Ilya Raskin in the 1990s after he and a team of researchers from Rutgers University found that hemp could remove accumulated heavy metals from the soil at Chernobyl. These results were confirmed again in 2001 by a team of German researchers.
In 2011, farmers in Puglia, Italy, put this same theory into practice again. Following years of pollution from an Ilva steel plant (which released extremely high concentrations of dioxins into the atmosphere), farmers in the area were forced to cull their livestock because it was no longer fit for human consumption. In an attempt to save their businesses, farmers started turning to hemp as a cash crop and a means to revive their highly contaminated lands. Today, Puglia is still home to countless hemp farms and shops.
But why hemp? After all, Indian mustard, willows, poplar trees, Indian grass, sunflowers, and even amaranth can absorb contaminants from soil. So, what sets cannabis apart from these other plant species?
First and foremost, cannabis is very effective at accumulating contaminants from its soil. Studies show, for example, that hemp plants can transfer several heavy metals (including arsenic, cadmium, copper, and zinc) from root to shoot. Plus, industrial hemp plants also develop especially long, complex root systems that reach much deeper into the ground than the roots of some of the plants mentioned above.
Secondly, hemp is very easy and cheap to grow. It is typically ready for harvest within 4 months and can withstand extremely poor conditions; even the plants grown at Chernobyl by Professor Raskin, for example, showed no signs of stress.
Finally, what sets hemp apart from all the other phytoremediators mentioned above is this; it produces a large and extremely versatile harvestable biomass.
Remember, hemp is and has long been a major cash crop. Not only can it be harvested for its seeds and fiber, but hemp also makes for great biofuel and can even be turned into a concrete-like construction material. It’s this versatility and potential return-on-investment that sets it apart as one of the best soil remediators on the planet.