The growing demand for cannabidiol (CBD) products has led to an increase in hemp production, as well as an increase in biomass byproducts from the CBD extraction process. While these byproducts are often treated as waste, researchers are exploring ways to leverage the new abundance of biological raw materials in a variety of applications. At Virginia Tech, researchers are currently conducting research centered around the hemp byproduct pectin as a potential modifier to strengthen materials like plywood and composite lumber.
Pectin, a substance found in the cell walls of most plants, is often used in food such as jellies and jams because it tends to form a gel that does not flow, said undergraduate researcher Emilie Kohler of the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech. Kohler and fellow researchers have been working to isolate pectin from hemp and better understand its flow properties. The team is interested in discovering if the pectin produced during ethanol extraction of CBD from hemp flower could be used as a modifier in wood adhesives.
“Pectin can be categorized as high methoxyl or low methoxyl pectin. Higher methoxyl pectin is used in jellies or jams because the sugar content allows it to gel. Lower methoxyl pectin, like those found in hemp, tend to gel with calcium ions, which are more common in adhesives,” Kohler said.
Chip Frazier, the director of the Wood-Based Composites Center at Virginia Tech and the Thomas M. Brooks Professor of Sustainable Biomaterials, noted that waste from CBD production offers an extremely low-cost source of raw materials. He added that the behavior of the unusually-structured polygalacturonic acids produced by pectin are being studied for their behavior in wood products.
Although the research has not yet been completed, the researchers say the hemp pectin shows promise as a sustainable modifying agent.
Photo: Emilie Kohler holds a flask of extractives from hemp. Credit: Krista Timney