Phys.org reports on the resurgence of hemp cultivation in the US and some novel uses.
As hemp makes a comeback in the U.S. after a decades-long ban on its cultivation, scientists are reporting that fibers from the plant can pack as much energy and power as graphene, long-touted as the model material for supercapacitors. They're presenting their research, which a Canadian start-up company is working on scaling up, at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
David Mitlin, Ph.D., explains that supercapacitors are energy storage devices that have huge potential to transform the way future electronics are powered. Unlike today's rechargeable batteries, which sip up energy over several hours, supercapacitors can charge and discharge within seconds. But they normally can't store nearly as much energy as batteries, an important property known as energy density. One approach researchers are taking to boost supercapacitors' energy density is to design better electrodes. Mitlin's team has figured out how to make them from certain hemp fibers, and they can hold as much energy as the current top contender: graphene.
"We're past the proof-of-principle stage for the fully functional supercapacitor," he says. "Now we're gearing up for small-scale manufacturing."
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A number of companies are developing advanced supercapacitors in the hopes of replacing or augmenting lithium-ion batteries:
Dr Donald Highgate, director of research at Superdielectrics Ltd, says a material he originally developed for soft contact lenses is also surprisingly good at holding an electrostatic field. [...] Dr Highgate is working with Bristol and Surrey universities to develop supercapacitors using the new polymer and hopes that they could eventually rival, or even surpass, lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries - so long as they manage to replicate prototype performance on a large scale.
[...] Taavi Madiberk, chief executive and co-founder of Skeleton Technologies, a supercapacitor maker based in Estonia, Germany and Finland, says his products incorporate layers of graphene - a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice - and other carbon-based materials in its supercapacitors. These layers have a huge surface area - just 1g of graphene can cover 2,000 sq m, says Mr Madiberk. This allows them to hold on to a lot more power.
[...] But he acknowledges that in the short-term, combining supercapacitors with li-ion batteries is probably the best way to enjoy the best of both worlds, particularly in electric vehicles. Ulrik Grape, chief executive of NaWa technologies, another supercapacitor maker based in the South of France, agrees, saying: "Supercapacitors don't store as much energy but their response is instantaneous. So a supercapacitor could handle acceleration and energy recovery under braking - taking care of the stressful part of a battery's life - possibly doubling or tripling a battery's life expectancy."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 13 2014, @11:17PM
Cough, cough. Yeah. Whatever you say, man.
(Score: 2) by cafebabe on Wednesday August 13 2014, @11:47PM
Would a hemp capacitor have a special circuit diagram symbol?
1702845791×2
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Thursday August 14 2014, @01:17AM
Whatever symbol should take into account that the electrons are like, really really happy and chilled out when flowing out of it, man. They also found the best insulating material is doritos or cheetos.
(Score: 1) by Buck Feta on Thursday August 14 2014, @03:15AM
Let's just say that letting all the magic smoke out of it is a good thing.
- fractious political commentary goes here -
(Score: 3, Informative) by Appalbarry on Thursday August 14 2014, @12:36AM
Why is that every proposed use for hemp involves something earth shatteringly massively world changing?
HEMP! The end of petroleum!
HEMP! Supercapacitors!
HEMP! The end of logging for paper production!
HEMP! The miracle cure for {insert illness here}!
HEMP! Super durable clothing without pesticides for cotton!
Couldn't we just use hemp to do something regular, like say, make ropes?
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Thursday August 14 2014, @12:58AM
Nope: that'd be the end of nylon rope, and we can't have that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 14 2014, @05:42AM
well perhaps now that america isn't so afraid of hemp and hemp like plants we can find out for sure if any of the claims are true, since most attempts to actually bring these claims into reality were thwarted by the 'war on drugs'
(Score: 4, Informative) by Happy.Heyoka on Thursday August 14 2014, @06:31AM
I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods but you can't buy hemp rope at my local hardware stores any more.
It's a crying shame - it's much better rope than some of the crap you can buy like the foam core stuff that's not UV stable and turns into billions of tiny plastic flakes after a year of sun exposure...
