24 private sector institutions, 5 Universities, TÜBİTAK MAM and 4 Technology Transfer Offices came together at Entertech Istanbul Teknokent on Friday, September 15, 2023 for a single purpose. The purpose of the meeting was defined as developing a value supply chain and project in order to acquire the knowledge, technology and infrastructure that focuses on hemp and to use it as a sustainable raw material, and to create an environment for investment.
Turkey is suitable for hemp cultivation due to both its climate and soil characteristics. Under today's conditions, hemp cultivation permits are applied to 19 cities. Works are continuing also for the announcement of new cities.
According to industry reports, the area planted with hemp seeds in the entire world already exceeded 28000 hectares in 2022. However, until today, no significant progress has been made in Turkey in growing hemp on a regular basis and turning it into product. The prevalence of the keyword hemp into national policy discussions following 2019 served as a catalyst for the process to progress a little more positively. Accordingly, cultivation areas and productization efforts have increased. However, this strong effect has not last longer and apart from some individual efforts, holistic investments have not yet come into existence. The signing of the Paris climate agreement, Turkey's approval of this deal and its legislation, and the greater pressure of the European Green Deal which have given rise to the theme of sustainability and related terms. Sustainable raw materials have rapidly come to the fore in this context. As a consequence, hemp is again becoming a popular raw material and is being discussed for different sectors.
Although hemp is publicly known as a textile raw material, it can be used to develop value-added and sustainable products in many sectors. In this context;
1.Polymer: Production of biopolymers from food-inclusive products is becoming more challenging day by day. In this period, when access to food is limited and scarcity are on push, polymer production, especially from sources such as corn, does not seem sustainable and alternative sources are being sought. Hemp, whose cultivation is pretty sustainable, has the feature of being an alternative to food products. The density of the cellulose which contained is an advantage in this sense. The use of biodegradable PLA polymer obtained from hemp fiber in different sectors is becoming increasingly common. Alternative end-use areas come to the fore, from packaging to textiles, and from kitchenware to electronics.
2. Structural Composites: The use of natural cellulosic resources for the production of composite materials is seen as an urgent demand. Intermediates obtained from different parts of hemp fiber possess propoerties which are applicable to the usage in composite production.
3.Advanced Composite Materials: There is a need for lightweight materials in sectors such as automotive, air, aerospace industry and defense industry. Hemp and flax fiber, together with PP matrices, act as raw materials in the production of these composite materials. In these products, where the fiber length and quality of hemp are major considerations, accessing raw materials of this quality in a sustainable manner constitutes the biggest bottleneck. It is of critical importance to encourage more hemp cultivation for material, which is a developing sector in Turkey.
4. Food Supplements: It is a rapidly developing sector all over the world and its product diversity is increasing. Hemp oil and its derivative products are owning great potential for this field. Different products can be developed with the raw materials obtained from hemp leaves and seeds.
5.Cosmetics: Like food supplements, a sector whose market is rapidly widening. The reflection of the positive effect of hemp oil, especially on the skin, in cosmetic products and its combination with different mixtures to become a product which can create significant added value. At this point, hemp seeds and leaves are the major focus.
6.Health Products: There is an opportunity to conduct works on R&D capability for CBD, which features raw material properties for the pharmaceutical industry. CBD, which can be used legally in many parts of the globe, does not yet feature non-restricted mobility for our country. However, R&D studies are being carried out on the subject.
7.Other: Apart from these 6 basic value-added areas; paper, pellets and construction are also amongst the potential usage areas. These sectors (pellet-construction), where the waste accumulated from hemp agriculture is being considered, are important for reducing the carbon footprint of hemp and supporting green energy-building concepts.
These sectors are areas that are already known and where the efforts for product development works are on the way.
24 private sector institutions, 5 Universities, TÜBİTAK MAM Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Research Group and 4 Technology Transfer Offices have come together in order to propose a model to produce more added value goods from the products listed above, to establish a supply chain, to encourage farmers for hemp agriculture, to ensure the continuity of agriculture and to comply with the legal legislations regarding hemp.
These 34 institutions and organizations and more than 80 researchers, whom have come together to apply for the TUBITAK SAYEM 1801 call to develop value-added products from hemp, focused specifically on the following products.
1.The development of PLA polymer and its use in conventional textiles, carpet, non-woven surface, technical textiles, electronics, defense industry and automotive sectors will be one of the important outputs. This expectation necessitates the production of a modified PLA with enhanced properties. One of the most important goals of the consortium will be to develop this PLA as an environmentally friendly from non-food sources and to modify it in line with the purpose as well. For example, PLA polymer will be converted into yarn for textiles, woven and knitted fabrics will be designed from this yarn and denim and non-denim clothing will be produced. Therefore, synthetic yarn, whose raw material is hemp, and natural yarn, whose source is hemp, will meet in a garment for the first time. The use of hemp as a non-woven surface in different sectors will be a very innovative output. Or, PLA obtained from hemp will create original value in the electronics industry as a television component or automotive spare part.
2. The possibilities of using hemp fiber and waste as composite raw materials for the automotive industry will be taken into research.
3. Hemp oil and hydrosols will be transformed into added value in the production of various industrial chemicals; to obtain food supplements, and in the cosmetics industry and medical textiles field. The active ingredient, which will be obtained from hemp seeds and leaves by applying various methods, will be used to produce industrial chemicals to obtain food supplements, and to develop cosmetics industry and medical textiles. Processing and softening the fabrics we use as garment with hemp-based softeners will be innovative and environmentally friendly. Using the healing properties of hemp in the cosmetics industry will create significant added value.
4.The waste materials generated while developing hemp oil will be exploited as raw materials to obtain vegan milk.
5. Wound dressings that can be used in the medical textile industry will be developed by using PLA biopolymer obtained from hemp and hemp oil recipes.
Dozens of end products to be developed under these 4 items will bring a new perspective to the relevant sectors and results in different motivation for hemp. Our country demand both this motivation and hemp cultivation on larger areas. The most important factor that will increase the motivation of farmers in planting hemp will be the guarantee where the product can turn into added value quickly and smoothly. This consortium will hold an important position as a supplier for farmers with the added value it exploited. There are companies of various sizes and scales run within the consortium. The growth of the start-ups it owns and the creation of new spin-offs by large companies will be an important output for the country's entrepreneurship ecosystem. The presence of TÜBİTAM MAM Circular Economy and Resource Efficiency Research Group in the consortium will be important for measuring and monitoring sustainability targets. The consortium, which brings together 10 different projects under one roof for the TÜBİTAK SAYEM 1801 Green Transformation of Industry, is getting ready for the process under the moderation of Prof. Dr. Onur Balcı and Prof. Dr. Cem Güneşoğlu. This consortium, composed entirely of national capital owned companies and local researchers, will develop products with the value chain obtained from domestic hemp, and will present them to the market as an output, will form brands and will conduct export. All parts of hemp, from its fiber to its seed and waste, will turn into a product. This will be a great advantage for the carbon footprint and life cycles of the products which are in development. Therefore, the project will also serve our country's carbon neutral production strategy and the compliance with the European Green Deal.
