Uses of Bamboo

USES OF BAMBOO AND PROSPECTS Bamboo Shoots:Constituents:
2.4 % of protein, 17 sorts of amino acids, low in fat, high edible fiber and rich in mineral elements.
The amino acid content of Lys., Glu and Arg, etc. in bamboo shoot is much higher than that of common vegetables.
Lys of amino acid called as ‘one limited amino acid’ beneficial for child’s growth and development, present in bamboo shoot is lack in rice, flour and corn.
The total sugar content is 2.5%, fat is 0.05% and edible fiber length is 0.65~1.2%
There are over 10 kinds of mineral elements in bamboo shoots such as Cr, Zn, Mn, Mg, Ni, Co, Cu, etc.
Bamboo shoot contains element of selenium, which is called “Miracle Life Element”.
Bamboo shoot has also element of germaclinium, which is reported to be able to activate human cell.


Consumption and preservation: Bamboo shoot can be eaten fresh after boiling. Shoot of some species can be eaten raw also. However, bamboo shoot is seasonal and so preservation is necessary for storage. There are many methods of preservation both cottage industrial size and large industrial set up.

Market potential: Bamboo shoot has a huge potential for market. Take for an example – export of bamboo shoot from Thailand in 1994 is 29.50 million USDollar and from P.R.China in 1998 is 540.00 million USDollar. Japan has a steady market of 250 t/months, Australia imports 6,000 ~ 12,000 tons of can shoots annually and Japan imports 130,000 tons of canned shoots annually.
Shoots of Mizoram bamboo are edible: The shoots of most of the bamboo species in Mizoram are edible and are consumed locally but without any preservation facilities. Most common species are m. baciferra (mau tak), d. hamiltonii (phulrua), b. tulda (rawnal) and d. longispathus (rawthing).


Bamboo for Construction Material:
Traditionally material for building: Bamboo has been extensive used in many places for construction materials like for the elements of structure, roof, walls, floors etc. of a building. This is due to its special strength.
Choice for scaffolds and supports: Due to its high strength, bamboo is extensive used for scaffolds and supports in construction of permanent structures in different parts of the world.
Future material for building construction: With the improvement of technology in bamboo housing construction like the structural system, joints, treatments etc. bamboo can be used for building materials at a price cheaper than other materials but stronger in the structure. Building with bamboo in Costa Rica withstood earthquake which buildings with other materials were unable to. Recently held International Bamboo Housing Workshop in 2001 at Aizawl, Mizoram, India is also an important step in this aspect. Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute, Bangalore has developed bamboo mat roofing materials. Bamboo Development Agency – Mizoram is also developing bamboo concrete technology for building. Hence, bamboo is a future material for building construction.
Bamboo for road construction: Bamboo has been used for road reinforcements in Orissa, India which has proved its credibility.
Bamboo for check dams: Bamboo has been used for construction of check dams in rivers and for retaining walls in Latin America and South America.
Bamboo for Timber Substitute:
Timber getting scarce: As the forest reserve is depleting globally and with the concern of environment growing, timber are getting scarce day by day. This is due to long period of time taken by even soft- wood to attain maturity. So, a substitute, or if that is not possible an alternative has to be found. Bamboo is the answer for this.
Bamboo Boards: After processing split bamboo with machines and glue, bamboo board can be produced which can be used for almost all purposes where timber are now used.
Bamboo Mat boards: Bamboo sliced into slivers and woven, are hot pressed to produce bamboo mat board, which is superior to plywood in strength and life period.
Bamboo Ply boards: Bamboo mats and slivers are hot pressed to produce bamboo ply board. Bamboo ply board is very strong and as it can be made water resistant, it has applications for construction boards etc.
Bamboo strip boards:
Round bamboo is made flattened either by using special techniques or by applying heat, which is then hot pressed with glue. Bamboo strip boards are used for floors of truck body, railway carriages and container. Unbroken breadth larger than available timber can be achieved with bamboo strip board.

Bamboo corrugated mat roofing sheets: IPIRTI, Bangalore, India has developed bamboo corrugated mat roofing sheet that can be used for roof.
Bamboo particle boards: Bamboo particle boards, which is bamboo in combination with other cementing materials are also developed.


Bamboo Charcoal and Vinegar:
Composition: Composition of bamboo charcoal is Carbon - 44.40 %, Hydrogen - 5.17 %, Oxygen - 43.00 % and Others - 7.43 %.

