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54 Comments
- thayanmarsh, on 02/07/2009, -0/+16Sounds good, especially about it growing in poor soil. If it is grown on land we can't really use for agriculture, then we need to get on this.
- twiztidsinz, on 02/08/2009, -5/+20It's illegal because Marihuana influences Negroes to look at white people in the eye, step on white men's shadows and look at a white woman twice.
As Harry J. Anslinger said:
"Reefer makes darkies think they're as good as white men." - Tyrghast, on 02/08/2009, -3/+15We could use hemp. We could grow incredible amounts of industrial hemp in this country, and turn it in to hundreds of products INCLUDING easy peasy lemon squeezy biofuel. It's an incredibly easy plant to cultivate, we have millions of unemployed who could use jobs in a new industry, and we could become the world powerhouse of hemp products and export a bajillion tons of new products.
- alricsca, on 02/08/2009, -1/+8This plant is a viable temporary solution; but we need start to moving away from the combustion engine. It is very inefficient when compared to electric or fuel cells.
In regards to bio-fuels, I think the use of plants may not last long either given the present growing understanding of how to mimic complex organic chemistry. We may end up developing a direct from raw materials method of producing these fuels. Really when you think about it, all you need to do is mimic the same steps these plant take to make oil artificially. I can imagine rows of solar collectors running water and various catalyst through them while bubbling air and out coming oil. I think using a plant is just side step in the process until we can refine that sort of technology. Keep in mind, even if we do go electric or fuel cell, we will still need a way to produce long chain hydrocarbons en masse when the oil runs out for a vast number of industrial purposes. - fandyllic, on 02/08/2009, -0/+7We just need to be careful that it doesn't become a rainforest depleting mono-culture replacement. Biofuels are often a red-herring for a solution to global warming.
- havokzero, on 02/08/2009, -1/+7Never mind. : \
Thanks for educating me.
Here's a great article that I just came across concerning the usage of hemp as an alternative fuel:
http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/hemp/hempfuel. ... - funk49, on 02/08/2009, -1/+6Obviously, whoever dugg you down has no concept of the history of the campaign for prohibition and no frame of reference.
- Jareth86, on 02/08/2009, -0/+5Didn't you know? Hemp is the Ron Paul of plants!
- PaladinZ06, on 02/08/2009, -0/+5Yes. Really. The original diesel engine was designed to run on a fuel derived from *drum roll* hemp oil.
Now, the hemp oil from seeds is high, but whether or not we could make a significant dent with it or not I don't know. It does grow in really nasty otherwise useless-to-agriculture areas. Sadly, like most WEEDS it also grows just fine just about everywhere else too.
But I think we can deal with it. I mean - we deal with the hundreds of acres of now-wild blackberry here in Oregon. I'd rather fall in a patch of ditchweed than blackberries any day. The stuff is like concertina wire. - Tyrghast, on 02/08/2009, -1/+6Yet if you look in to it one of the products easily gleaned from hemp is fuel. It is the greatest cash crop in existence.
- havokzero, on 02/08/2009, -3/+8We could use hemp... for jet fuel? I too support the hemp industry, but hemp is not a cure-all for everything.
- ipushmycar, on 02/08/2009, -0/+4It's only a matter of time before some kid smokes this and it becomes illegal.
- zjbird, on 02/08/2009, -0/+3A new toxic fuel source? GO FOR IT!
- inactive, on 02/08/2009, -0/+3 The US alone would probably run through 50,000 acres a day.
- Javy42, on 02/08/2009, -0/+3Dugg for the first Digger to admit he wasn't fully informed.
- CaptOblivious, on 02/08/2009, -1/+4And we used to have to hand pick cotton, corn and olives, that doesn't mean we still have to.
We have thumbs, we can design these fancy things called "machines" to harvest just about anything now-a-days.
And I'm sure that with a little selective breeding they will be able to improve both the properties of the plant AND the seed/oil yield. And honestly, if it was that tough to grow it would have gone extinct long ago. - nick111, on 02/08/2009, -0/+3What is it with you 20th century thinkers and your "a solution isn't a solution unless it's a monopoly solution"?
- nick111, on 02/08/2009, -0/+3Speaking as one of the 6 billion or so non-Americans on this planet, I could really give a flying ***** what "you" are interested in.
Get over yourself for *****'s sake. - twiztidsinz, on 02/08/2009, -0/+2Either that, or they agree... Unfortunately, racism isn't dead in this country.
- charlietuna, on 02/08/2009, -0/+2Yes, and as the cost of petroleum based energy rises, the comparison starts to skewer in favor or plant based options. It pays to continually revisit these options (and to all you biodiesel-stoners, hemp is worth a look as well).
The more I read about this the more I feel that any calculation is really a back of the envelope approximation. There is no substitute for trying these ideas out in the market and seeing if a profit can be made. - sangjmoon, on 02/08/2009, -1/+3The trouble is that the cost of cultivation and harvesting increases dramatically on land normally unused for agriculture. Take also into account that this plant currently can't be harvested mechanically meaning that expensive manual labor is required to harvest it now. On top of that, it can't stand even 48 hours of cold weather but requires three years before being able to produce the seeds with the oil meaning the available land to grow this plant has drastically decreased. As a result, we'll still have a foreign oil problem. It's no wonder they don't even bother to mention the cost per gallon to produce this fuel.
