Hemp Biodiesel – Myths & Facts

What are some myths and facts when it comes to hemp biodiesel? Proponents say it’s the answer to turning the West away from Saudi Arabia’s oil. Critics say it is a dream of the future that does not correspond to economic realities.

So what are the myths and facts about hemp biodiesel?

The inventor of the diesel engine, Rudolph Diesel, used peanut oil in his original design. He intended to free small business owners from their energy worries and thereby reduce the power and influence of big oil.

He said in 1911: “The use of vegetable oil as a fuel may seem insignificant today. But such products may, over time, become just as important as kerosene and these coal tar products of today.”

Instead, Diesel died under mysterious circumstances. Although the average westerner today has the capital and technology to switch to cleaner sources, they are still at the mercy of big energy companies.

However, as hemp and cannabis become more popular, people are looking to hemp biodiesel. The science is clear: it works.

But the question is: how good?

We can break the myths and facts surrounding hemp biodiesel into two points.

• The land needed to grow hemp to replace standard diesel sources
• The cost compared to other sources of diesel

As for the first point, the promise of hemp biodiesel is more myth than fact. However, critics emphasize this more importantly than they should.

Hemp Biodiesel: Do We Have Enough Land?

When it comes to hemp biodiesel and its myths and facts, there is always criticism as to whether we have enough land.

In short, critics argue that we don’t have enough land to grow hemp for diesel purposes. Not with our current diesel consumption and not with how we use the land to grow hemp.

According to the Alberta Department of Agriculture, we can extract about 226 pounds of hemp oil from one hectare.

In 2017, the United States consumed 11.9 billion pounds of biodiesel oil. That means 52 million acres (or about a quarter of all US farmland) would have to be devoted to producing hemp biodiesel.

Myth busted! Or is it? These numbers are based on the Katani hemp strain. Consider previous wheat varieties.

Like hemp and cannabis, wheat comes in several varieties: Golden Drop, Red Chaff, Club, White Russia, Ladoga, etc.

Unfortunately, none of these strains grow well in Canada’s cold climate. A variety called “Red Fife” was introduced to Canada in 1842 and increased land development for wheat cultivation.

Still, Red Fife wasn’t perfect. Only when Dr. William Saunders Hard Crossed Red Calcutta and Red Fife to make “Marquis”.

Marquis Wheat was superior in every way. Hardy enough to survive on the Canadian prairies, she matured earlier with larger yields.

Without the Marquis, Canada’s frigid climate would never have become a breadbasket for the world.

A practical example

For this reason, claims of hemp’s inability to overtake standard biodiesel fuels are a myth. Critics look at current strains like Katani and draw conclusions.

During the World Wars, Canada exported thousands of pounds of wheat to Britain, France, Belgium, and other allied nations.

Can you imagine beating those numbers with an older wheat variety like Red Fife? They would conclude that Canadians would not be able to support the war effort without starving themselves in the process.

But that’s exactly what didn’t happen.

If we took the idea of ​​using hemp to make biodiesel seriously, the market for newer, high-yielding, cold-hardy strains would spur every agronomist and hobbyist out there.

This “myth” reveals that cannabis critics don’t think dynamically. In their eyes, hemp is a static plant that can’t deliver more than its current production.

Other things being equal, this myth becomes fact. With the Katani hemp strain, we cannot produce enough hemp to replace fossil fuels.

But other things are not the same. And the idea that we would stop producing newer strains of hemp is absurdly ignorant.

Hemp Biodiesel: How Much Does It Cost?

If hemp biodiesel critics don’t understand how innovation works in the marketplace, if exposed Malthusian traps bind their minds, what hope is there for economic understanding?

Hemp biodiesel is more myth than fact, says the critic, because it costs too much compared to diesel fuel alternatives.

And technically that’s true.

For hemp biodiesel to be competitive with standard diesel at current prices, it must stay below at least $5 per gallon.

By using the Katani hemp strain, farmers receive a yield of 226 pounds of oil per acre. That yield plus current diesel prices suggest farmers would be losing money.

But the fact that other crops like soybeans and corn are subsidized compound this problem.

For hemp biodiesel to be competitive, we would need new, higher-yielding strains and a level playing field with other feedstocks used to make diesel.

But overall, when comparing hemp biodiesel to other fuels and reviewing myths and facts, let’s keep the economy in mind.

The market is the hub of voluntary exchange. When the consciousness of the masses no longer considers petroleum diesel valuable, its price falls regardless of its relative scarcity.

Hemp Biodiesel: Myths and Facts

Another criticism of hemp biodiesel myths and facts is the pressure on the food supply. We can only get 226 pounds of oil per acre. As a result, the United States will use a significant portion of its farmland to produce diesel instead of food.

But again, what is not understood is how market pressures encourage entrepreneurs to find workarounds.

For example, the whaling industry was dominant from the late 18th century to its peak in the 1820s because we used whale oil for lighting and machine lubrication.

Humans hunted baleen whales to extinction.

That is, until the discovery of mineral oils in the 1860s. Capitalism, along with the invention of kerosene in 1846 by Canadian geologist Abraham Pineo Gesner, prevented whales from dying out for oil.

Today we see proposals for vertical farms and other hydroponic systems aimed at producing food using less land and resources.

Never underestimate the potential of human creativity.

While hemp biodiesel may be out of reach given current hemp strains and counterproductive economic policies, hemp biodiesel is far from a myth.

There may be better alternatives, and people may prefer electric motors in the future. But for all we know, it’s entirely possible for hemp biodiesel to replace standard diesel without causing mass starvation.