Processability of Hemp-Polymer Composites

人们越来越关注塑料对环境的影响，从生产（大多数塑料是用原油中的成分制成的）到报废（只有有限一部分塑料被回收;许多最终进入垃圾填埋场或环境）。减少塑料用量的一个策略是在这些材料中引入生物基填料--比如植物作物的未使用部分。大麻植物包括有价值的种子、花和叶子，以及价值低得多的茎。这项工作的目的是开发塑料和大麻杆（从茎杆）的混合物，并表征这些材料在典型的塑料加工方法中的适用性。大麻在阿尔伯塔的经济重要性越来越大。大麻作物的数量在过去8年中大幅增加。大麻被认为是一种“快速更新”的生物质（仅次于竹子）。艾伯塔省生产的大麻约占加拿大的1/3。产品包括大麻籽和油，以及营养品。茎是植物未充分利用的部分.在这个项目中，阿尔伯塔大学的研究人员将与阿尔伯塔大麻工厂有限公司合作，开发大麻植物部分的新应用，这些大麻植物部分通常通过将这些材料纳入大麻聚合物复合材料而被丢弃。这项工作的潜在影响包括：（1）为低价值大麻材料寻找新用途，（2）减少必须进口到加拿大用于农业和包装的塑料数量，以及（3）减少垃圾填埋场中的塑料废物数量。

There are increasing concerns about the environmental impacts of plastics, ranging from production (mostplastics are made using components from crude oil) to end-of-life (only a limited fraction of plastics arerecycled; many end up in landfills or the environment). One strategy to reduce the amount of plastics is tointroduce a bio-based filler - such as unused portions of plant crops - into these materials. The hemp plant iscomprised of valuable seeds, flowers, and leaves, as well as the stalk, which is much lower in value. Thepurpose of this work is to develop blends of plastics and hemp hurds (taken from the stalk), and to characterizethe suitability of these materials for use in typical plastic processing methods.Hemp is becoming of increasing economic importance to Alberta. The number of hemp crops has increasedsubstantially over past 8 years. Hemp is considered a 'rapidly renewing' biomass (second to bamboo). Albertaproduces around 1/3 of hemp in Canada. Products include hemp grain for seed and oil, as well asnutriceuticals. The stalk is as an underutilized portion of the plant. In this project, researchers at the Universityof Alberta will partner with Alberta Hemp Works Ltd to develop new applications for portions of the hempplant that are often discarded through incorporation of these materials in hemp-polymer composites. Thepotential impact of this work includes: (1) finding new use for low value hemp-based materials, (2) reducingthe amount of plastics that must be imported to Canada for applications in agriculture and packaging, and (3)reducing the amount of plastic waste in landfills.