Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Pierre Bouloc
La Chanvriere de L' Aube (LCDA), France
9.1 Introduction: What is
the Hemp Industry?
and the recovery of the powder produced as a
by-product.
This process of 'breaking up the straw'
has existed since hemp was first used in the
ancient Yunnan province of China. It still
exists to this day, although the procedures
have changed and the source of power is
no longer dependent on human power.
The fundamental steps, however, remain
unchanged.
Hemp and its constituent parts can be used in
a great variety of ways. As such, to describe
the composition of hemp in each case would
require a magic wand. It is therefore appropri-
ate to consider the uses that hemp components
will be put to. To start with, it is essential that
we first have an understanding of the objec-
tives of the manufacturer and the expectations
and requirements of the market(s) that the
manufacturer is seeking to satisfy.
In reality, hemp straw is not used as it is.
It is appropriate to remind the reader of
the different components of hemp and their
usual proportions (Fig. 9.1).
All the uses of the fibre and the other
components of hemp are presented in Chapter
11 and are therefore summarized only briefly
in Table 9.1.
These various uses require well-differenti-
ated raw products. With this in mind, the role
of the hemp processor can be summarized as
follows. Hemp processing consists of 'the
decortication of a complex plant into as many
constituent parts as possible'.
The processor's work consists of separat-
ing all the components and collecting them in
such a way that they can be exploited to their
full potential. This equates, more simplistically,
to the separation of the hurds, their refinement
9.1.1 Preliminaries requiring
consideration
Before presenting the different procedures
used to transform straw into usable and sale-
able components, the problem must first be
placed in context, thereby illustrating the
complexity of the process.
1. Depending on the final use to which the
fibre is put, the industrial processes can be
completely different. There is, therefore, no
standard factory, even though the basic princi-
ples are and will remain the same:
•
Separate the fibre from the hurds.
•
The fibres must be cleaned according to
their end usage.
The powder produced in this process must
•
be recovered.
