Qannabis
Definition
Historical
Several scholars based on geography, evolutionary models, and historic data speculate that Cannabis originated already during the Pleistocene, millions of years ago. Paleobotanical studies attest that it was already present during the Holocene epoch about 11,700 years ago, more likely in the territories of Central Asia near Altai Mountains, where now the countries of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Siberia meet South Asia (near Himalaya and Hindu Kush Mountains) or East Asia. Subsequently, it has spread across Eurasia and all over the world, thanks to human domestication, well adapting to different climate conditions even the most unfavorable.[1]
Paleobotanical studies attest that cannabis was already present about 11 700 years ago in Central Asia near the Altai Mountains. South-East Asia has also been proposed as an alternative region for the primary domestication of cannabis.
Some 12,000 years ago, after the last glacial period, cannabis seeds followed the migration of nomadic peoples and commercial exchanges. This joint migration is an example of symbiosis comparable to the alliance of humans and canids.[2]
Technical
Cannabis sativa is an annual plant of the family Cannabinaceae. It has erected stems which (depending on the environmental conditions and the genetic variety) can reach up to 5 meters.
The palmate leaves, usually composed of five to seven leaflets, are linear-lanceolate, tapering at both ends and the margins sharply serrate.
It is dioecious, but sometimes monoecious:
- Male flowers do not present petals, axillary or terminal panicles, have five yellowish tepals and five anthers.
- Female flowers germinate in the axils and terminally with one single-ovulate closely adherent perianth.
Moreover, C. sativa is rich in trichomes, epidermal glandular protuberances covering the leaves, bracts, and stems of the plant. These glandular trichomes enclose secondary metabolites as phytocannabinoids, responsible for the defence and interaction with herbivores and pests, and terpenoids, which generate the typical smell of the C. sativa. [3]
Production
Soil
Stalk
graphic: skin(bast(hurd/shiv(0))
The hemp bast is the soft, inner layer of the hemp plant's bark. It is used to make rope, twine, and fabric. The hurd is the woody core of the hemp plant. It is used to make paper, animal bedding, and composite wood products.
Seed
Flower
At least 538 natural compounds have been identified in C. sativa. Of these, more than 100 are identified as phytocannabinoids, because of the shared chemical structure. From a chemical point of view, phytocannabinoids have a lipid structure featuring alkylresorcinol and monoterpene moieties in their molecules. Moreover, they are mostly present in the resin secreted from the trichomes of female plants, while male leaves of C. sativa have few glandular trichomes that can produce small amounts of psychoactive molecules.
Over 200 Terpenoids, responsible for the fragrance of C. sativa, have been identified in the flower, leaves of the plant, and may represent 10% of the trichome contents . Limonene, myrcene, and pinene are most common and highly volatile. They are repellent to insects and act as antifeedants for grazing animals. The mixture of different C. sativa terpenoids and phytocannabinoid acids shows a synergistic mechano-chemical defensive strategy against many predators. The terpenoid production changes with environmental specific conditions. Indeed, as observed for the phytocannabinoids, terpenoids are produced as a defence mechanism: the amount of terpenoids increases with the light exposure (stressful condition for the plant) but decreases with soil fertility.[3]
Application
Soil
- Remediation
Typical strategies to remediate polluted soils are expensive and environmentally damaging. Examples include the excavation and burial of polluted soil at hazardous waste sites, the chemical processing of soil to immobilize metals, and using acid solutions to desorb and leach metals from soil taken from a waste site and returning the clean soil residue to the site.
Phytoremediation is a feasible, economical, and sustainable alternative for cleaning polluted soil. Phytoremediation is the use of green plants to remove metal pollutants from soil or render them harmless [5–8]. Many plants are known to accumulate metal pollutants, and the ability to accumulate metal varies significantly between species and between cultivars within a species. Most metal-accumulating plants are small shrubs with shallow roots requiring specific growing conditions [9–13]. To be effective at soil remediation, more than just the top layer of soil needs to be cleaned of pollutants. Hemp’s ability to extract metals from soil with its deep roots, combined with its commercial prospects, make it an ideal candidate as a profit-yielding crop when used for phytoremediation purposes.
The fact that hemp accumulates potentially toxic metals in all plant parts limits its use as a raw material in clothing and the food chain.
The high quality of hemp fibers and hurds is not affected by metal contamination, allowing them to be used in products such as composite materials. Following the harvest of pollutant-enriched plants, contaminated material is either composted, disposed of as hazardous material, or (more economically interesting) used for metal recovery.
- Aeration
Stalk
As a general rule, the bast is used for softer applications while the hurd is used for tougher applications.
Decortication is the process of removing the hemp plant's outermost layer, the bark. This can be done mechanically, with a machine that strips the bark off in one pass, or manually, by stripping it off by hand.
Decortication can also be used to process other plant materials, such as flax, jute, and kenaf.
Decortication separates the hurd from the bast by breaking up the stem of the plant. This can be done with a machine that uses spikes or knives, or by hand.
The bast fibers are then separated from the hurd by a process called retting. This can be done chemically, with a solution of water and enzymes, or mechanically, with a machine that strips the bast fibers off of the hurd.
- Fiber
bast: PLASTIC * CLOTHES * ROPE * INSULATION hurd: CONCRETE * WOOD * PAPER * BEDDING
For animals, the hurd is often used as bedding because it is absorbent and doesn't harbor bacteria like straw or hay. As a feed, the hurd is high in fiber but low in nutrients. It is sometimes used as a filler in animal feed mixes.
- Char
- Fuel
Seed
- Foodstuffs
"feed" vs "food"
- Oils
FOODMEDS(edible,topical) * PLASTIC * BIODIESEL
To make biodiesel from hemp, you will need to extract the oil from the plant material. Hemp seeds contain a high percentage of oil, and this oil can be used to make biodiesel.
To make biodiesel from hemp, you will need to follow these steps:
1. Extract the oil from the plant material.
2. Process the oil to remove impurities.
3. Use the processed oil to make biodiesel.
Flower
Sources
- ↑ Pisanti + Bifulco 2018, "Medical Cannabis: A plurimillennial history of an evergreen" Journal of Cellular Pathology 2018; 234(6):8342-8351. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.27725
- ↑ Crocq 2020, "History of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system" Dialogues Clin Neurosci. 2020; 22(3):223-228. https://doi:10.31887/DCNS.2020.22.3/mcrocq
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Bonini et al 2018 "Cannabis sativa: A comprehensive ethnopharmacological review of a medicinal plant with a long history." Journal of Ethnopharmacology Vol 227 (Dec 2018), pp. 300-315 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2018.09.004
- ↑ Placido, D.F.; Lee, C.C. "Potential of Industrial Hemp for Phytoremediation of Heavy Metals." Plants 2022, 11, 595. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11050595