All this talk about cannabis, hemp and hemp-hurds, got me thinking: "How do you take a plant, and make all these wonderful things like clothes and fabrics, building materials, oils and tea?"
I recently came across an article published by Nexstar (www.wkrn.com), on an Industrial Hemp Processing Facility going up in Kentucky, which got my mind wondering... And this is what I learnt:
Firstly, it is very expensive to open and operate a processing plant approx. $2-3 million USD investment required to construct a hemp processing plant.
It is very important for the processing facility to be near to the cannabis farms as well as the industry and market for the hemp products.
I then did some further reading and found how products are actually made.
When processing the cannabis plants for materials and fabrics, the harvesting equipment is different to harvesting hemp for things like paper. The hemp used in building materials and animal beds is the bi-product (that which is usually thrown away or burnt!)
""During fiber processing, the core fiber is saved and usually used to make paper, horse bedding, or construction materials. Most hemp producers recycle the core fiber by removing dust, then baling and packaging. The dust can be pressed into pellets used for fuel. The dirt and small chips of core are also used as a high nutrient soil additive.""
If you are wanting to build or renovate your home with Hemp, all excess building waste can just be thrown into the compost!
If you're interested, like I am, and want to learn more, click this link to go to the original article and this link to find out how products are made.
