Our company specializes in the wholesale import of hemp hurd, thanks to collaborations with the largest European hemp manufacturers. This makes us one of the largest wholesale distributors of hemp hurd in the national territory, ensuring continuous and consistent availability of raw material. We can supply hemp hurd in various granulometries, from fine to coarse, in both small and industrial quantities.
The building materials that can be made using hemp are numerous: hemp blocks, plasters, stuccos, screeds, mortars, paints, insulation panels, and various derivative products. However, the most important aspect in the context of the circular economy is that these building materials are fully recyclable and biodegradable at the end of their life cycle. In fact, when a building is demolished, the hemp blocks can be calcined in a furnace to produce lime again, or crushed and mixed with new lime or mortar with the same ingredients to create new materials, or crushed and used as an amendment for acidic or arid-saline soils.
Hemp is an annual herbaceous plant with a life cycle ranging from 3 to 10 months. The stem, erect with branching and a hexagonal structure, consists of:
- An outer bark of green color
- A core made of fibers
- A vascular tissue called hemp hurd, which is white and very light
The fibers, gathered in cords of various sizes, interweave around the central axis, forming a rather dense network that represents 30% of the stem. The fibers are about 82% cellulose and 6% lignin.
The hemp hurd represents 70% of the stem and is made up of about 77% cellulose and about 19% lignin.
The thicker the plant, the more coarse and robust the fiber becomes.
Hemp is a very adaptable crop that can be grown in various conditions: it prefers loamy soils, preferably not too clayey and/or silty. Weed control is not necessary because hemp’s rapid growth allows it to quickly compete for light and water with weeds, which are usually overpowered. It does not require special fertilization and is quite drought-resistant.
HEMP IN CONSTRUCTION
The rediscovery of hemp occurred in the early 1980s in France and later spread throughout Europe due to the need to intervene on historical medieval buildings made of straw and mud, especially those damaged by World War II.
Portland cement, while providing structural reinforcement, did not allow the wall to breathe.
A material was needed to preserve the vapor permeability of the existing wall while also improving its insulation. Thus, the hemp-lime mixture was developed.
In 1998, Assocanapa was founded in Italy, an association that promotes hemp cultivation and assists businesses that grow it.
HEMP HURD
As previously mentioned, hemp hurd is the woody part of the hemp plant, resulting from the processing of the stem. The fibers (bark) are removed through mechanical separation, and the woody part is shredded into small pieces and refined by removing fiber and dust residues. The color ranges from light green to off-white.
Today, the production chain for technical fiber and hemp hurd for construction has differentiated itself from textile fiber production.
- For technical fiber production, water retting is not required (unlike for textile fibers).
- From the bales, the product is fed into specific machinery where successive beaters separate the hemp hurd from the technical fiber.
- The hemp hurd is then sifted into various sizes, dusted, and finally packaged in compressed 20 kg bags (approximately 200 liters), Big Bags, or delivered loose.