Chapter 5

Applications of Bamboo

Abstract The general applications of bamboo, in recent years, cuts across the
fields of engineering, as well as non-engineering fields. This chapter offers a
thorough review of some traditional and non-traditional uses of bamboo to
demonstrate that it is indeed a multipurpose plant. For many centuries, it has been
primarily the construction industry that has benefited from using bamboo. In recent
times, however, the trend has evolved to one in which other fields such as the
textile, pulp and paper, medical, arts and design, aerospace, and food and beverage
industries are researching and utilising all facets of the bamboo plant. Its wide-
spread use has led to many research opportunities and projects that are critically
investigating all properties and extractives useful and applicable to even more
recently emerging fields, such as nanotechnology. The review shows that all parts
of the bamboo plant can be harnessed and utilised. The economic importance of this
plant to most developing countries in Africa, Asia, and South America will continue
to grow.

5.1 Introduction

Bamboo is one of the oldest structural material used by humankind (Latif and Liese
1995). It has been used widely for household products and extended to industrial
applications due to technological advancement, resulting in increased market
demand for it as a raw material and for its products For many centuries, bamboo
culms have been used for constructing all kinds of structures and structural com-
ponents, such as houses, shelters, boards, roof trusses, wall cladding, pillars, col-
umns, tools, skyscraper scaffolding, furniture, flooring, ceilings, walls, windows,
doors, fences, rafters, and purlins. It can also be used for soil stabilisation, reha-
bilitation of degraded lands, medicine, handicrafts, biomass, fuel, food (the shoots),
water transportation facilities, paper and pulp, and many other uses (Van der Lugt
et al. 2005; Yu et al. 2011). Bamboo is also used for household utilities such as
containers, chopsticks, woven mats, fishing poles, cricket boxes, handicrafts, and
chairs. The culms are used as load-bearing elements in construction, such as in

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 179

E.T. Akinlabi et al., Bamboo, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-56808-9_5
180 5 Applications of Bamboo

Table 5.1 Some categorised uses of bamboo (Gielis 2002)

Use of bamboo as plant Use of bamboo as material
Agro-forestry Chemical industries
Natural stands Biochemical products
Plantations Pharmaceutical industry
Mixed agro-forestry systems
Ecology Energy
Stabilising the soil Charcoal
Uses on marginal land Gasification
Hedges and screens
Minimal land use
Ornamental horticulture Local industries
Arts
Furniture
Kitchen utensils
Houses
Nutritional industries
Young shoots for human consumption
Fodder
Wood and paper industries
Strand boards
Medium-density fibreboard
Laminated lumber, paper, rayon, and
parquet

roofs for housing, trusses, bridges, and towers. Table 5.1 provides a summary of
diversified bamboo utilisation. However, bamboo culm is a vulnerable material and
needs to be treated before it is used for any engineering works, and proper treatment
can prolong its life span for years. The use of the whole bamboo culm for con-
struction requires appropriate design techniques and some level of skill to bind the
round culms together (Janssen 2000; Minke 2012). The handicraft industry has
developed well in some countries where bamboo resources are available. The
countries in Asia and Africa include China, India, Brasil, and Colombia, as well as
Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Japan, while many others also make use of this
resource profitably.
From Table 5.1, it can be seen that bamboo can be used in a variety of appli-
cations in the engineering and non-engineering fields.

5.2 Engineering Applications

The engineering applications of bamboo, as a base material in the production and

manufacturing industries, rely basically on its mechanical properties. Bamboo, as a
material, plays a significant role in manufacturing and designing works. It’s
mechanical and physical properties qualify it as a suitable alternative material for
5.2 Engineering Applications 181

use in the building, construction, automobile, aerospace, art and design, food and
beverage, textile and garment, and pulp and paper industries. Bamboo, for centuries
past, was referred to as a poor man’s material in localities where it is available,
especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin and South America. However, in recent years,
bamboo has seen a dramatic growth in applications for structures and many other
products that are eco-friendly and renewable (Janssen 2000). Bamboo’s
multi-functional properties prove to be excellent and make it a sustainable natural
resource material for engineering works (Naxium 2001).
The engineering applications of bamboo can be categorised into two groups,
ranging from domestic to industrial applications. It also finds applications in
handicraft and architecture products made manually through processing relatively
small volumes of bamboo. The industrial processing of bamboo products involves
semi-mechanized and mechanised processing of large quantities of bamboo culms
into the required dimensions and applications. A variety of engineered products is
manufactured from bamboo, with premium bamboo parts including high-value
products such as floor tiles, furniture, toys, plates, cups, bowls, blinds, mats, musical
instrument, weapons, chopsticks, and trays. Its applications also include wide use in
the field of electronics, i.e. for the production of electronic frames or cases for
electronic gadgets. For example, bamboo has been used to produce case or frames
for USB pen drives, laptops, radios, televisions, phones, remote controls, mouses,
keyboards, and watches. Additionally, it is utilised in the production of paper,
charcoal, chipboard, laminate and fibre composite, and so forth. Bamboo products
have an excellent advantage in load-carrying components, where its mechanical
properties, such as compressive strength, modulus of elasticity, and many others are
essential to support structures. Bamboo’s application is very common in areas where
load applications are needed. Other products derived from bamboo include veneers,
panel boards, decorative articles, household appliances, and other building materials.
The traditional applications of bamboo for centuries has been, and still are, for
walling, fencing, water pipes, fishing rods, musical instruments, roofing, temporary
structures, mats, baskets, and others. In most rural farming areas where bamboo is
available, its typical applications include temporary housing, temporary interior and
exterior decorations, roofing of buildings, antenna poles, scaffolding in construction
sites, and as a beam support in construction sites. Some engineering applications of
bamboo culms are further described in detail in the following sections.

5.3 Bamboo in Construction

The bamboo culm is a dynamic material and a suitable alternative to wood in the
construction industry because it possesses several economic and ecological
advantages. The mechanical properties associated with bamboo increase with the
thickness of the fibre walls, making it an alternative to wood for the construction
industry. The mechanical properties of bamboo culms make them an appropriate
choice for load–bearing structures. There are several uses of bamboo in the
182 5 Applications of Bamboo

construction sector such as for bridges, scaffolding, boats, houses, walls, parts of
wind-turbine blades, truck bodies, bicycles, furniture, tricycles, and panels (Sharma
2014; Amada and Untao 2001; Lobovikov et al. 2007). In the construction industry,
bamboo culms and bamboo-based products are mostly utilised for load-bearing but
also non-load-bearing applications. The vulnerable nature of bamboo requires that
the bamboo and its products be treated very well with preservatives, for safety
reasons and also to enhance its life span. When bamboo culms are utilised indoors,
the safety procedures are less significant. However, it is imperative to protect the
material with chemicals as a preservative against mould, mildew, fungus growth
and destructive insects, at least in the tropical and subtropical countries, when it is
used for interior design, furniture, flooring, etc.

