Cannabis Study House - ＵＳＡ・ヘンプ・ミュージアム、ヘンプ・プラスチック

ヘンプ・プラスチック

"Anything that can be made from hydrocarbons (oil, coal, natural gas), can be made from carbohydrates (plant material)." - source unknown.

The above quote is again important because it dispels the notion that we are dependent upon fossil fuels (oil, coal, natural gas) for fuels, plastics and chemical feed-stocks in industry.

"Synthetic plastics were practically as old as agriculture itself. They were made in the shadow of the pyramids from cooked starch, and celluloid collars antedated the twentieth century, but it took a world war to disclose their infinite potentialities to American industrialists.From 1918 on, the chemical industry made greater technological advances than even the automobile or aviation, and the great chemical companies which fed it, by getting in early, rapidly built up fabulous fortunes." (p.323, GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER).

The History Channel on cable television had a special show titled: "PLASTIC." From this show came this general recipe for celluloid plastic:

Cellulose + Camphor (solvent) + Nitric Acid (NO3)

How does the hemp plant fit into the plastic scheme? The white hemp hurds (shown left) or sticks left when the fiber has been removed are 77% cellulose and are 6 times the weight of the fiber. Hemp is the most efficient crop for biomass and cellulose worldwide.

THE STORY OF CELLULOSICS
From the series "Speaking of Plastics." 1963.
Fry Plastics International. Los Angeles, CA. 56 pages. Book size 8 1/2 X 5 1/2 inches.
This booklet I picked up at a plastics store.

"Cellulosics is the pioneer story in the history and growth of the great plastics industry as we see it today...Because of the fact that during the middle of the nineteenth century there was a shortage of ivory from which to make billiard balls, one of the most important and versatile industries was born."

In 1869, the Hyatt brothers, in America, developed Cellulose Nitrate into a workable plastic mass they patented. Called Celluloid it was first used for billiard balls, dental plates, and collars and cuffs for shirts.

One interesting thing in looking at the chemical composition of cellulose is remembering that the carbon (C) of plant material such as cellulose is from carbon dioxide (CO2) pulled from the atmosphere, where excess CO2 from fossil fuel burning has created the greenhouse effect and is causing global warming. When carbon is tied up in cellulose plastic this process actually helps reverse global warming.

TYPICAL APPLICATIONS (1963) mentioned in the Cellulosics book are from 100 different formulations and are among the 50,000 viable industrial uses of the hemp plant.

Toys, lampshades, vacuum cleaner parts, combs, shoe heels...portable radio cases, pipe, tubing, tool handles, appliance housing...telephone hand sets, pens, pencils, edge moldings on cabinets...flashlights, frames, heel covers, fabric coating, outdoor movie speakers, knobs...electrical parts, packaging material, electrical insulation, photographic film, outdoor and indoor signs...telephone wires, steering wheels automobile arm rests, football helmets, pistol grips...business machine keys, toothbrush handles, fish net floats, fishing lures, hearing aid parts... optical frames, floor sweeper parts, furniture trim, luggage, military applications.

The greatest agricultural researcher of all time, George Washington Carver got his name from his slave owner's family. He discovered hundreds of useful food stuffs and products using agriculture as his basic resource. We could use the likes of Carver to research the tens of thousands of uses of hemp.

Topics to write on:
Some special words to look up are Parksine, Bakelite, Celluloid. Early plastic was created to replace Ivory, Tortoise shell, and other natural substances. George Washington Carver, Hemp: Lifeline... p. 82, 98,

http://hempmuseum.org/
Un-Copyright 2003 USA HEMP MUSEUM. SPREAD THE WORD All rights NOT reserved

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