FINLAND LEADS GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL HEMP RESEARCH

By Alice Klee
Source: greenrushdaily.com

Turku University has been awarded a grant to investigate the innovative industrial uses of hemp and hemp research. The 70,000 euro grant will take a look at ways to make industrial grade hemp more efficient and usable. It is not enormous but looks at some important aspects of hemp research to make it more usable overall.

Hemp is one of the most versatile substances on the planet. Hemp, as you may know, is essentially cannabis with one important difference: a significantly lower amount of THC.

Hemp Uses

Hemp can be used to make a whole bunch of things. For centuries, hemp has been used to make things like oils and textiles. You’ve seen some things made of hemp, like necklaces and lip balm. You can make food out of hemp, like hemp milk and granola bars.

In recent times, humans have engineered entire airplanes, furniture, and homes out of hemp. It can be made into some different consistencies and is great for the environment.

There has already been a significant amount of research done focused on hemp, as well as a push to create industrial-grade hemp products.

Buildings constructed out of steel, iron, wood and concrete takes a toll on the environment and is not terribly cost-effective.

Hempcrete

Materials such as Hempcrete and Canosmose are innovative industrial strength hemp based materials already on the market that can be used to build entire cities out of hemp. 

While these hemp-based materials are efficient and eco-friendly,  it has been difficult to find ways to make things using hemp on a large scale.

It is not a material that everyone can readily use – it can be expensive and inconvenient. This is where the grant comes in.

It will aid in finding ways to make this material more accessible for architectural construction.

The research will be done on the fireproof and soundproofing properties of hemp as a building material.

Additionally, this study will take a look at how hemp decomposes to see how it would function as a fertilizer. 

Structures made of hemp can last a long time, but when they do fall or become unusable – they can help the environment.

Researchers in Finland are trying to find out ways to make this active, eco-friendly substance into something that can be mass-produced easily.

There are amazing architectural projects out there that use hemp as a material. Knapp’s Castle, a castle built near Santa Barbara, California in 1920 was destroyed in a fire in 1940.

The structure is to be rebuilt using hempcrete and lime, making it a very secure, reliable and grand structure for years to come.

With some work, hemp could be the future. Hemp can be used to build necessary complex structures like roads, freeways, and bridges.

You can even make bio-diesel out of hemp, to fuel cars and trucks made of hemp. Being extremely eco-friendly, building with hemp offers all sorts of new opportunities as a fundamental thing. So maybe soon, most of our world can be made out of hemp.