5.3.1 Bamboo for Housing

The long tradition of using bamboo for building has spanned diverse cultures and
traditions, among people of various geographical areas across the globe where this
resource is distributed. While t is an economical material for the construction of
houses, temporary shelters, scaffolding, and in many other applications, bamboo
usage for construction works has mostly been in rural communities of developing
countries. In these societies, most of the buildings are designed and constructed
based on the the traditions of the rural dwellers applying their skills and methods.
The methods and tools used in these constructions are very simple and straight-
forward, as they can be utilised by the skilled and the unskilled worker.
Some general uses of bamboo in domestic works include school buildings,
market shelters, the construction of restaurants, reinforcement in concrete for
buildings, and scaffolding in communities where it is available. Bamboo is an
excellent construction material for building houses in disaster-prone areas due to its
potential to survive seismic events. As a lightweight and elastic material, it has a
high potential to resist earthquake shocks (Tistl and Velásquezgil 2001). Also, tt
possesses excellent insulation properties because it is hollow in nature.
The culm is utilised for both small houses and larger buildings, such as garages,
sheds, protected yards, canopies, smaller, and larger industrial structures. It is also
utilised for making short- and long-span bridges as an original load-bearing
material. Bamboo culms are treated very well with chemicals and proper protection
against fungi and insects, as well as rain. This treatment is known as post-harvest
treatment. The use of bamboo for structural works is not limited to the bamboo
culm alone. It also has an extensive range of applications, which involves use as an
entirely raw material that is then transformed into engineered products.
Bamboo-engineered products can be an alternative material in the fields where
wood-engineered products are being utilised, such as various constructions and
building works. The use of engineered bamboo products has recently expanded into
the construction industries where structural engineers are utilising it effectively for
their works. The fast development of various types of bamboo products in the
5.3 Bamboo in Construction 183

engineering industry, as well as the manufacturing sector, has now led to additional
competition with wood products, especially in areas where wood resources are
limited and bamboo is available for the construction of buildings.

5.3.2 Bamboo for Walls

Bamboo has in recent years been adopted thoroughly in the construction and
building industry, as well as for walls and partitioning. Bamboo is light in weight,
so bamboo walls and partitions can be erected with fewer people, both skilled and
unskilled. Bamboo is used for primary elements such as columns and beams, and
generally as part of the structural framework. It can carry the intrinsic weight of the
building and the loads imposed by the occupants, as well as stresses arising from
the weather. An infill between the framing members is required to complete the
wall. The purpose of the infill is to protect the culms against rain, wind, and
animals, to give privacy, and to provide in-plane bracing to ensure the stability of
the general structure when subjected to horizontal forces. Bamboo used for walls
can be prepared or handled using various methods such as:
• The whole bamboo culm is halved or stripped.
• The split bamboo culm is woven into columns or mats and fastened together,
after which mud is applied on both sides of the column to cover the split
bamboos.
• The mud covered panels, depending on the species, are further limed or cement
plastered to achieve a smooth surface finishing of appearance and hygiene.

5.3.3 Bamboo for Flooring

Traditionally bamboo culm is used as a flooring material atop compacted earth, with
or without a covering of bamboo matting. The procedure employed in the instal-
lation of the bamboo floor is to raise the floor material above the ground, allowing
for the creation of a stilt type construction (Sharma et al. 2014). The purpose of this
procedure is to improve comfort in the rooms as well as provide hygienic flooring
to its occupants. However, the exterior part of the earth floor is occasionally made
firm with the application of unpolished bamboo boards manufactured by flattening
the solid bamboo culms into strips. Bamboos utilisation as a floor material includes
the following techniques:
• Small bamboo-culm flooring: Culms of bamboo are nailed together as a unit or
directly bound together using ropes or wires in their production.
• Split-bamboo flooring: This product is produced from the splits of bamboo
culms of several lengths of strips which are bound with the addition of adhesives
184 5 Applications of Bamboo

and then pressed together using an external force after which it is allowed to
cure before its use on the floor of rooms.
• Flattened-bamboo flooring: This type of floor tile is produced by splitting
green bamboo culms, removing the diaphragms from the culms, and rolling and
then flattening them to the required product measurement. The split culms are
made into thin boards that are then put across each other to form beams, which
finally are secured by fastening or tying. It is then partitioned with cement
mortar for hygiene and the comfort of the users.
• Bamboo-mat flooring: This product involves splitting bamboo culms into thin
strips varying in size from 5 to 6 mm or 10 to 15 mm, and with a thickness
ranging 0.6–1.2 mm. These slices are then woven into mats of various sizes, and
hot-press plates are applied to it as a chemical curing process takes place. After
drying the mats to a moisture content of 6–12%, glue or another adhesive
bonding material is then applied to ensure enough bonding between the over-
lapped areas of the mats. The most common adhesives for bonding bamboo
mats include phenolic resins.
• Bamboo plastic flooring: This type of floor tile uses advanced technology in
which bamboo fibre in the raw material state is compounded with plastic as the
core material in the manufacturing process. It possesses high water resistance as
well as high dimensional stability properties when compared to original floor
tiles.
• Laminated bamboo flooring: This type of floor tile is produced by splitting the
culms of the bamboo into thick strips. These strips are then coated with resins,
arranged into units of three or more layers, and then put in a hot press machine
to bind the layers together, after which they are allowed to cure completely. The
final product is then trimmed to the required shape and varnished. The natural
grain of the bamboo structure is clearly visible after varnishing and is very
attractive. This type of floor tile has higher resistant to moisture and pressure and
has a unique appearance, as compared to soft or hard wood. Bamboo possesses a
flexible natural property when used as a flooring material, can last longer than
soft- or hardwood, and is a less-expensive material.

5.3.4 Bamboo for Roofing

The use of bamboo in producing sheet roofing is basically for the purpose of
protecting structures and occupants from the extremes of weather—including rain,
the sun, and the wind—and to provide shelter in a clear and usable space beneath
the coverings. The bamboo culm needs to be robust enough to resist the consid-
erable forces generated by wind on roof coverings. Bamboo culm is ideal as a
roofing material because it is strong, resilient, and lightweight. Most often bamboo
culm used as a structure for roofing is comprised of purlins, rafters, and trusses.
5.3 Bamboo in Construction 185

Fig. 5.1 Corrugated roofing

sheet. Source Guadua
Bamboo (2016)

• The simplest method for roofing consists of a bamboo purlin and beams sup-
ported on perimeter posts. The bamboo culm is split into two halves and then
laid convex side down, edge-to-edge, spanning from the ridge to the eaves. The
second layer of halved culm, laid convex side up, is then laid to cover the joints.
• Corrugated-bamboo roofing sheets are made from several layers of woven mats
of bamboo culm which can be used for roof coverings. The product, woven into
mats, is impregnated with an adhesive resin, dried, and heat pressed together
between two specially-designed corrugated pressing plates to form strong,
reliable sheets of bamboo, which are lightweight (Fig. 5.1). This grooved sheet
of bamboo has excellent insulation properties. The sheets can be produced in a
range of sizes to suit particular requirements and can easily be trimmed for
special applications. These roofing sheets are durable, stable, and resistant to
pest attack, fire, and severe weather.
• Bamboo roofing sheets are an excellent alternative to corrugated metal, plastic,
or asbestos roofing sheets. The products manufactured from the culms have
applications that cut across a wide range of roofing needs for temporary or
permanent structures. Roofing sheets from this product make less noise during
rains and also remain cooler during exposure to the sun, when compared to other
sheet materials. Some advantages of this type of sheet roofing are that it pos-
sesses a pleasing aesthetic appearance, high resistance to fungal and insect
attacks, can be easily worked, and has excellent bonding strength.
• Another usage of bamboo culm for roofing sheeting involves a layer of bitumen
inserted between two woven mats of bamboo to form a semi-rigid panel. The
mats can be formed into beams 200–250 mm from centre to centre, while the
surface is finished with a bituminous or rubberized weatherproof coating.
• This form of roofing sheet, finished with cement coated with or without the
addition of organic fibres, is traditionally applied to bamboo culms that are used
to make a stronger roof covering. Trusses using bamboo culms are made in
various diameters, ranging 40–100 mm.
186 5 Applications of Bamboo

5.3.5 Bamboo for Scaffolding

Bamboo has been adopted as one of the most reliable materials for the construction
of scaffolding, due to its weight in relationship to the load-bearing capacity, irre-
spective of how tall the buildings. In the making of scaffolding, only lashed joints
are used. The vertical and horizontal bamboo culms used for scaffolding are almost
entirely joined using soft lashing. This method of making scaffolding has a sig-
nificant advantage because the joints can be re-tensioned to the desired angle
without any difficulty and also can be released quickly. In Asia and South America,
bamboo scaffolding is even used in the construction of tall buildings.

