Hemp as energy store

It seems hemp is brilliant. I'm always coming across articles about its virtues. Its fibres can be used in fabrics, biodegradable plastics can be made out of it, and in an article that once appeared then disappeared very quickly, some scientists were reporting how it yields twice as much ethanol as most biofuel crops yet requires no irrigation and will grow in rubbish soil.

Its in the news again. This time as a potential material for high power capacitors as needed for things like electric cars.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28770876

Basically, in laymans terms, a capacitor is sort of like a battery except that it holds less charge, but the charge it does hold can move much more freely, so it is ideal for capturing bursts of energy such as from regenerative braking, and releasing bursts of energy such as for acceleration. If you can make capacitors that hold a lot of charge, it effectively means that an electric car (for example) can be much lighter and more efficient as it will have to carry less weight in batteries. Also, unlike batteries, capacitors don't really age, so maintenance would be cheaper in the long term.

This might be boring, so why am I posting it? Well, firstly because it might interesting to one or two of us, but also because I expect the link to disappear from BBC very quickly. Call me a bit dim, but I have a suspicion that anything extolling the virtues of anything that competes with certain industry sectors suddenly goes low profile very quickly.

Although I did notice in the article...

Yes, where I suspect certain contracts will be negotiated granting the oil and gas companies that buy it exclusive rights to it for a given period.

 

Or perhaps due to previous 'hemp' bad publicity?



It was stuff like the above that got it stopped from being cultivated.

 

Getting the license to grow the stuff in meant to be hard, so i've been toled but not sure

 

It's certainly not cheap

https://www.gov.uk/hemp-growing-licence

 

I can believe that, but it makes me sad that the general public are so ignorant. Hemp and cannabis are not the same plant. One will make you high as a kite if you smoke it, the other will at most make you cough a bit for inhaling smoke that is no different to if you burned some lawn trimmings. Perhaps those that oppose it for its similar appearance to cannabis should also campaign to have many very common garden ornamentals banned, as some of them are considerably more psychoactive than cannabis, or perhaps we should weedkiller the whole countryside, it wouldn't do to have narcotic and hallucinogenic producing plants like a very common one that I wont name here, growing wherever it sees fit.

I think perhaps some of our laws are due for a revisit. We're allowed to grow opium poppies that will actually produce a controlled substance, but we can't grow something that looks like cannabis but without the THC just because of its appearance. I suspect that such laws will stay for a good while though, because it just wouldn't do to have a practically zero maintenance crop that can grow in harsh conditions and that is useful for all sorts.

 

It is illegal to possess Poppy straw (dried plant) in the U.K. It's a class A drug.

But the cops don't seem to care about folk growing it in our gardens or using them in flower displays.

Was talking to a Polish gardening friend, they do you for any sort of Poppy over there

 

Sounds like hemp seeds can be used for tasty, healthy, veggie recipes

http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/healing-foods-hemp-seed/

And that sounds like a vast improvement on inflammable 'Oh me gas' from eating lentils & soya.

 

Good for catching fish too