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posted by martyb on Friday April 12 2019, @10:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the how-do-you-make-gin-from-hemp? dept.

Phys.org:

Richard Evans is on a mission to save the world with hemp.
...
Richard says hemp is "renewable, sustainable and clean" and can be used to "create foods, proteins, fibres and medicines".

If that wasn't enough, Richard also says the plant would be useful for decontaminating soil, storing carbon and could even be a contender to replace the oil industry.

The diverse potential of hemp is why Mirreco created its specialised machine—a world-first invention capable of processing hemp in a new way.

"I realised a few years ago that the bottleneck in the global hemp industry is processing," says Richard.

The machine allows for processing at farms, with rapid conversion into numerous materials that can be used for many purposes.

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin saved cotton farming in the American South. Perhaps Mirreco's machine could do the same for hemp?


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday April 13 2019, @01:49AM (14 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 13 2019, @01:49AM (#828831) Journal

    Except, hemp isn't vaporware. Hemp has a long history in agriculture. It was commonly grown throughout the world, right up until DuPont created their nylon to replace it. Prior to the prohibition of this common plant, ships carried tons of hemp, in the form of cordage and/or sails.

    No, hemp isn't the end-all and be-all of sustainability. But hemp is a very important part of sustainability.

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  • (Score: 4, Informative) by ilPapa on Saturday April 13 2019, @02:03AM (1 child)

    by ilPapa (2366) on Saturday April 13 2019, @02:03AM (#828837) Journal

    Plus, (and you probably already know this), there are tasty snacks made from hemp. The toasted hemp hearts are delicious, high in protein and delicious on snacks, salads etc. I picked up a bag of salted, roasted hemp seeds at the Grocery Outlet the other day, and I've been snacking on them while watching baseball.

    Hemp oil is good stuff for the skin and can even be used as fuel, and CBD oil works great on the little bursitis in my shoulder from an old injury. You can make flour from hemp that bakes into a very tasty bread and it's a fuck of a lot healthier than wheat flour.

    The only reason it's not a big cash crop in the US is because of our puritanical laws against pot. I wish the hemp industry well.

    --
    You are still welcome on my lawn.
    • (Score: 5, Informative) by dry on Saturday April 13 2019, @05:02AM

      by dry (223) on Saturday April 13 2019, @05:02AM (#828872) Journal

      Hemp seed also contains all the proteins needed by people as well as all the essential oils. With some greens, you could live a long time on a hemp seed diet.
      Hemp oil was also heavily used in industry, the paint industry by itself used a shit ton.
      What killed it was when someone invented a machine to separate the fibers and started making cheap high quality paper. Hearst had just heavily invested in pulp paper and between having his son-in-law in government and a huge publishing empire to put out fake news, he removed the competition and made the government that more powerful.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by MostCynical on Saturday April 13 2019, @02:05AM (3 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Saturday April 13 2019, @02:05AM (#828838) Journal
    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 2) by jasassin on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:25AM (2 children)

      by jasassin (3566) <jasassin@gmail.com> on Sunday April 14 2019, @01:25AM (#829201) Homepage Journal

      I came to give props to the clothes. I had a hemp (80% hemp 20% cotton by law) t-shirt. It was super slinky like silk. They are expensive now, but hopefully that will change as more people are accepting hemp. They are really missing out on the ultimate fabric!

      --
      jasassin@gmail.com GPG Key ID: 0xE6462C68A9A3DB5A
      • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday April 14 2019, @03:33AM (1 child)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 14 2019, @03:33AM (#829223) Journal

        I've read many times that hemp outlasts cotton fabric of the same weight about 7 times. What was your experience with your hemp shirt?

  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by khallow on Saturday April 13 2019, @02:10AM (7 children)

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 13 2019, @02:10AM (#828839) Journal
    The issue is not the hemp, but rather the utility of a harvesting machine with a rather vague description. I did a web search and the only details that I can find is that it does something with hemp, and they're seeking investors. That sends up warning flags for me.
    • (Score: 4, Informative) by dry on Saturday April 13 2019, @05:07AM (6 children)

      by dry (223) on Saturday April 13 2019, @05:07AM (#828876) Journal

      You need to find the 1930's era Popular Mechanics that had the article about the machine that separated the fiber which made hemp much more competitive. Capitalism killed it though, media mogul published lots of fake news to protect his pulp paper investments as well as influencing government by offering to put all those G-MEN back to work after prohibition ended.

      • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 13 2019, @01:06PM (5 children)

        by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 13 2019, @01:06PM (#828946) Journal
        Just because someone had a working design 80 years ago doesn't mean that this business has a working machine today.
        • (Score: 2) by dry on Saturday April 13 2019, @03:42PM (4 children)

          by dry (223) on Saturday April 13 2019, @03:42PM (#828985) Journal

          It shows the possibility.

          • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 13 2019, @07:35PM (3 children)

            by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 13 2019, @07:35PM (#829044) Journal
            The possibility would still exist even if that 80 year old design didn't exist. What gets me is the lack of details about which I've already spoken.
            • (Score: 2) by dry on Saturday April 13 2019, @07:46PM (2 children)

              by dry (223) on Saturday April 13 2019, @07:46PM (#829050) Journal

              What is there to do? Separating the fibre from the balst (sp?) was the labour intensive part of the process. Separating the oil from the seeds is simple and has been done for a long time.
              Perhaps they're doing something with the cellulose that is left over after removing the fibre?

              • (Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday April 13 2019, @08:03PM (1 child)

                by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Saturday April 13 2019, @08:03PM (#829067) Journal
                I gather that they're throwing the whole plant in and getting this stuff mostly separated at the other end. One machine that would do everything would be rather nice.
                • (Score: 2) by dry on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:17AM

                  by dry (223) on Sunday April 14 2019, @12:17AM (#829181) Journal

                  Shouldn't be hard to do. Have to separate the seeds first, which must be well established tech, then the fibres.