5.3.6 Bamboo for Interior Work

Bamboo for interior decoration has been used for ages in areas where it is available.
Its applications for decoration ranges from split culms, strips, bamboo-culm panels
processed in a rectangular form, and woven bamboo mats, etc. Bamboo culm has a
unique visual appearance when used for interior decoration and can be distin-
guished from other soft and hard woods and their products. The use of bamboo
culms for interior decoration requires special skills and tools to secure, bind, and
mount the parts together before fixing them to the walls or ceilings. It is used in
ceilings, roofs, and flooring attracts people’s attention and seems to affect their
mood. Currently, bamboo and bamboo products are gaining more popularity in the
interior-decoration industry across the globe, where they are used for flooring,
ceilings, wall cladding, and partitioning, etc.

5.3.7 Bamboo for Furniture

Bamboo used for making furniture consists of diverse shapes. There are two main
types of bamboo furniture making, namely: traditional bamboo furniture which uses
whole bamboo culms as a primary material and prefabricated bamboo products
using advanced laminated bamboo, veneers, and other engineered bamboo panels.
The process whereby the entire bamboo culm is used for manufacturing of furniture
requires some specific skills and techniques. The bamboo culms require specific
cutting and shaping techniques to enable connections of the bamboo furniture parts
(Fig. 5.2).
Some of the methods available include: interlacing with split bamboo, natural
fibres or ropes, bolting, pinning, or using metal connectors. For ages, traditional
bamboo furniture has been produced in areas of its availability by using the natural
round or split culm of the bamboo. The furniture products made from whole or split
5.3 Bamboo in Construction 187

Fig. 5.2 Special cutting and

shapes for bamboo furniture

bamboo culm range from tables, doors, windows, book shelves, window and door
frames, chairs, beds, stools, and kitchen cabinets, among many others (Fig. 5.3).
However, for greater durability and longer life span, they are treated with chemicals
(Dransfield and Wiidjaja 1995; Rubio-Luna 2007).
The application of glue onto bamboo furniture joints is very limited due to the
curvilinear nature of the bamboo, and also because the skin does not allow proper
bonding, even when high-tech gluing systems are applied. When furniture is made
from bamboo culms having their skins intact, painting or spraying is not needed
because it has a hard, smooth, and impermeable surface providing sufficient pro-
tection against dirt and wear. Nevertheless, there is a need for protection against
insects and fungi that attack bamboo and its products. Bamboo has a high sugar and
starch content and, due to this, mould easily develops on its products such as
furniture; this is especially the case on cross sections and inner surfaces when high
relative humidity and elevated temperatures are predominant.
Furniture manufactured from engineered bamboo products have properties and
features similar to those of wood-based furniture. Bamboo furniture of traditional
design may be transported in small flat packs to the spot of assembly that does not
require any sophisticated tools. Like original whole-bamboo furniture, engineered
188 5 Applications of Bamboo

Fig. 5.3 Examples of traditional bamboo furniture

bamboo furniture needs to be preserved and surface treated to prevent damage from
fungi, insects, and daily use (Fig. 5.4). Various kinds of oil, waxes, lacquers, and
paints are used in preserving the surface. The gluing and connecting techniques are
similar or equal to those used for wood-based furniture, with preference given to
certain types of glue. Water or weather-resistant glues are preferred to avoid failure
of glue lines. New designs have overcome many of the problems of traditional
bamboo furniture, including labour-intensive stresses, varying drying quality, and
vulnerability to insects and fungi. Advances in the treatment of culms helps to retain
the distinct physical, mechanical, chemical, and aesthetic features of bamboo, while
5.3 Bamboo in Construction 189

Fig. 5.4 Engineered ply

bamboo

current trends of processing and manufacturing of furniture no longer depend on

artisans but rather on industrial-scale production lines at high-speed and
high-quality levels.

5.3.8 Industrial Bamboo Board

Through the industrial processing of bamboo, almost everything that can be made
from hard or soft wood can also be manufactured with industrial bamboo materials.
The industrial processing of bamboo, in particular, the lamination of bamboo strips
into boards (Plybamboo), is mostly applied in flooring, furniture board, and
veneers. Moreover, board materials can also be produced from woven bamboo
mats. Plybamboo is another type of product produced from bamboo industrially and
is available in various colours and sizes. Over the past few years, many innovations
in the field of production technology have led to the development of new industrial
bamboo materials with various different properties and potentials, such as bamboo
mat board (BMB), bamboo particle board (BPB), and many others, to briefly cite
the various experiments into bamboo composites. BMB is made from thin bamboo
strips or slivers woven into mats to which resin is then applied and pressed together
under high pressure and high temperature, which makes the mats into extremely
hard boards, which can be put into moulds and processed into corrugated boards.
• Strand Woven Bamboo (SWB): A relatively new bamboo material is made
from thin and rough bamboo strips that are glued under high pressure in moulds
and formed into beams. Strand bamboo is used mostly for indoor and outdoor
decorations, with a high hardness (2800 lbf) and density (1080 kg/m3) due to
the compressed bamboo strips used in combination with a high resin content. An
interesting feature of SWB is that there are no high requirements for input strips,
which means that, unlike the production of Plybamboo, a large part of the
resource can be used, thereby utilising the high biomass production of bamboo
190 5 Applications of Bamboo

to the maximum. Due to the compression and the addition of resin, SWB has a
very high density (approximately 1080 kg/m3) and hardness that makes it a
material suitable for use in demanding applications (e.g. staircases in department
stores). Recently, a new higher resin-content version of SWB has been devel-
oped for outside use, which could make SWB a suitable alternative for rare
tropical hardwood species.
• Bamboo Particle Board and Bamboo Plastic Composites: These types of
board are still in the early stages of development. Their processing techniques
are based on existing techniques from the wood industry and are not yet widely
available commercially.
• Bamboo Mat Board: This type of board is made from thin bamboo slivers and
strips that are woven into large mats, which can serve as input for the production
of various boards, including bamboo mat board (BMB) which can be pressed
into moulds of various shapes (including corrugated boards).
• Chipboard: Bamboo chipboard is produced from dry bamboo shavings, mixed
with a binding element that provides water resistance to the surface using a
waterproof agent on the board and hot-pressed at a given temperature with the
proper pressure. The culms are taken from green forests, as well as farm
plantations, to produce the product, and its production is an effective way to
raise the utilisation ratio of bamboo resources. To produce bamboo chipboard, a
water-soluble phenol resin is used. Chipboard has a higher modulus of rupture,
higher modulus of elasticity, higher water tolerance, and has a lower moisture
expansion in thickness, as compared with wood chipboard. Chipboard being an
engineering construction material is applied to conventional concrete works. To
improve the board’s application, lesser-known species of culms and other
residues of the bamboo are processed to produce the chipboard. The manu-
facturing process involved in producing chipboard is the about the same as the
design and technology for producing wood particle-board through rolling,
cutting, chipping, re-drying, gluing, spreading, and hot-pressing. The utilisation
ratio of raw material for chipboard production is high, for example, 1.3 tonnes of
the raw material 1 m3 of chipboard can be produced (Shi and Walker 2006). The
manufacturing process of bamboo chipboard employs the same technology as
wood particleboard. The usage of phenol-formaldehyde resin for the manufac-
turing of the product is comparatively advantageous in strength since MOE has
a low expansion rate of water absorption.

