Preikss I., Skujans J., Adamovics A., Iljins U., 2013, Evaluation of Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) Quality Parameters for Building Material from Foam Gypsum Products, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 32, 1639-1644.
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an agricultural crop that can be used as a building material in combination with foam gypsum. The hemp varieties were sown in the sod calcareous soils of Latvia. Complex fertilizer was added before sowing N – nitrogen fertilizer rates – N-0 control, N-60, and N-150 kg·ha-1. Average dry matter (DM) yield for the hemp variety was from 9.1 to 11.5 t·ha-1, shive total was from 7.4 to 11.6 t·ha-1 which is a good result and is dependent on the amount of N supplementary fertilizer applied. The nitrogen fertilizer rate increase from N0 to N150 kg ha-1 provided a significant (p<0.05) increase in DM for both varieties of hemp. Nitrogen fertilizer rates had a positive significant effect on the shives content of the hemp varieties. A composite building material, that consists of foam gypsum as a binder for hemp shives or woody core of hemp stalk with a volume density 400 – 450 kg m-3 has a successful application as sound and heat insulation materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) as a building material resource.
