Saturday, October 9, 2010

Hemp Seed Oil Makes Good Biodeisel

Physorg.com have an article about the results of trials conducted by the University of Connecticut on Hemp Seed oil.
UConn have found that Hemp Seed oil is a viable alternative to current biofuel crops. The beauty of hemp based raw material is that it can be grown in infertile ground, leaving arable land for food crops.
Further, Hemp seed oil is 97% convertible into biodeisel and is useable as fuel at lower temperatures than other food/seed based oils.

I would love to see the production of industrial hemp increased in Australia to develop Biodeisel products. Most Australian states have legalised Industrial Hemp, so we have an opportunity to create an environmentally friendly product that is an alternative to current fossil based fuels.

But that's not all...

This adds to the list of sustainable and healthy uses for Hemp and Hemp seed:

Hemp seed oil is very high in Omega-6 and 3 fatty acids. Apparently, the ratio of 3:1 respectively of those oils is perfect for humans.


About 30–35% of the weight of hempseed is an edible oil that contains about 80% as essential fatty acids (EFAs); i.e., linoleic acid, omega-6 (LA, 55%), alpha-linolenic acid, omega-3 (ALA, 22%), in addition to gamma-linolenic acid, omega-6 (GLA, 1–4%) and stearidonic acid, omega-3 (SDA, 0–2%).
The proportions of linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid in one tablespoon per day (15 ml) of hempseed oil easily provides human daily requirements for EFAs. Unlike flaxseed oil, hempseed oil can be used continuously without developing a deficiency or other imbalance of EFAs. This has been demonstrated in a clinical study, where the daily ingestion of flaxseed oil decreased the endogenous production of GLA.

 Hemp seed oil is readily absorbed by the skin and has been shown to be effective in treating eczema and other skin conditions.

The hemp plant has a plethora of uses. These include using the processed plant to strengthen concrete and as a replacement for glass fibre in vehicle building (fibreglass). Other products produced from Hemp include cloth, paper and plastic.

Given the usefulness and renewability of Hemp, we as Australians are doing ourselves a disservice by not pushing for more hemp based industries in this country.