CHARLESTON, Ill. — Fasteners, composites, plastics and biofuel — all made with industrial hemp fiber — will come under the spotlight at Eastern Illinois University this year.
EIU’s School of Technology was awarded a $48,000 research grant by the Lumpkin Family Foundation last December with the aim of understanding how industrial hemp fiber could fit into a row crop commodity rotation.
Adding industrial hemp fiber as a rotational commodity could increase on-farm production diversity and provide an additional income stream for farmers.
Related processing and manufacturing could be placed in rural communities and provide opportunities for job creation, vocational training and internships through the state’s community college network and state universities such as EIU.
EIU is partnered with Mississippi Fiberworks, an Illinois company participating in the development of an American hemp fiber industry.
“The research will focus on three main areas: production, processing and value-added products,” said Isaac Slaven, EIU School of Technology faculty member, who is heading up the research.
“Within production, we want to better understand not just how to cultivate productively, but also how industrial fiber hemp affects water quality and soil health. Within processing, we will look at new ways to economically process the crop into more marketable components.”
Apart from finding which products can be made from Illinois-grown industrial hemp fiber, Slaven’s research also will dig into ways hemp fiber can add value to recycled or repurposed material and how industrial hemp can be used for sustainable energy production.
“This crop can be useful in so many ways. We do not believe that we have yet scratched the surface of what could be possible if industry and agriculture work together to create a fiber industry in Illinois,” Slaven said.
His views are echoed by Lance Larsen and Joanna Marxmann of Mississippi Fiberworks.
“Illinois is in the top five agricultural states. With poor commodity prices, it makes sense that industry and agriculture should be partners in building out the industry in Illinois,” they said in a statement. “We believe that this research could show the pathways to establish industrial hemp fiber as a rotational commodity in Illinois.”
Slaven’s research team includes Barbara Carlsward, an EIU Department of Biological Sciences faculty member; Steven Wright, EIU School of Technology faculty member; and Avani Flanagan, EIU School of Technology student.