5.3.9 Bamboo for Handicrafts

The special features associated with bamboo-culm handicrafts made from this raw
material can easily be recognised. The round shape, the smooth skin, the charac-
teristic colour, and the texture originates from the vascular bundles embedded in
parenchyma tissue, and the node or internode sequence are typical features of
5.3 Bamboo in Construction 191

bamboo handicrafts. Bamboo handicrafts comprise all kinds of useful items, such as
kitchen tools and accessories to assist cooking and the presentation of food, bowls,
mugs, bird homes, among many others.

5.3.10 Bamboo for Musical Instruments

Traditionally, natural bamboo culm has been used for the manufacturing of musical
instruments for centuries. Bamboo culm has many applications regarding its usage
for instruments of all classes like wind, percussion, cord instruments, and the cords
itself can be made exclusively from this one material. The hollow structure of a
bamboo culm provides a characteristic sound relating to the music of many ethnic
groups. Bamboo flutes have existed from time immemorial. The bottom part of
smaller culms requires only a few finger holes and a mouthpiece to produce an
excellent flute. Lengths of the culms are used as resonators below the bronze keys
of xylophone-like instruments.

5.4 Engineering Bamboo Products

In recent years, various engineered bamboo products have been developed and are
available in the market for engineering purposes. The term “engineered bamboo
products” covers a broad range of bamboo derivative products. Common to all
engineered bamboo products is that the culm is broken down into smaller units such
as lamellae, splits, strands, and particles which are further processed by binding or
fixing the units together with adhesives, plastics, or other methods of fixation to
form a composite material with uniform properties. Engineered bamboo products
are used in a variety of applications, including handicrafts, furniture, interior design,
flooring, and structural and automotive applications.

5.4.1 Laminated Bamboo Lumber

In producing laminated bamboo lumber, the round-shaped hollow bamboo culm

needs to be converted into rectangular elements. In this process, first, the bamboo
culms are split into pieces after which they are pre-planed to remove the skin and
the inner layer. The splits are planed on four sides to obtain uniform rectangular
lamellae, which can be further processed into laminated bamboo lumber. Resins are
applied to the lamellae, after which the lamellae are assembled and placed in
presses. Laminate bamboo lumber with an extensive range of dimensions can be
produced by glueing together smaller pieces which have been manufactured to the
required measurements. Laminate bamboo lumber can be used to produce window
192 5 Applications of Bamboo

frames, as a structural building material, and joinery. It is always appropriate to

protect the bamboo laminate lumber and its products against moisture, fungi, and
insects before being used, depending upon the species.

5.4.2 Bamboo Veneer

Bamboo veneer can be produced on a peeler lathe as culm sections are rotated
against a knife and nose-bar assembly. The process of peeling of bamboo culm by
this method is difficult due to the small diameter and the hollow tube-like structure
of the equipment. The most common technique used in peeling is the slicing
technique. In this case, the planks of laminate bamboo lumber are sliced on hori-
zontal or vertical lathes perpendicular to the grain direction or longitudinal lathes
along the grain direction, whenever bamboo slices are glued together to form larger
pieces for veneer manufacturing. Assembly of a bamboo slice of various colours
produces a broad range of decorative veneer production. The thicknesses of bam-
boo veneers range between 0.15 (micro-veneer) and 1.5 mm. Bamboo veneers are
very fragile because of their low tensile strength perpendicular to the grain direc-
tion. The tensile strength property perpendicular to the grain can improve fragile
nonwoven cloth-type support layers that are attached to the backside. Bamboo
veneer is a product with high added value that is used as a surface layer in coating
processes for other bamboo or wood-based panels. The coating process improves
the visual appearance, by presenting a bamboo composite look.

5.4.3 PlyBamboo

Plybamboo is a one category in the broad range of bamboo-based panels, which is

produced from layers of bamboo veneers with certain desired thicknesses. The
veneer sheets are assembled so that layers have their grain direction rotated 90o
about adjacent layers. The thickness of veneers can vary over a wide range. Large
layers can be produced by glueing smaller sheets edgewise together. Because
bamboo culms have high rigidity, they can hardly be deformed to fill up the blank
space between strips even under high pressure. This results in the lowering the
modulus of rupture (MOR) and its adhering strength.
Plybamboo can be characterised as high quality with low weight, high rigidity,
high friction coefficient and does not rust. In addition, the manufacturing process
for Plybamboo was found to be less laborious and to consume fewer adhesives than
other types of composites. The strength, wearability, and rigidity of Plybamboo are
higher than those of ordinary plywood. Thus, Plybamboo has a broad prospective in
the automotive and building industries and also for engineering construction
(Mahdavi et al. 2012). To provide the raw material for Plybamboo, not only veneers
but also splits, lamella, and slivers are utilised for the formation of middle layers.
5.4 Engineering Bamboo Products 193

Depending on the inner structure and alignment of the inner layers, a broad variety
of different Plybamboo products can be produced. In producing the Plybamboo, the
middle and surface layers of the bamboo culm are usually split into sections and
then are roughly planed to remove the skin. The splits are then boiled, bleached,
and anti-mould or anti-pest treated. The heat treatment can adjust colour (often, but
not correctly, termed carbonising) during the drying process. The dry splits are then
cut to equal width and thickness, sorted, aligned, and assembled to form layers,
which are glued together inside presses or plate hot presses. After thickness cali-
bration, several sheets or plies (with identical or different structures) are assembled
crosswise similar to plywood forming panel-type Plybamboo products with low
anisotropy.
Another alternative for producing the middle layers of Plybamboo is to use
curtains or mats. Curtains are formed by connecting splits using thin filaments. In
this case, the edges do not have to be aligned. For producing bamboo mats, splits
have to be cut into thin slivers (0.8–1.5 mm). For high-quality Plybamboo panels,
the thickness variation of the slivers should be as low as possible, certainly not
more than 1 mm. Slivers have to be woven into mats which are cut to predeter-
mined dimensions before being used to form middle layers in Plybamboo panels.
Many different forms of Plybamboo are on the market now. They can be applied as
panels for heavy-duty containers, flooring materials, and decorative materials for
furniture production or interior design.

5.4.4 Oriented-Strand Board

To manufacture bamboo into oriented-strand board, the culm is split into thin
strands and then cut into sections which are introduced into a flake. Ideally, the
cutting direction must be along the radial axis so that the outer dermis is always
located on the thin side of the strands. Dermis located on the wide side of the strand
cannot be aligned properly and will result in poor internal bonds in oriented-strand
board. Strands are dried in rotary drum dryers and aligned in mixing units. After
alignment, the strands are scattered onto a moving belt. Normally, strands are
aligned by the scattering unit and by rotating the next scattering unit by 90o. With
several adjacent layers, plywood-like panel properties can be achieved. A normal
mat-forming station comprises three or five scattering units. The strand mat is either
transported to a continuous hot press or, after separating into sections, to an 8–15 h
daylight hot press (Malanit 2009).

