Hemp Inc (HEMP)

[JustMyLuck]

Bioplastics from hemp

In North Carolina, a hemp company is investing in the supply chain for bioplastics. Three years ago, Las Vegas-based Hemp Inc., a publicly traded hemp company, converted a former Spring Hope, N.C., sweet potato-processing plant to an 85,000-square-foot industrial hemp processing lab, said Bruce Perlowin, CEO and founder of the company.

The firm is milling a powdery bioplastic stock from hemp and kenaf -- another natural-fiber plant. For now, the company imports from Europe hemp hurd, a byproduct of hemp processing, and grinds it with kenaf.

"I'm in heaven that we're part of the supply chain to make bioplastic," Perlowin said. "I've been an environmentalist and eco-commando since I was in high school."

Hemp Inc. also has processing facilities in Oregon that extract CBD oil. The Spring Hope factory employs about 20 people. Hemp Inc. did not receive any tax incentives from the city or the state, Perlowin said.

Greer, S.C.-based Earth Renewable Technologies uses the milled biological fibers as a cellulose stock to create bioplastic hemp pellets that are melted into injection molds to make consumer goods.

The company uses plant material to make plastic bottles and containers, as well as films and coatings, housewares, non-woven cloth and 3D printing plastic stock.

Bioplastics are made of a lactic acid polymer and biological material, instead of petrochemicals, Kim Fabri, CEO of Earth Renewable Technologies, told UPI in an email. In composting conditions, they degrade much faster (in as few as 90 days) compared to "hundreds of years a fossil fuel polymer takes."

Fabri said it is difficult to find hemp plant matter to use in the company's products.

Before bioplastics companies can grow and experiment with hemp-based products, a pathway has to be built from the plant to the plastic, Perlowin said. There are too few hemp processing facilities to generate the raw materials needed by plastic companies, he said.

"Our company has one machine, but there should be 200 processing facilities all over the United States," he said.

https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2019/10/02/Hemp-hardwoods-bioplastics-expand-crop-use-beyond-CBD/3921569380690/