Uses of Bamboo charcoal: Bamboo charcoal application includes environment protection, food industry, pharmaceutical industry, chemical industry, metallurgical industry, ordnance industry, hi-tech as a new material etc.
Activated Bamboo charcoal: Ordinary bamboo charcoal is processed again Activation stove with steam at high temperature above 8000 C to produce activated charcoal.
Advantages:-
Surface areas of Pores of bamboo charcoal is 500 M2 per 1 M3 whereas wood charcoal has only 250 M2 per 1 M3.
Ability of cleaning water of bamboo charcoal is three times more than wood charcoal.
Mechanical properties of bamboo charcoal are better than wood charcoal
Bamboo charcoal emits long wave ray, which is good for health.
Bamboo charcoal is found to be able to absorb radiation like nuclear radiation.
it is experimented that the absorbing value of bamboo active carbon is quite good, iodine value reaching to 1160mg/g, decolorizing ability getting to 250 mg/g.
Efficiency: Output efficiency is 20 % i.e. 100 kg of raw bamboo can produce 20 kgs of bamboo charcoal.
Bamboo Vinegar: Bamboo Vinegar is the bye-products of bamboo charcoal production. The steam coming out from bamboo charcoal production is condensed to produce bamboo vinegar. Bamboo vinegar oil is used for organic fertilizer, preservative medium and for relief of paints etc.

Market potential:
For filtration of water and disposal of waste, it is estimated that United States of America is using 70,000 tons per year and Japan is using 50,000 tons per year.
20,000 ~ 40,000 tons of active carbon is needed in China for sugar refineries.
30 million people drink low-quality water and 70 million people drink bacteria infected water in China.
Bamboo for Daily Uses:
Versatile uses of bamboo: Bamboo has found its place in many items of daily uses which may differ from place o places.
Bamboo toothpicks: Due to its high tensile strength, bamboo is ideal for toothpick, which is used by millions of people around the globe.
Bamboo incense (agarbati) sticks: Millions of Buddhists, Hindus etc. use incense stick and bamboo has been extensive used for this item.

Other products from bamboo:
Various items of daily uses like chop sticks for Chinese and Japanese and their descendants, ash trays, spoons, flower vases, containers, baskets, mats, frames, furniture etc. are made from bamboo.

Bamboo for Handicrafts:
Manual more acceptable to human: Industrial Revolution results mass and uniform production, but with further development of human being, the desire for human touch comes back to developed beings. So, handicrafts are choice of the new millenium by the affluent.
Choice of materials for handicrafts: Due to its high texture, properties, high tensile strength, easy splitting possibility, and other characteristics, bamboo is a good choice of material for handicrafts.
Bamboo Handicrafts:
There are numerous designs and varieties of handicrafts made out of bamboo. Zhejiang province of PR China alone has more than 3,000 varieties of bamboo handicrafts, India is rich in bamboo handicrafts and Philippines is famous for its bamboo handicrafts


Bamboo for Pulp in paper industry:
Main raw material for paper pulp: Bamboo has been the main material for pulp in paper industries. It is still the main material and will continue so due to its short growth cycle, large biomass production and rapid vegetative multiplication.
Forest area getting less: With the increase in global population, the area for forest, even for deciduous and secondary species of timber are getting less and less and the land value spiraling up, bamboo is the choice for paper pulp.
Paper consumption increasing: The increase of population together with the literacy growing worldwide, the need and consumption of paper is increasing. This results in the necessity of producing more quantity of paper and increase in consumption of paper pulp.


Bamboo for Other
Bamboo beers: China produces beers from bamboo, which is tasty and quite acceptable for consumption.
Medicines from bamboo extracts: Certain medicines have been produced from bamboo extracts. With research going on in this field, it has bright future prospects.
Perfumes from bamboo: Perfumes from extracts of bamboo have been developed and with more research on this field in the development, the prospect is promising.

for more information you can contact:
http://www.inbar.int
National Mission on Bamboo Application
http://bambootech.org
Processing and related Doubts:
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Bamboo Processing and Products

Bamboo is just grass, but it varies in height from dwarf, one foot (30 cm) plants to giant timber bamboos that can grow to over 100 feet (30 m). It grows in many different climates, from jungles to high on mountainsides. Bamboos are further classified by the types of roots they have. Some, called runners, spread exuberantly, and others are classified as clumpers, which slowly expand from the original planting. There are also varieties of root systems that are a mixture of these types. Generally, the tropical bamboos tend to be clumpers and the temperate bamboos tend to be runners.
Bamboo is both decorative and useful. In many parts of the world it is food, fodder, the primary construction material and is used for making great variety of useful objects from kitchen tools, to paper to dinnerware.

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