5.4.5 Bamboo Particleboard

Recently, the production of bamboo particleboard in the wood industry is on the

increase, as bamboo is inexpensive and its maturity is shorter than wood. In the
194 5 Applications of Bamboo

manufacture of this board, particular attention has to be given to the fact that
bamboo, depending on age and time of harvest, contains considerable amounts of
sugar and starch. If the raw bamboo is not treated well, it may be negatively affected
by fungi and insects during storage. Also, if the finished bamboo products are
produced under humid conditions, fungal attack can endanger them. Therefore,
precautions need to be taken in preserving the bamboo and its particleboard from
fungi and insects.
The bamboo culms, when cut into smaller pieces, are fed into a knife ring. At
this stage, the bamboo culm is transformed, preferably, into longish particles. When
this has been done, then the particles are separated in a sieving station into
coarse-and-middle-layer particles and fine surface-layer particles. The particles are
then dried to low moisture content, and the particles are vibrated in a blending unit.
The moisture content of the surface layer particles is adjusted to approximately 10–
14%, whereas the moisture content of the core layer particles is kept at 6–8%. The
particle mat is formed by scattering first the lower face layer, followed by the coarse
core layer and an upper-face layer. The mat is then transported to a continuous hot
press where the mat is compressed and heated until the resin is cured. During hot
pressing, the typical U-shaped density profile is formed, with high density in the
face layers and lower density in the core layer. During hot pressing, part of the
moisture contained in the face-layer particles is converted into vapour which travels
to the core where it assists the heating process. Moisture distribution across the
panel thickness should be more or less uniform at the end of the pressure cycle.
The endless particleboard belt is cut into sections when it leaves the press.
Sections are introduced into a cooling star to allow the panels to cool down to a
temperature close to ambient temperature. Finally, panels are calibrated in a sanding
process. Panels are then stacked to form piles for transport to the customer or
further cut into smaller units according to the client’s requirement.
Due to its properties, particleboard is typically used for the manufacturing of
furniture. Its high-density face layer allows veneering and coating with melamine
impregnated paper. Edges can be edge coated so that the particleboard core is not
visible in the final product. The visual appearance of bamboo particleboard is
identical to wood particleboard.

5.4.6 Nonwoven Strand-Bamboo Products

Nonwoven strand bamboo is a new type of bamboo product which requires a more
advanced manufacturing process than does nonwoven (compressed) strand bam-
boo. This new product is found on the market as a plank, scantling (either
four-sided planed, profiled), tongue and groove element, parquet element, or in
other forms.
The bamboo culm is crushed by splitting the bamboo culm into segments that
are fed through motor-driven rollers or a crusher, which crushes the bamboo into a
type of mat. In some cases, the skin is removed using a preplaning process. In the
5.4 Engineering Bamboo Products 195

longitudinal direction, vascular bundles and surrounding parenchyma tissue are

separated without destroying the vascular bundles. Bamboo mats are boiled to
reduce sugar and starch content, dried, and subsequently resinated by dipping the
mat into a resin bath (usually phenol-formaldehyde). The soaked mats are then
transferred into pressing moulds. In a hot press, the bamboo mats are compressed
and densified to approx. 1.0 g/cm3 or even higher while the resin is cured. After
cooling and conditioning, the bamboo elements are planed, cut, or profiled to the
desired dimensions. Nonwoven strand bamboo or compressed bamboo products
exhibit extreme hardness, very high flexibility, and compression strength, and are
comparable with or even better than the strongest wood species.
Due to its high density and high resin content (15–20%), moisture uptake of
nonwoven strand bamboo is slow. Nevertheless, long-term exposure to humid
climate or liquid water will lead to moisture absorption and swelling. During
swelling, the compressed bamboo will break the resin bonds. As a consequence, the
swelling of compressed lignocellulose material is not fully recoverable during
shrinkage, which leads to unwanted deformations. For this reason, nonwoven
strand-bamboo products must be thoroughly protected against moisture uptake,
either by coating with water-repellent surface treatment or, even better, by not
exposing them to a long-term humid climate.

5.4.7 Bamboo Plastic Composite

Bamboo plastic composite (BPC) is a product derived from the culm of a bamboo
plant. The bamboo culm is ground into flour-like powder or very fine particles,
which are mixed with plastic materials (normally PP or PVC) in a compounder.
Here, up to 60% (weight basis) of woody particles are thoroughly mixed with 40%
or more of plastic matrix material. The resulting compounded material is used in
extrusion or injection processes. When bamboo culm is ground, it can easily be
used instead of wood. Typical BPC products are extruded planks for decking,
which are highly prized in the market for construction works. Due to its
water-repellent properties, BPC planks are substitutes for pressure-treated wooden
planks or wooden planks produced from wood species with high natural durability.

5.4.8 Bamboo Chipboard or Flakeboard

The bamboo chipboard is produced from bamboo shavings as elementary units,

which are dried, mixed with a certain amount of adhesive and waterproofing agent,
spread, shaped and hot-pressed at the required temperature and with the required
pressure. Flakeboard is made up of small-sized bamboo waste or culms. The raw
material used in manufacturing bamboo chipboard comprises all the parts of the
196 5 Applications of Bamboo

bamboo. The production of chipboard using bamboo is an effective way of

achieving complete exploitation of the plant. The chipboard made of bamboo is
produced using water-soluble phenol resin because it has higher water tolerance,
higher modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, and lower moisture expansion in
thickness as compared with wood chipboard. The manufacturing process and the
related designs follow the technology of wood particleboard. They are accom-
plished through rolling, cutting, chipping, re-drying, gluing, spreading, and
hot-pressing. They are used as a material for engineering construction in the
building industry, and also find applications for making ordinary concrete forms.
Usually, the bamboo culms of small diameter and lesser-known species are those
processed with other parts to manufacture bamboo chipboards. All leftovers
of bamboo culms and residue of bamboo cuttings are treated together to manu-
facture bamboo chipboards (Shi and Walker 2006). The utilisation ratio of raw
material for chipboard production is high, e.g. from 1.3 tonne of raw bamboo
material, 1 m3 of chipboard can be produced. This product can be strengthened by
adding a bamboo curtain or bamboo mat to the surface. The main drawback with
flakeboard or chipboard is the difficulty in bonding and so is the major problem
when it is shaved. However, the adhering quality of bamboo chipboard is high.

5.4.9 Elastomer-Based Biocomposite

The use of bamboo fibres has expanded into use in elastomer composites, as a newly
viable, alternative filler reinforcement. The short bamboo fibres are employed in a
matrix compound due to the considerable processing advantages, improvement in
certain mechanical properties, and economic considerations. The addition of short
bamboo fibres to elastomer-polymer matrix, especially natural rubber (polyiso-
prene), produces great mechanical performance of the manufactured composites
(Ismail et al. 2002; Visakh et al. 2012). It has been found that the bonding agents
(silane, phenol formaldehyde, and hexamethylenetetramine) play a major role in
obtaining good adhesion between bamboo fibres and the matrix. The resulting
material exhibits composite properties, for instance, fatigue strength, modulus,
elongation at failure, creep resistance over the particulate filled matrix, hardness, and
cut, tear, and enhanced puncture resistance. Applications of elastomer composites
include tires, gloves, V-belts, hoses, and complexly shaped mechanical goods. As
for tire manufacture, carbon black has been extensively used (Muller and Rebelo
2015).