- Tyrghast, on 02/08/2009, -0/+2Industrial weed isn't potent enough to be smokable. Don't be thick, marijuana is the most useful plant on the earth.
- whatever01, on 02/08/2009, -1/+3Yeah, because the cost to produce the fuel in test stages so closely predicts the cost to produce the fuel in production.
I'm not saying this stuff is the solution, but that you should come up with a better argument. - CaptOblivious, on 02/08/2009, -0/+2Electric merely moves the pollution point to the power plant.
Fuel cells use hydrogen, that has to come from somewhere, usually it's cracked out of ... natural gas!
There is a reality that every time you convert something into something else you lose efficiency and (usually) end up with byproducts that are less than desirable.
There is a good deal of advancement being made in the catalytic field including one that may allow us to crack hydrogen out of water economically.
It would make fuel cells quite attractive if I could use sunlight on my roof collectors to generate enough hydrogen to provide power and heat for my home and fuel for my car. - inactive, on 02/08/2009, -1/+2Damn you Science...You haven't heard the last of Human Greed!
- Belittle82, on 02/09/2009, -0/+1I was referring to USA's incredibly stupid policies towards Ethanol. Rather than use sugar cane, we subsidize corn which is much less efficient.
Sorry, forgot everyone on Digg takes things literally. - nick111, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1Not so "woo woo woo" about your SUVs now are you.
- trainer, on 02/08/2009, -1/+2At last, something worthy of being on the front page.
- twiztidsinz, on 02/08/2009, -1/+2Educate yourself, ignorant fool.
You dont smoke Hemp. Sure you can, but it'd be a waste of your time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemp
"Typically, Hemp contains below 0.3% THC, while Cannabis grown for marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 or 7 % to 20% or even more."
Hemp helped us win the War, now it's demonized. http://www.archive.org/details/Hemp_for_victory_19 ... - mrdude4290, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1Dugg because Hugo van Randwyck looks like Chunk from the Goonies
- aduzik, on 02/09/2009, -0/+1It's not intended to replace gasoline. It's intended to replace the kerosene-based fuels used in jet engines.
- CaptOblivious, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1Jet A is basically kerosene and I suspect that you could "refine" (reform actually) the bio-oil the same way you do crude.
- CaptOblivious, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1You can tell another person who's actually fallen into a blackberry patch!
Owww brother, Oww. - CaptOblivious, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1I'm betting that anything that isn't your chosen response is " a red-herring for a solution to global warming". Isn't it.
- Taiyoryu, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1biofuel for diesel engines isn't the same as biofuel for jet engines
- Javy42, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1Only bad things happen when humans try to replicate nature. Agreed that combustion is not the answer though.
- aduzik, on 02/09/2009, -0/+1If you'd read the article, you would know that the answer is that it probably cannot. It's rugged, but vulnerable to cold temperatures. Most of the US isn't warm enough to cultivate it.
- lornali, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1Hope this succeeds
- akatsuki, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1I like how the article spends the whole first page on the jatropha plant, then casually mentions how algae outproduce it massively. By the time they have this stuff planted commercially, I'd imagine it won't be an issue and we will have a somewhat functioning super-algae/bacteria...
- Javy42, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1problem is most of the more viable, easily grown, commercially beneficial plants also have alternate uses as a drug... and we obviously cannot allow that...
- uRmyHartBstopR, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1The problem with algae is that it takes energy to extract the oil therefore the energy/mass ratio is low. They haven't perfected an efficient way to extract it. Where as this weed type plant is perfect because it can grow almost anywhere and extraction is a lot more simple and easier with existing technologies. Hint: They crush the seeds. Extracting oil from algae is very very complicated :
1. Expeller/Press
2. Hexane solvent oil extraction
3. Supercritical Fluid extraction - Javy42, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1... biodiesel is just as good as regular diesel
- inactive, on 02/09/2009, -0/+1Holy one-track mind batman.
- rif42, on 02/09/2009, -0/+1Jatropha is a promising bio-fuel, especially for countries in Africa and south east Asia. This could become the bio-fuel of the developing world.
- shoppingkart, on 02/08/2009, -0/+1Another excellent way to get high.
- identityxcrysis, on 02/08/2009, -1/+1Every other day on digg there's a story about some plant or something else being used as a renewable energy source, and our savior to take the place of fuel.
I'm tired of reading it, either get on it and start using one, or just shut the ***** up about it. - jperry13, on 02/08/2009, -1/+1Of course there are going to be other "carbon liabilities" associated with the growing of this weed. So the actual impact to the environment is unknown.
- learnfrompast, on 02/08/2009, -1/+1It's nice to have new fuels, but there is a reason why petroleum based fuels are king, it has something to do with the energy/mass ratio. You just can't beat oil right now, and until I see an alternative fuel article that has the actual energy/mass ratio and then the expected energy/mass ratio from years of research, you really can't take that article too seriously.
- silirius, on 02/09/2009, -0/+0I definitaly agree with you...Hemp would solve a LOT of problems of human mankind...But the worlds governments dont want to see that, because other industries would really suffer from that so...As long as there is oil&stuff, this won't become real -.-
- Belittle82, on 02/08/2009, -1/+1Can it grow in America? If not, we're not interested or we'll subsidize a less efficient form of it.
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