The last big producer of natural fibre ropes in my state closed more than a decade ago.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 14 2014, @06:55AM
There are too many strings attached. No hope in rope.
(Score: 2) by Lagg on Thursday August 14 2014, @08:24AM
Honestly? It's because people don't like admitting that they want to smoke it. Seriously. Damn shame too because it makes it seem as if though they have something to be ashamed of and want to overcompensate.
I really don't see why that's necessary either. I don't like weed and haven't smoked it in years but I do know that not only does it make you high but for a lot of people it's a fantastic painkiller which can potentially save them from an addiction to pharmaceuticals unless it's absolutely necessary, it really does help put cancer into remission sometimes and has other benefits along those lines. It shows that as a whole we have a lot more work to do than just legalizing drugs but also removing the undeserved taboo that even smokers seem to believe.
http://lagg.me [lagg.me] 🗿
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Immerman on Thursday August 14 2014, @01:55PM
We do. Also some pretty impressive cloth and paper. It's just not worth talking about. "Incredibly strong, versatile natural fiber is still used in fiber-oriented process thousands of years after initially discovered" just doesn't cut it as breaking news.
On the other hand the stuff is damn near a miracle plant, and we keep finding new unexpected uses for it that *are* pretty incredible. I mean a natural fiber performing on par with graphene, one of the emerging miracles of the nanomaterial age? Now that's worth talking about.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DeathMonkey on Thursday August 14 2014, @05:46PM
Why is that every proposed use for hemp involves something earth shatteringly massively world changing?
We are discovering all these things now because it has been effectively impossible to study it for the last 40 years.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday August 14 2014, @12:45AM
These kinds of discoveries make me wonder where things would be if it had been legal to do Cannabis related research for the last 70 or so years.
Want some interesting and cool facts about cannabis?
http://www.jackherer.com/thebook/ [jackherer.com]
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Informative) by CRCulver on Thursday August 14 2014, @10:01AM
While growth of hemp fell drastically in the United States, in plenty of other countries hemp was still used industrially for the whole course of the 20th century, and yet it never proved to be quite the miracle product that some tout it as. One often finds that internet denizens pitching the wonders of hemp and castigating the US for "holding it down" are 1) people whose main concern is legalization of marijuana, and 2) Americans who apparently have never left the country.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday August 14 2014, @07:21PM
right on the first point. Given that there 30+ million Americans in prison for non-violent possession related charges legalizing it would be a good first step towards getting them out of jail.
Wrong on the second. I haven't traveled as much as I would have liked but I've spent several years living abroad in areas that the tourists never see.
Overall I'm not "castigating the US", I'm just wondering where the world would be if the US government had not bent over for corporate interests in 1936. As you point out Hemp didn't become the miracle product it's been touted to be, maybe because of lack of research, maybe because it isn't all that great in first place.
Tell you what, once the US legalizes it we'll meet back here in 70 years and compare notes about the state of Hemp related developments and see if Hemp was just something over hyped by the environmentalists or if it really has become something cool.
Mark it on your calendar.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 3, Interesting) by kaszz on Thursday August 14 2014, @01:47AM
So this means we won't get more energy per unit of weight or volume. But certainly it will be cheaper?
One thing that will have to be taken care of with instant charge/discharge is that any device will have to handle that super surge! or you will watch things go *P00FF%¤%¤&!&"¤!!*
That means ways of limiting energy output at least. Especially in failure scenarios. Say an electric car crashes and makes a serious deep dent into the super capacitor..
(Score: 2) by hamsterdan on Thursday August 14 2014, @05:07AM
Now when your electronics crap out, they will go "Up in smoke"
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Thursday August 14 2014, @10:03AM
And you wont care!
(Score: 2) by mrider on Thursday August 14 2014, @03:15PM
But the chocolate cake in the refrigerator will taste delicious!
Doctor: "Do you hear voices?"
Me: "Only when my bluetooth is charged."