Sponsor: North Carolina Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services
Start Date: 4/01/22
End Date: 3/31/25
Abstract
Hydrogen gas (H2) has been considered as one of the most promising fuels because of its super clean and highly efficient conversion to energy. It is mainly used as a fuel for fuel cells, rockets and spaceships. It is also commonly used in hydrogenation where H2 is introduced into foods or chemicals. Currently, approximately 100 million m3 (or 3.5 billion ft3, at 1 atm) of H2 is sold in the United States each year, of which 48% is from natural gas reforming, 30% from refinery-gas/chemicals, 18% from coal gasification, and 4% from electrolysis of water. The major challenge with H2 fuel is its high production cost, which is strongly dependent on the energy source and technology used. In order to make H2 fuel more economically feasible and sustainable, cheaper and renewable energy source (e.g., biomass) and better technologies are necessary.
The objective of this proposal is to develop H2 from a low value biomass, hemp hurd. Industrial hemp is a growing agricultural industry in North Carolina that offers an additional economic opportunity for existing farm operations. North Carolina continues to operate under the USDA Industrial Hemp Pilot Program authorized in 2014. Hemp is a promising crop due to its diversity in bioproduct applications, including the flower oil for health benefits, seeds for nutrition, and fiber for textiles. Currently, most of the industrial hemp production is for the cannabidiol (CBD) oil extracted from the floral buds and the smokable flower market. Hemp hurd is comprised of the residual components after flower, seeds, and fibers have been removed, and mainly consists of stalks and stems. Compared to corn stover, hemp hurd is of similar composition, albeit with higher lignin content and lower ash content.[56] North Carolina planted over 9000 acres of hemp in 2019 with the majority dedicated to CBD oil production. Unfortunately, most hemp growers in 2019 did not achieve their anticipated revenues due to oversupply across the U.S., limited processing capacity and other factors, leading to a sharp decline in planted acres in 2020. This has resulted in an abundance of excess hemp being stored by growers around the state. In addition, there is currently very low demand for the hurd material due to a lack of high-value product applications. Thus, new, high-value products derived from hemp hurd would allow growers to utilize all components of the hemp plant and ultimately increase and stabilize revenue streams.
