Italian bioplastic made from hemp waste
The ideas of using plant materials to replace traditional plastic made from fossil raw materials are not new, but the created technology of converting waste from the main hemp production using plant residues of vegetables into "hemp biont" used in 3D printing deserves attention from national companies that operate in the production of biocomposite materials.
Italian entrepreneurs have developed a technology for converting hemp plant cultivation and processing waste into raw materials for the production of biocomposite materials. In particular, the founders of the Sicilian startup “Kanèsis” Giovanni Milazzo and Antonio Caruso have created a technology, according to which it is planned to make a breakthrough in new methods of processing agricultural waste. The know-how developed by Italians allows producing bioplastics from vegetable residues of vegetables and hemp, which, according to the owners of “Kanèsis”, can significantly improve the environmental situation, at least in the region of the company's operation, since the technology itself implies the replacement of environmentally unsafe petrochemical materials with vegetable raw materials consisting of waste processing of hemp plants and vegetables.
Even its name speaks of the direction of the company's activity. “Kanèsis” is an abbreviation created by merging two Italian words “canapa” - hemp and “kìnesis” - movement. The company's philosophy is the movement of ideas and potential aimed at drastically reducing the use of petrochemical products in the segments of life characteristic of modern society, reducing the amount of environmentally unsafe emissions, as well as the possibility of reusing plant waste or biocomposite materials after the end of their service life.
Kanèsis is promoting the idea of relaunching and rapidly developing the hemp-based hemp bioplastics sector in the Italian market. The technology created by Italian entrepreneurs allows turning vegetable waste into filament, which is used as raw material for 3D printers, making any desired shape from it, which in its characteristics is not inferior to traditional plastic products, and in terms of environmental load, it is comparable to those that have already become traditional bioplastics.
According to Kanèsis employees, the tough and resistant hemp bionite is biodegradable and compostable. Among other advantages, its cost is much cheaper than polylactic acid - the main material used today for innovative 3D printing. On average, one kilogram of "hemp bionithi" costs about € 5. According to the owners of the "Kanèsis" company, the plant product created by them should halve the cost of creating products on a 3D printer, which will accordingly increase the profitability of this kind of production, the widespread use of 3D printing technologies , and, consequently, the widespread use of goods made with the use of "hemp biony". In particular, the new material created by the Kanèsis technologists can be used to completely replace plastic packaging, which is what all EU countries are currently striving for.
Commentary of experts of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"
The ideas of using plant materials to replace traditional plastic made from fossil raw materials are not new, but the created technology of converting waste from the main hemp production using plant residues of vegetables into "hemp biont" used in 3D printing deserves attention from national companies that operate in the production of biocomposite materials.