Vertical Farming Hemp for Biodiesel and Ethanol (Canada Bioenergy)
Producing industrial hemp has two main benefits: It is very effective in sequestering carbon from our atmosphere and the plant it self can be used to make biodiesel/bioethanol (along with over 25,000 other uses).
Imagine for a moment, if all our major cities had vertical hemp farms around them. These farms would be able to play a pivotal role in reducing carbon emissions and produce plant matter which can be used to produce biodiesel/bioethanol.
This is possible due to the fact that hemp plant is proven to be high in complex sugars content (ethanol) and the hemp seed high in fats content (biodiesel), this makes the plant an ideal candidate for transport fuel production.
Why Vertical Farms?
Farming industrial hemp on such a large scale can cause problems for biodiversity and even affect land that is used for growing food crops.
Why Bioethanol and Biodiesel?
Most vehicles can use these biofuels with minor or no adjustment required to the engine. This opens up a whole new path to reducing car emissions on the planet as biofuels burn much more cleanly than fossil fuels. The emissions that are released from cars that use biofuels can be then captured from the process of growing crops.
Two Part Article: Vertical Farming Hemp for Biofuels
- Government approval and funding (Canada)
- Hemp Vertical Farms (How/Why)
Part 1: Government Approval and Funding (Canada)
The government of Canada is looking to significantly reduce carbon emissions and has put programs in place to support this plan.
The Clean Fuel Regulations (CFR)
“Previously known as Clean Fuel Standard, draft regulations were published in December 2020. The CFR will require liquid fuel (gasoline, diesel) suppliers to gradually reduce the carbon intensity of the fuels they produce and sell for use in Canada over time, leading to a decrease of approximately 13% (below 2016 levels) in the carbon intensity of our liquid fuels used in Canada by 2030. The CFR will introduce a credit system whereby the regulation can be met by purchasing credits or through other actions. The CFR will create economic opportunities for voluntary parties like biofuel producers and other lower carbon fuel producers to create and sell credits.” (Source: IEA Bioenergy)
- Increased cost of carbon credit and more strict requirements to comply with carbon limits. The initiation of a multi-billion dollar carbon market with opportunities for voluntary carbon credits to be generated.
- Reduced carbon intensity (13% reduction by 2030) of fuels produced and sold in Canada.
Building an Argument for Funding
The Clean Fuel Regulation is injecting money into our economy to build better systems for clean fuels. We have the power to direct political interest into this strategy towards a system that could actually work for long term prevention and reduction of carbon emissions.
Canada’s high demand for transport fuels
“Canada is a large country with low population density and a significant forested area. The use of bioenergy is quite small in relation to its domestic potential. (Source: IEA Bioenergy)
As you can see from the chart below, almost 90% of Canada’s transport energy is coming from fossil fuels.
Renewable Fuel ≠ Environmentally Friendly
“Canada’s ethanol mandate is being met in a large part by a torrent of U.S. corn ethanol flooding across the border. The five percent federal mandate requires 2.2 billion liters of ethanol to be blended into the fuel supply annually.” — (Source: The Western Producer Article “U.S. corn making much of Canada’s ethanol”)
Canada is one of the biggest costumers for American made corn ethanol. Studies have found that US based corn ethanol is worse for climate change than gasoline.
“Corn ethanol is not a climate-friendly fuel,” said Dr. Tyler Lark, assistant scientist at University of Wisconsin-Madison Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment and lead author of the study. — (Source: Reuters Article “U.S. corn-based ethanol worse for the climate than gasoline, study finds”)
Hemp Biofuels Compared to Other Options
Hemp is a strong competitor against the two biggest types of biofuels on our planet: Corn and Palm Oil.
Key points from article “Hemp Oil Biodiesel vs Palm Oil Biodiesel”
- Replacing Palm Oil Biodiesel with a more environmentally friendly alternatives can lead to a significant reduction to deforestation. About 61% of the deforestation that is done for palm plantations can be prevented. (Source)
- Palm Oil biodiesel is similar to hemp oil biodiesel in terms of the performance properties for diesel engines. (Source)
- Hemp can grow in a variety of climates, compared to oil palm trees which are restricted to tropical humid climates. (Source)
- Palm oil biodiesel has double the amount of yield compared to hemp seed biodiesel but hemp is still one of the highest ranking in terms of yield. (Source)
Key Points from Article “Hemp Ethanol vs Corn Ethanol”
- Cellulosic ethanol is proven to be better for our health and the environment, when compared to corn based ethanol. (Source)
- The cost for producing ethanol from plant material (hemp) is more expensive than ethanol produced from corn. This is because lignin is holding together all the complex sugars so a process has to conducted to separate the lignin from the sugars. (University of Illinois “The Future of Ethanol: Cellulosic”)
- Hemp has a high sugar and lignin content which allows it to be very profitable as a biofuel. Hemp has one of the highest sugars content in comparison to all other types of plant matter commonly used for ethanol production. (University of Kentucky — College of Agriculture, Food and Environment “Potential for Hemp Use in Biofuels”)
Part 2: Hemp Vertical Farms (How/Why)
This video below shows an idea that is similar to what we are discussing in this article:
Why Vertical Farming for Biofuels?
Land Security
Lots of land has been cleared for the use of producing crop to make fuel, this has a negative impact on land that should be used to make food or to serve ecosystems.
Biodiversity
A significant loss in biodiversity can be seen when monoculture is at play.
Soil Health
Continuous use of pesticide and herbicide has been proven to significantly damage soil health. Most of the mainstream energy crops have very high demands for these toxic chemicals that kill micro organisms in the soil.
Fertilizer and Pesticide Runoff
This has created dead zones in our waters, added pollutants to our air and even caused the death of many animals.
Land Clearing
In many countries trees are cut down, native plant species are destroyed to make way for plants to be produced for fuel. This can result in a chain effect of damages that changes our ecosystem.
Honey Bees Decline
Using a heavy amount of pesticide and practicing monoculture can very well cause a decline in the honey bee population.
CO2 emissions from Ethanol Production
“CO2 from ethanol plants is regarded as high grade after some minor processing to remove the small amounts of impurities. A typical ethanol plant producing 50 million gallons of ethanol per year will also produce roughly 150,000 metric tons of CO2 per year.” (Source: Article by Attis Biofuels)
The production of ethanol emits CO2 and this makes it important to consider these numbers when determining if an energy crop can truly lead us into a carbon negative state.
How to Vertical Farm for Biofuels?
The Aeroponics Method
What is Aeroponics Farming?
The growing of plants by suspending their roots in the air and spraying them with nutrient solutions Hydroponics allows us to grow plants in a water-and-nutrient solution, while aeroponics grows them in a nutrient-laden mist.
Many companies around the world are innovating this method of farming as it can be extremally efficient with water and nutrient usage.
Video of an Aeroponics Farm in Action:
Video of Procedures, Advantages and Challenges of Aeroponics Farming Cannabis:
Points to consider:
- Successful aeroponics systems are set up with software that monitor all the factors in order to ensure growth success.
- As we see it today, this system is very expensive but as we see more research and interest into this method of farming, the price is likely to go down.
- There are five main benefits of farming with this method: Full control over farming, year round production, water conservation, no need for pesticide/herbicide and no leakage of agricultural waste into atmosphere/bodies of water.
