HEMP BATTERIES: The versatile uses of hemp - Rich Hamilton

Hemp Batteries - The versatile uses of hemp

-by Rich Hamilton

Industrial hemp is unbelievably versatile and is already used for paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food, and fuel. The legendary Ford Model T was actually powered by biofuel made from hemp and contained biopolymer materials that were developed from the hemp plant also. With natural fuel resources such as gas and oil under strain in recent years attention has turned away from internal combustion engines with a view to replacing them with battery-powered electric cars.

Just when you thought that the capabilities of the hemp plant had been exhausted with bio fuel! we hear the news that Hemp engineering has pulled yet another Ace out of the pack, in the form of hemp batteries. Not only this, but, if recent research is correct, batteries that could be more powerful than either their Lithium or Graphene counterparts! The potential here is incredible as is the positive impact that such a product could have on the environment.

Researcher Robert Murray Smith posted a hemp battery experiment to his YouTube channel in 2016 in order to demonstrate this potential. By observing the Volts by Amps curve of both hemp and lithium batteries, Smith found that the power underneath the hemp cell was a value of 31 while that of the lithium cell had a value of just 4 which shows in the simplest of terms that the hemp cells outperformed the lithium cells significantly.

This is not the only experiment or research that has been conducted either. As far back as 2014, researchers in the US, led by Dr. Mitlin of Clarkson University, New York, discovered that waste fibers, or ‘shiv’, from hemp crops could be transformed into ‘ultrafast’ super capacitors that are ‘better than graphene’. Graphene being a unique synthetic carbon material that is lighter than foil, strong enough to be bulletproof and one of the most conductive compounds ever discovered.

What is a capacitor though you may ask? Well a capacitor is a device used to store electric charge on one or more pairs of conductors separated by an insulator. Batteries have amazing energy densities, but they are much more efficient and have a better lifespan when power is drawn slowly and in a controlled manner.

Capacitors are therefore often used to assist batteries that are used for power-intensive operations in motor engines, like starting a vehicle up or accelerating. The power a capacitor can hold depends directly on the material from which it is made and so materials that have high conductivities make for better capacitors. A Higher level of conductivity means more electrons, which means improved charge density.

Graphene is a one atom thick version of common graphite and carbon nonmaterial. It is able to hold an impressive amount of electrons and can discharge almost instantly, providing power as quickly as it is needed. Hemp however is emerging as a great alternative as it allows the possibility for these technological advancements to be realised by using a much simpler, readily available material. It is believed that High-performance hemp-based super-capacitors could transform the way we make and use energy.

The 2014 experiment in question saw Dr. Mitlin and his team “cook” leftover hemp based fibre. This is the inner bark and waste part of the hemp plant that typically ends up in landfills. The fibres are transformed into carbon nano-sheets, through a process called hydrothermal synthesis. Once the bark has cooked, the lignin and the semi-cellulose is dissolved which leaves these carbon nano-sheets, which are then built into electrodes.

An ionic liquid is then added for its electrolyte and the result is a super-capacitor which operates at a broad range of temperatures and a high energy density, working down to 0c and displaying some of the best power-energy combinations reported for any carbon. These hemp-based carbon nano-sheets can allegedly outperform standard super-capacitors by nearly 200%, so proving themselves to be more than a viable alternative to graphite.

Hemp may not be able to do all the things that graphene can but for energy storage, it works just as well. And it costs a fraction of the price at $500 to $1,000 a tonne in comparison to Graphene, which costs $2,000 per gram! Not only this but in further testament to its suitability, the hemp used to create the graphene-like super-capacitor is not only entirely legal to grow but also contains absolutely zero traces of THC.

Many countries such as Canada, China, and the United Kingdom rely heavily on industrially grown hemp for use in clothing, jewellery, building materials, and other products. The waste fiber that is left over however is typically just sent to landfill, which is crazy considering its potential usefulness in other applications! With everything from electric cars to power tools having the ability to make use of super-capacitors, it seems quite possible that Mitlin’s experiment and subsequent discovery could pave the way to oust graphene from its reign as the gold standard of energy-storing materials.

It may sound far fetched but Dr. Mitlin’s research and other evidence such as Robert Murray-Smith’s You tube experiment is garnering some real credible interest from big business. In late 2018, Texas-based electric motorcycle manufacturer “Alternet" announced that it was partnering with Dr Mitlin to develop alternative power for products of its subsidiary “ReVolt Electric Motorbikes”

It has long been known that hemp biofuel is a great alternative to traditional fuel and now that we know that the hemp plant can also be used in the production of batteries the sky is the limit! It is a real possibility that we could at some point in the future see the need to extract lithium eliminated which would massively reduce the level of harm that is caused to the environment.

The practical, useful applications for hemp are seemingly endless, and it is only the global prohibition of cannabis that is preventing hemp from fulfilling its full potential and improving the world we live in. Hemp materials have already been created with proven capabilities and hemp engineering continues apace despite the uncertain legality of cannabis. Lets hope that moving forward more and more people become educated on the literal and economic benefits of hemp and that the full scale of its uses are not shrouded for much longer.

Guest Writer - Rich Hamilton - Grower's Guide

By Rich Hamilton