Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
for European Hemp Fibres
Michael Carus
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA), c/o nova-Institut GmbH,
Hürth, Germany
12.1 Introduction - A Sustainable
Raw Material for Bio-based
Composites
(EU: 40,000-50,000 t), wood not included,
were used in the automotive industry, requiring
19,000 t of natural fibres (EU: 30,000 t).
European flax (about 65%) and hemp (about
10%) were used, with the remaining 25% cov-
ered by imports from Asia (jute, kenaf, coir,
abaca). Natural fibre compression moulding is
the dominant processing technique (share of
>95%): it is an established and proven tech-
nique for the production of extensive light-
weight and high-class interior parts in
medium- and luxury-class cars. Its advantages
are lightweight construction, crash behaviour,
deformation resistance, lamination ability and,
depending on the overall concept, price. The
disadvantages are limited shape and design
forming, offcuts and cost disadvantages in the
case of high part integration in construction
parts. These advantages and disadvantages are
well known. Process optimization is in progress,
in order to reduce certain problem areas such
as offcuts and waste recycling. By means of
new one-shot compression moulding presses,
soft surfaces can also be integrated directly,
something that so far has not been possible
with injection moulding.
Between 2005 and 2009, the use of natu-
ral fibres in the European automotive industry
did not expand, and even decreased slightly in
Germany, after it had grown by double-digit
figures each year between 2000 and 2005.
Since 2009, however, there has again been an
From an historic point of view, hemp has been
an important raw material for industry for more
than 2000 years. Hemp fibres were used for
technical textiles such as ropes, hawsers and
boat canvas, as well as for clothing textiles and
paper. In the 1990s, hemp was rediscovered
throughout the world as an important raw
material for bio-based products in a sustainable
bioeconomy, and has been in high demand
ever since. The most important cultivation and
manufacturing regions are Europe and China,
and the most important applications are bio-
based composites (natural fibre reinforced plas-
tics), as well as construction and insulation
materials. The bio-based materials sector, in
particular, still has large, untapped market
potential for both reinforcing oil-based plastics
and, to an increasing degree, for bio-based
plastics.
12.2
Success Story Automotive
Industry: Current Trends
and New Applications
In 2005 - more recent data are not avail-
able - 30,000 t of natural fibre composites
