Opportunities of Bamboo for Industrial Processes

Bamboo as resource for industrial raw material has many opportunities: It contains a 40 percent cellulose, with a fibre length of 3 to 4 mm, more than wood. This can be used as pulp in the paper industry or as cellulose. The fibres also can be used for fibreboard or for furniture parts. Bamboo splints (parts of say 50 mm long and 5 mm thickness) can be mixed with glue and pressed into any mould, to compete with plastic parts for furniture etc. It can act for carbon sequestration, provided it is being used for long term purposes. It can be used as a resource for energy, as charcoal, as firewood or on industrial scale. It provides job creation in developing countries, combined with industrial processing in developed countries. If bamboo could play a role in temperate climates like in Europe, remains a difficult question; presumably local species like willow or miscanthus are more competitive. Conclusion: bamboo can play a more important role a resource for raw material than nowadays.