Although industrial hemp properties are only being discovered recently, this strain never fails to amaze. From food to paper, or modern technologies like hempcrete, the multiple uses and applications of this cannabis plant are amazing. Now, it could replace graphene.
What’s graphene?
Regular graphene consists of a two-dimensional, hexagonal-shaped layer that encompasses tightly bonded carbon atoms and forms one of the strongest, lightest, and most conducive substances globally. It is held as one of the best materials for supercapacitors.
Many of graphene’s uses relate to energy storage, but it’s also present in electronics development, biological engineering, filtration, and strong and lightweight composites.
How can hemp compete with graphene?
Dr. David Mitlin, a scientist at Clarkson University in New York, found a way to turn hemp production leftovers into a material that appears to be better than graphene.
Along with his team, Dr. Mitlin has recycled the hemp-based fiber, cooked it, and then dissolved it until carbon is released (nanotubes of it with a structure similar to graphene). The team incorporated these “nanosheets” into powerful supercapacitors that store high-density energy, thus creating a graphene-like hemp product.
Essentially, Mitlin’s team discovered a process to turn fibrous hemp waste into a unique graphene-like nanomaterial. Mitlin’s peer-reviewed journal paper asserts that the invention is “on par with or better than commercial graphene-based devices.”
This material has a cost much lower than regular graphene production. The nanomaterial can cost up to $2,000 per gram to make it, while this hemp-based counterpart can be made for less than $500 per ton.
It’s not a complete seizure of the market, though. “Obviously hemp can’t do all the things graphene can,” said Dr. Mitlin to the BBC. “But for energy storage, it works just as well.”
Hemp professionals are enthusiastic about this new technology and its energy potential. Ben Christensen, the owner of the Oregon Hemp Works in Portland, said to Dope Magazine, “As a renewable energy major and hemp business owner, I find this very exciting. One of the bigger challenges with renewable energy is storage. I often find hemp being left out of the renewable energy conversation, but I feel you can’t really talk about renewable energy or sustainability unless hemp is being talked about as well.”