There is a growing environmental concern to find sources of renewable energy and move away from using fossil-based nonrenewable energy. Biodiesel is one such product that has been at the center of many debates as to whether or not it could replace petrol and diesel as a renewable source of energy that does not contribute to further destruction of the environment but is also viable to produce and use. Hemp oil has many advantages over petro oil, and could, therefore, be a good candidate for use as a biodiesel.
Hemp oil is organic, edible oil obtained from the seed of hemp (cannabis). This oil is known to have the highest percentage of fatty acids among all vegetable oils.
Petro oil is a natural extract of liquid from beneath the Earth's surface. This is obtained through oil drilling. It is highly flammable, so it needs to be stored with utmost care. Petro oil could be called "the mother of all commodities" because it is used almost universally in the manufacturing of items.
The flash point of hemp oil is very high at 300 degrees, while petrol has a flash point of only 125 degrees. This makes the hemp oil safer to store, as it will not burn or explode if it comes in direct contact with fire. Hemp oil is about four times more biodegradable than petroleum. Within the short span of just one month, hemp oil degrades up to 88 percent in water.
Hemp oil lowers carbon monoxide emissions. Burning fossil fuels generate carbon monoxide, which pollutes the environment and harms the Earth's protective ozone layer. Hemp oil fuels emit 50 percent less carbon monoxide than their petrol counterpart and eliminate emissions of sulfur which otherwise would condense in the atmosphere to cause acid rain. Hemp oil practically eliminates all emissions of sulfur.
Hemp oil as biodiesel is nontoxic to humans and life in general whether ingested or poured over skin or into water. This means lower health risks to humans and other life forms, especially in terms of cancerous compounds, which are usually a byproduct of burning petro oils.
Using hemp oil would reduce the emission of hydrocarbons by as much as 93 percent. The emission of hydrocarbons is one of the major factors that cause smog and ozone depletion. Hemp oil combustion (when used as fuel) produces extremely low levels, if any, of pollutants, which are harmful to the protective ozone layer over the Earth.
The disadvantage of hemp crops is that these are presently not really viable to make the most cost-efficient and fuel-efficient vehicle. This oil has a very short shelf life and, therefore, needs to be refrigerated or completely frozen to extend its life span. And, consumption of the hemp oil in any form can cause drug tests to come back positive, as it contains THC.
There are many advantages that petro oil offers. Among these, the most important is that it has a high energy density and therefore is suited best to heat-engine-powered vehicles. There are lesser known benefits of petro oil as well. It can be stored easily and is an important source of organic molecules that go into manufacturing plastic, fiber, rubber and even medicines. It also works well as a lubricant because it can withstand high degrees of heat without breaking down. Petro oil still has the lowest cost as an energy source. It is less harmful than coal mining when it comes to the carbon footprint it creates. Petro oil refining results in the production of elemental sulfur, which is required in a number of industrial applications.
For all the advantages, petro oil comes with a few serious disadvantages as well. It's a limited resource that is being depleted too fast. Some estimates calculate that the present resources are enough to last about 50 to150 years, at best. Its use releases more than its weight in CO2, which is a greenhouse gas -- one of the foremost causes for global warming. Transporting oil is hazardous to the environment, due to accidental spillage of oil tankers. Petro oil contains many cancer-causing compounds (for example, benzene). The sulfur byproduct in the petro oil is one of the prime factors of air pollution.
Hemp oil is easily the winner here because human beings' prime concern at present is the preservation of environment -- though, at the time of publication, hemp oil is costlier to produce and more difficult to apply to all the machinery that already uses petro oil. Secondly, because petro oil is a nonrenewable resource, it makes sense to seek and use some other type of oil that is renewable and can take its place with the least inconvenience.
