Extracting High-value Products from Hemp Waste

Extracting High-value Products from Hemp Waste

Hemp (Cannabis sativa) is cultivated for its fiber (bast fiber) and its edible seeds as well as some medicinal products [1]. When bast fibers are separated from the hemp stem, what’s left is called hemp hurds. These woody residues are the least valuable part of the hemp stem and are treated as a by-product of fiber production, even though they represent the largest fraction of the hemp plant. Hemp hurds can be used in a range of applications such as animal bedding, construction materials, and garden mulch [2], but they are still generally considered as waste.

缓慢的热解
但是，大麻赫德的热化学加工可以产生一些高价值产品。一种称为慢热解的特殊热化学过程可用于将大麻赫尔斯转化为生物炭，液体（馏出物）和气体[3]。尽管可以调整工艺条件以最大程度地提高特定分数的产量，但它们的产生大约相等。

缓慢的热解通常用于将生物量转化为生物炭，这是一种富含碳的木炭，用作土壤改良剂或储存碳。还生产液体蒸馏液，但它们被认为是副产品，通常被燃烧或倾倒。但是，这些液体蒸馏液含有生物活性化合物，可以收集以产生额外的收入。

在这项研究中,四种类型的工业大麻粗亚麻必威东盟体育were thermally processed and converted into liquid distillates by slow pyrolysis at different temperatures [5]. The team investigated the chemical composition of the distillates to identify possible valuable molecules or molecule groups. They believe this is the first time that large samples (kilograms) have been studied in this way. Previous studies have focused on small, lab-scale samples (grams) [4].

The authors processed the hurds using slow pyrolysis at relatively low process temperatures from room temperature up to the maximum operating temperature of 350 ̊C. They collected raw distillates at three stages of the slow pyrolysis process (drying, torrefaction, and pyrolysis).

Detailed Analysis of Samples
Various analytical techniques were employed to study the samples. These included Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, liquid chromatography–high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC–HRMS), and two-dimensional gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (2D GC-MS). For example, FTIR spectroscopy was used to obtain information regarding functional groups of all the hemp hurd distillate fractions. All spectra were measured using Bruker’s Alpha FTIR spectrometer equipped with attenuated total reflection diamond, a sensitive 2 × 2 mm diamond crystal surface, and sample compartment RT-DLaTGS.

The team identified and measured some potentially valuable molecules for the first time. The analyses showed remarkable differences in the concentration of compounds in different distillates. The relevant compounds came from three different hemp hurd samples, especially from torrefaction and pyrolysis phase distillates condensed below 100 ̊C.

乙酸是所有样品的主要成分。其他有趣的化合物包括2,6-二甲氧酚，情况（2-甲氧基），香草素和丁香酚等鸟醇和丁香衍生物。
这些化合物中的大多数都是昂贵的，因为它们以低浓度出现在蒸馏液中，这意味着它们必须分开和纯化（尽管有几种现代可扩展技术可用）。此类化合物可以用作营养，药物和农业用途的纯化产品。例如，香草素和丁香酚被功能性食品和药物领域用作成分。
作者估计，一吨hurds（当前价格为200欧元）将产生约300公斤的生物炭（以当前价格价值约400欧元）。它还将生产约40千克乙酸，这是馏出物中的主要化合物，作为大量产品约为100欧元。一吨hurd会产生约1.3千克的1-羟基丁丹-2-one，这是最昂贵的次要蒸馏剂化合物中最昂贵的。原则上，这可以纯化至95％的纯度，并以1300-6500欧元的价格出售。1-羟基丁烷-2-ONE通常用作风味或香料剂。

结论
This study provides useful baseline data for chemical profiling of wood distillates, especially hemp hurd distillates. It also shows clear potential to generate high-value products from hemp hurds by utilizing slow pyrolysis to generate biochar and distillates that contain potentially useful ingredients. The whole process can be optimized to generate the most valuable products, varying factors such as temperature, heating rates, and residence times. Further processing of distillates would involve separation and purification procedures such as short path distillation and centrifugal partition chromatography. The researchers recommend further research to evaluate the economic potential in detail, for example, by considering the purification process costs and the market value and volume of high-value chemicals, and the business potential in general.
布鲁克（Bruker）提供了当今新兴全球大麻行业中使用的最广泛的分析技术。该投资组合包括台式和落地NMR，FTIR和拉曼光谱和质谱法等光学方法。这使布鲁克成为唯一的端到端解决方案提供商，并将应用程序标记为大麻价值链的每个阶段。我们使客户能够产生新的收入来源并减少浪费。

布鲁克不支持，鼓励或打算与任何非法使用，耕种或大麻或大麻产品的产品或服务使用。betway手机客户端下载Bruker产品旨在仅根据所有适用的法律来促进公共安全以及与任何合法和批准的科学或医学研究活动有关的方式使用。

References
[1] Cherney，J.H。等人（2016）。必威东盟体育北美的工业大麻：生产，政治和潜力。农艺学。
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/6/4/58
[2] Carus, M. and Sarmento, L., (2016) The European Hemp Industry: Cultivation, processing and applications for fibres, shivs, seeds and flowers. EIHA.
https://eiha.org/media/2016/05/16-05-17--European-hemp-industry-2013.pdf
[3] Amini，E。等，（2019）在美国南部的生命和死植被缓慢热解的表征。汽油。
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0016236118314832
[4] Branca，C。等，（2017）关于热解中工业大麻（大麻萨蒂瓦）的剥削的实验分析。必威东盟体育燃油处理技术。
https://www.sciendirect.com/science/article/pii/s0378382016310372
[5] Salami，A。等，（2020）通过热加工从工业大麻赫尔德获得的蒸馏物的互补化学表征。必威东盟体育必威东盟体育工业作物和产品。
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0926669020306774?via%3Dihub