5.4.10 Thermoplastic-Based Bamboo Composite

Bamboo fibre reinforcement includes thermoplastic polypropylene matrices which

are broadly applied to produce high-quality products for engineering application
5.4 Engineering Bamboo Products 197

(Bansal and Zoolagud 2002). Bamboo strips have higher cohesive strength than the
extracted bamboo fibres from various types of bamboo. For this reason, bamboo
strips are reinforced with nonwoven polypropylene aiming to produce
ultra-light-weight unconsolidated composites (Siriwan and Suthamnoi 2009). The
nonwoven web enables these materials to be reinforced in their native form (Abdul
Khalil et al. 2012; Khanam et al. 2011) and to utilise the unique properties of the
reinforcing materials. It has been found that bamboo strips-polypropylene (BSPP)
composites have improved properties, including high flexibility, high acoustical
properties, and good sound-dampening attributes that makes it suitable and an ideal
raw material to replace fibreglass. BSPP has application in the manufacture of
automotive headliner substrates. Several components can be manufactured using
biocomposites, such as door inserts, parcel shelves, and load floors for automotive
vehicles, as well as walls and profiling for buildings, and other engineering
applications. A study on the effect of bamboo-charcoal addition to the thermoplastic
polyolefin polymer reveals that bamboo charcoal has many pores in its structure
that make it an excellent medium for preventing static electricity build up and
absorbing volatile chemicals (Prasad and Mohana 2011). Bamboo charcoal has
been chosen as a promising material to enhance the water absorption and electrical
conductivity of polyolefin.

5.4.11 Thermoset-Based Bamboo

The potential of, and interest in, bamboo used in thermoset composites follow the
same trend as thermoplastic composites. The effects on bamboo fibre-reinforced
polyester matrix have been evaluated through various tests, e.g. tensile and flexural
properties (Mohan and Prasad 2010), dielectric properties (Wong et al. 2010), and
fracture properties (Hongyan et al. 2009). In addition, the influence of moisture
absorption during storage and manufacture of bamboo-fibre-reinforced vinyl-ester
composites has also been analysed (Nirmal and Jamilhashim 2012). In the same
manner, bamboo-fibre-reinforced epoxy composites were subjected to wear and a
frictional environment to ensure widespread acceptance in many applications (Tong
et al. 1998). It was noticed that wear resistance was superior when the fibres were
orientated nonparallel to the sliding interface (Corradi et al. 2009). In other tests,
bamboo-strip epoxy composites were found to be promising materials to be applied
in the global marine sector (Ismail et al. 2001), and bamboo boat hulls have been
produced using a vacuum-bagging and compression-moulding process. There have
been several products manufactured and tested, and these products were found to
exhibit excellent mechanical properties, including good material endurance and
resistance to the marine environment. Exploitation of bamboo-epoxy composites
was further extended to the manufacturing of surfboards.
198 5 Applications of Bamboo

5.5 Paper and Textiles

5.5.1 Paper

Bamboo usage for paper production has been around for centuries in some Asian
countries, including China and India. In China, handmade paper from bamboo
began more 2000 years ago. The inner parts of the bamboo were beaten into a pulp
and used in paper production. Today, the annual output of bamboo in India is about
3.23 million tonnes, and the paper industry consumes more than half of this pro-
duction. Pulp mills using bamboo as the raw material exist in most Asian countries.
In India, 30–35 factories make paper from bamboo pulp. The present world pro-
duction of pulp from bamboo is approximately 1.5 million air-dried tonnes, cor-
responding to an annual consumption of 7–8 million tonnes of raw bamboo.
The fibre length of bamboo varies from species to species and with the inter-
modal length. Mean fibre-length values for species range from 1.5 to 4 mm, fibre
diameter range from 11 to 19 lm, lumen diameter from 2 to 4 lm, and wall
thickness from 4 to 6 lm. The fibres of bamboo are well suited as a raw material for
pulp production. They are thinner than wood fibres, which contributes to the desired
smoothness and flexibility. The high cellulose content implies suitability for dis-
solving pulp and for rayon production. Bamboo cellulose contains more impurities
than wood. Hence processing is costlier, and the pulp yield in the craft process is
similar to hardwood processing.
Since pulp mills require a significant amount of bamboo and its extraction in a
tropical climate, it is often limited to 6–8 months per year, and a stock of bamboo
for 6–9 months production has to be maintained. A mill producing 100 t per day
requires about 43,000 t of bamboo in the yard. During storage, decay by fungi and
beetle attack can cause serious damage. In the case of the common brown rot, the
yield of pulp is considerably reduced, and the kappa number is so high that the pulp
becomes tough to bleach. This is due to a selective attack of the fungi on carbo-
hydrates. Therefore, bamboo, when subjected to brown rot fungi, is unsuitable for
pulping. In the case of white rot, bamboo can be used for pulping, but lower yields
of pulp and lower physical strength result with more need for bleaching chemicals.
During storage for up to 12 months, about 20–25% of the bamboo can be destroyed
due to attacks by wood-destroying organisms. Preservative treatment can reduce the
storage loss, but sufficient drainage, aeration, and limitation of the size of the stacks
also provide protection. Stored culms should have no soil contact, and precautions
against fire are necessary.
Because of its anatomical structure, bamboo is a suitable material for pulping.
The cooking chemical can penetrate the large vessels and diffuse into the sur-
rounding tissue. Formerly, the culms were first crushed and then chipped. New
mills are using chippers only. Due to the hard and slippery skin of the culm,
chipping of bamboo requires special techniques. The chips should be 18–20 mm
long. In earlier years, pulp mills used a two-stage process for bamboo pulping. First,
a weak alkaline solution removed the low polymer carbohydrates, followed by
5.5 Paper and Textiles 199

cooking with caustic soda and sodium sulphide. Currently, pulping is carried out
mostly in single-stage cooking. Craft process is best suited for producing pulp
chemically.
In modern mills with modern cooking technology, bamboo is pulped with 18–
20% effective alkali, as NaOH at a low temperature of 142–144 °C produce pulps
(50–55% yield) that is well suited for writing and printing paper. Based on kinetic
data, regression equations have been developed for controlling the process of craft
pulping bamboo for producing pulps with up to a 70% yield. In the production of
one tonne of unbleached pulp, two tonnes of clean, chopped bamboo is needed, and
the production of one tonne of bleached pulp requires about 2.5 tonnes of air-dried
bamboo (4 t fresh). Although nodal portions result in poorer quality of craft pulp, it
is not considered feasible to separate nodes and internodes before digestion, since
the reduction in yield and quality due to nodal portions seems to be insignificant.
Bamboo black liquor obtained by craft cooking contains about 3–4% silica, creating
problems in the recovery cycle and requiring partial damping of the lime mud.
The bamboo pulp is more resistant to bleaching than wood pulp because the
chemicals cannot penetrate through pits into the cell lumen, as it does in soft wood
tracheids. The use of bleach as a lignin-removal agent is less effective on bamboos
than on softwoods. Formerly, bleaching was done with a CEHH sequence applying
relatively high chlorine charges. In this bleaching sequence, bamboo pulp could not
be bleached beyond 78% brightness without severely reducing its strength.
The quality of bamboo pulp is considered to be fairly good. It has a high tearing
strength that compares well with softwood craft pulp in this respect. Tensile and
bursting strength are lower than those of softwood pulp but still on the same level as
those of hardwood-craft pulps. For many purposes, the bamboo pulp is mixed with
pulp from other grasses, bagasse, wood, rags, or waste paper. By mixing it with
ground wood pulp (60 and 40% bamboo chemical pulp), it can be used in the
production of newsprint. The bamboo pulp is suitable for a large variety of paper,
e.g. for writing, printing, wrapping, tissues, and so forth. The quality of paper made
from bamboo compares favourably with conventional paper made from wood
pulp. Bamboo is also used in rayon and cellophane production.

