Researchers in South Korea have developed a method to strengthen biodegradable plastic using hemp hurd, an agricultural byproduct. The study comes from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT).
The team extracted cellulose from discarded stalks of industrial hemp used in the production of traditional hemp textiles. In South Korea, industrial hemp is cultivated in designated Regulation-Free Special Zones, including Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do.
The outer part of the stalk is used to obtain fibers, while the remaining woody core, known as hemp hurd, accounts for roughly 70% of the stalk by weight. Hemp hurd has had relatively limited applications until now.
The researchers applied a drying process that preserves the microfibrillar structure of the cellulose. This preservation enabled the cellulose to serve as a reinforcing biofiller for biodegradable plastics.
The team incorporated hemp-hurd-derived cellulose at 10 weight percent into biodegradable plastic film. The addition improved tensile strength by 26.2%.
The hemp hurd cellulose also improved moisture and oxygen barrier performance by 17% and 9%, respectively, compared to the conventional method.
The researchers noted that the technology could be extended to various other cellulose-rich agricultural residues, including soybean stalks and rice straw. They added plans for further study.
The study, “Fiber-saturation-point-guided microfibrillation of hemp hurd enabling concurrent performance enhancement of thermoplastic starch/polybutylene adipate terephthalate,” was pre-published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.
The findings point to a new use for a byproduct that makes up most of the hemp stalk by weight. The work was reported by Ganjapreneur.
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