5.5.2 Bamboo Textiles

Bamboo fibres are used in manufacturing the cloth, yarns, and clothing that are
components of the bamboo textile industry. The manufactured bamboo-fibre tex-
tiles are used in bedding, underwear, t-shirts, socks, blankets, towels, and many
other textile products in which bamboo is processed together with other fibres like
cotton and polyester to develop a new product of greater and longer lasting value.
Bamboo fibre or yarn can be produced through the spinning process to yield various
different fibre textures. Moreover, its products prove to have softer qualities as
compared to silk and cotton, which are also soft, but much less so than bamboo.
Other products manufactured with bamboo fibres include baby diapers and rayon.
200 5 Applications of Bamboo

The interior of these handmade organic materials are velvet-textured, waterproof,

and breathable, producing an always-dry effect on a baby’s skin.
Clothing made with these fibres are comfortable to wear, soft, and can be washed
like any other cotton shirt. Historically, bamboo has been used mainly for structural
elements, such as bustles and the ribs of corsets, but in recent years a range of
technologies have been developed enabling the use of bamboo fibre in the textile
and fashion industries. Bamboo clothing is made either from 100% bamboo yarn or
a blend of bamboo and cotton yarn. Textiles made from bamboo fibres address the
goal to develop renewable and sustainable materials. Bamboo is a renewable
resource for clothes and other textile applications (Lichtenstadt 1864). The
advantages of using bamboo as a raw material for textiles include its renewability,
biodegradability, efficient space consumption, low water consumption, organic
status, and carbon-sequestering abilities, as well as its sustainability. Bamboo’s
growth rate is the fastest on the planet, growing as fast as one meter or more per day
(Fu 2001; Durst 2006). Bamboo for textile manufacturing provides quicker harvest
readiness compared with the 20–60 years for soft and hard woods or trees that are
used to make lyocell, rayon, and other regenerated fibre (Rodie 2007).
The manufacturing methods currently being employed in the creation of bamboo
textiles include chemically-based (hydro-alkalization and multi-phase bleaching)
and mechanically-based (stripping, boiling, and enzyme use) processes.

5.6 Bamboo Bicycles

Bamboo, which is a sustainable, regenerative material, is seen as a sustainable

transport alternative. The American designer, Craig Calfee, led Bamboosero the
first bicycle project for new products developed with bamboo. The Bamboo Bike
Project was initiated by Craig Calfee in 1995 and has grown into assisting entre-
preneurs in the developing world to make their bamboo bicycles from locally
produced bamboos. Developing countries such as Ghana in West Africa are making
significant strides in the production of bamboo bicycles as a cheaper source of
transportation (Fig. 5.5). These bicycles are put to uses as labour-saving products
and as a means of transportation. The bamboo bicycle has become popular because
it costs less to manufacture as compared to imported metal bikes, as their manu-
facture does not require electricity or a significant investment in equipment. The
production of bamboo bicycles in Ghana, in collaboration with the local artisans,
aims to open markets for export worldwide. Bamboo, due to its high shock resis-
tance, qualifies it as a suitable material for the manufacturing of bicycles, tricycles,
and others vehicles for our roads. Producing bamboo bicycles in communities
where bamboo is not available is an initiative initiated to help the farmers, artisans,
and the consumers, as well as to motivate companies to develop bamboo products
using this technology. The role of farmers and artisans in this process is not limited
only to crop management, harvesting, and transport, but also includes influence on
the final manufacturing of bamboo products. The dominant species used for bicycle
5.6 Bamboo Bicycles 201

Fig. 5.5 Bamboo Bicycle. Source Ghana Bamboo Initiatives (2016)

construction in Ghana are Bambusa vulgaris, Bambusa vulgaris vitta, among

others. The mature culms with long internodes and thicker walls are cleaned,
prepared to size, and assembled in the partner units. Currently, there are quite some
models of bamboo bicycles on the Ghanaian market.

5.7 Non-engineering Applications

The non-engineering applications of bamboo also span a broad range, e.g. medi-
cine, biomass (charcoal), as a fuel source, as wind break checks, for soil stabili-
sation, removal of atmospheric carbons, wastewater treatment, and reduction of
nitrate contamination. Through the application of science and technology, new
methods for the non-engineering use of bamboo have been discovered, and pro-
cessing bamboo plants into other products has been on the increase in recent years.

5.7.1 Bamboo Charcoal

Bamboo culms find their various application in sectors that include the biomass and
biofuel production, such as charcoal and many others. The solid residue remaining
in the pyrolysis chamber is the bamboo charcoal, which has a porous microstructure
and is primarily comprised of carbon (Ip et al. 2008). Bamboo-charcoal manufac-
turing can replace the traditional wood charcoal because of its rapid growth char-
acteristics which help to decrease deforestation. Bamboo charcoal is an important
source of energy for cooking and heating in many tropical and subtropical regions.
The culms by themselves, however, do not form a suitable combustible material
202 5 Applications of Bamboo

because they do not store well, burn fast, and tend to produce a dense smoke while
burning if not seasoned properly before usage. Bamboo charcoal offers an alter-
native for energy storage (Liese and Silbermann 2010). For many centuries,
bamboo charcoal has been produced and utilised in China, especially, and also for
export to Europe and America in its raw form or processed for other applications
(Liese and Silbermann 2010). Besides, bamboo charcoals or briquettes are used for
fuel applications. The charcoal is also used in the manufacture of activated carbons
(Ip et al. 2008), which is used in clinical toxicology. The charcoal can be utilised as
a gas adsorbent and in water and air filters. It also serves as a purifier of drinking
water, by removing any heavy metal ions of mercury, nitrate nitrogen, and smells
(Lalhruaitluanga et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2010; Tan et al. 2011). Some international
organisations are promoting the production and use of bamboo charcoal and its
by-products around the globe. They have encouraged a community in Ethiopia to
go into its cultivation on about 800,000 hectors of treeless grassland of the lowland
bamboo Oxytenanthera abyssinica which has become the only combustible material
available for cooking in that community. Bamboo culms can be compared to solid
wood as a short-lived combustible material: the pieces burn rapidly and do not
maintain heat, so new material (culms) must frequently be added.
In another scenario in Asia, bamboo is referred to as “black gold.” Bamboo
charcoal is available as culm segments, as chunks, compressed into briquettes, or in
granular or powder form. In its basic forms, it is used for cooking, heating, or
smoke-free grilling; however, for the most part, it is further processed into
numerous products. International programs such as INBAR (International Network
for Bamboo and Rattan) and ITTO (International Tropical Timber Organization) are
currently active in promoting the production and use of bamboo charcoal and its
by-products effectively. INBAR and the European Union are supporting the use of
bamboo charcoal as an energy source instead of burning wood in Ethiopia and
Ghana. New industrial capacity for environmentally friendly products will arise
through these international programs, especially in rural areas (Fu 2003).
Bamboo charcoal can be used to treat drinking water sterilised with chlorine to
remove its residual chlorine and chlorides. These uses of charcoal, especially
bamboo charcoal, are attributed to its porous microstructure and large surface area.
Bamboo charcoal can act both as a humidifier and as a dehumidifier, depending on
the relative humidity, because it releases or absorbs moisture from the environment,
hence recommending it for daily domestic household applications (Jiang 2004;
Guan 2004). The charcoal made from bamboo is used to manufacture carbon-based
composites, nanorods, functional fabrics, silicon carbide, metal reduction and
recycling.

5.7.2 Industrial Processing of Bamboo

With the advancement of the traditional methods for industrial processing, whereby
the oven contains a conveyor belt or is made with a rotating body, a large quantity
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 203

of bamboo charcoal, vinegar, and gas can be produced with continuous use of an
extrusion press. The culms are broken into chips to fracture the thick outer epi-
dermis. The manufacturing process for bamboo charcoal involves grinding the
charcoal pieces, adding water and adhesive, compressing the material into six-sided
tubes, and drying. Compressed bamboo charcoal is very hard with fine pores,
promoting sustained burning at high heat. The hexagonal shape is advantageous for
shipping in cartons since the honeycomb structure is highly stable, sustaining little
breakage and taking less packing space. Because of the higher acquisition and
maintenance costs, such ovens are used only for the mass production of bamboo
charcoal, whose raw material is harvested regionally and supplemented by indus-
trial scraps.

5.7.3 Quality Control

There are no particular international standards for the quality of bamboo charcoal.
However, raw density, hardness, electrical resistance, and other properties make
bamboo charcoal comparable to many types of wooden charcoal. The
“Hardgrove-Index” serves as a measure of hardness by grinding: the lower the
index, the harder the charcoal. Industrial analysis examines various characteristics,
such as the content of moisture, ash, volatile components, and fixed carbon.

5.7.4 Properties and Utilisation of Bamboo Charcoal

The highly absorptive quality of bamboo charcoal is utilised in various fields.

Bamboo charcoal absorbs harmful substances from room air such as formaldehyde,
ammonia, and benzene. Its high porosity binds moisture from the humid air and
releases it with decreasing humidity. Areas, where bamboo charcoal is applied,
include humid spaces like bathrooms and bedrooms, as well as for pillows and
bedding. Bamboo charcoal is also mixed into walls, floors, and placed under
houses. Granular or pulverised charcoal is incorporated into paper bags, pillows, or
mattresses and is woven into outerwear. Depending upon the intensity of its use, the
effectiveness is about three weeks; after washing and drying, the material can again
be put back into use. Bamboo charcoal binds with dangerous substances such as
carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, benzopyrene, and, above all, nicotine and tar. In
China, cigarette filters contain bamboo charcoal which is said to absorb 95% of the
toxic substances.
In the kitchen, smoke filters often contain bamboo charcoal. Fruits and veg-
etables produce ethylene in the refrigerator; charcoal binds these, lengthening the
time the products stay fresh. The same applies to odours from fish and meat
products. Bamboo charcoal is used to control body odour as well, in the form of
shoe inserts and also as an additive in soaps.
204 5 Applications of Bamboo

• Electromagnetic (EM) wave protection: Bamboo charcoal or activated carbon,

when placed near electrical appliances such as television, mobile phone, laptop
and desktop computers, helps in dissipation of the EM waves.
• Odour and humidity protection: Bamboo charcoal or activated-carbon pack
product is very effective in removing odours from rooms, cars, washrooms, and
kitchens, as well as absorbing moisture, and preventing mildew in shoes and
clothing.
• Skin care: Bamboo charcoal or activated carbon and vinegar make high-quality
ingredients for skin care products, as the former has excellent cleansing ability,
while the latter is an excellent skin nourisher.
• Bath and shower: Bamboo charcoal or activated carbon added to bath water
will give a revitalising hot-spring experience. One can use a bar of bamboo
charcoal or activated carbon or vinegar soap to shower. A few drops of bamboo
vinegar in the water are beneficial to the body.
• Refrigerator: Bamboo charcoal or activated carbon can be used in the fridge to
absorb smells and to help to maintain the freshness of food by absorbing the
ethylene gas produced by vegetables and fruits.
• Water purification and rice cooking: When between 50 and 60 g of bamboo
charcoal is put in one litre of water, the mineral content increases resulting in
softer water and improved taste. When cooking with rice, bamboo charcoal will
emit infrared radiation and release minerals, which will provide extra sustenance
and flavour.
• Fish tanks and gardening: Whenever a piece of bamboo charcoal or activated
carbon is placed in the tanks of fish, it keeps the water cleaner and makes if
healthier for the fishes. When used for soil enrichment in gardening, plants will
grow well with better exposure to air and improved humidity conditions.

5.7.5 Bamboo Vinegar

Bamboo vinegar is a by-product of bamboo-charcoal production, which, when

heated in the absence of air above a fixed temperature, carbonises, emits volatile.
These are condensed to yield vinegar as a by-product (Kabir et al. 2010). It is used
for many purposes, from an anti-bacterial agent and agricultural insecticide to
deodorants, bath additives, and products to enhance health and beauty. At the time
of pyrolysis, bamboo vinegar and bamboo gas are the by-products, along with the
charcoal. The escaping smoke condenses in the vents of the oven and drops into a
receptacle. The dark-brown condensate smells smoky and separates into a
light-yellow layer (bamboo vinegar) and a dark bottom layer (bamboo tar).
Depending on the temperature and type of bamboo, the condensed vinegar contains
more than 200 organic substances, such as saturated and unsaturated acids, alco-
hols, aldehydes, and polyphenols. Since bamboo vinegar has beneficial medicinal
properties, it is used as an antibacterial, biological preservative (Jiang 2004).
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 205

The highest percentage of vinegar acid is produced at an extraction temperature

of 300 °C, with an acid content of 8.7% and a pH of 1.8. Because of this low pH,
vinegar is applied to acidify the alkaline soil. Charcoal for vinegar has been used in
medical products. Bamboo vinegar is used for skin infections and as an antimi-
crobial, such as in bamboo vinegar spray or soap and also in the cosmetic industry.
A bamboo vinegar, contained in “Vital Patch”, is said to eliminate unwanted
substances from the skin.
Also, the growth of plants is promoted by the use of bamboo vinegar, i.e. as
fertiliser, especially for alkaline soils. Thus, plants are protected from damaging
microorganisms (Mu et al. 2004).
During pyrolysis of bamboo, about 7% gas is produced, most importantly carbon
dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, ethylene, and hydrogen. This mixture of gases
is used directly as fuel. At the end of the charcoal making process, about 2–4%
bamboo ash remains, depending upon the species of bamboo and the carbonisation
method used. The ash contains minerals such as silica, calcium, potassium, mag-
nesium, sodium, iron, and manganese. They serve agriculture by protecting plants,
acidifying the soil, and as fertiliser (Jiang 2007).

5.7.6 Bamboo as Food and Medicine

Bamboo shoots have a high nutrient value, consisting of fibres, proteins, vitamins,
minerals, carbohydrates, amino acid, and low fat, giving it very wide potential as
food and medicine (Shi and Yang 1992). They are good healthy foods that provide
many health benefits to the consumers, especially in Asian and African countries
such as China, Indian, Tanzania, Uganda, Ghana and many others where it forms an
integral part of several traditional cusines of the people (Bao 2006). Table 5.2
outlines some edible bamboo species and their respective quality. The existence of
phytosterols in young bamboo shoots sustains a youthful feeling, healthy dyna-
mism, and longevity to regular consumers as medicine. Freshly harvested shoots
contain a significant amount of vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin E, niacin, and
thiamine (Visuphaka 1985; Xia 1989). They are a rich source of dietary fibre and
contain little cholesterols and phytosterols, making it an acceptable natural health
food. Medicinally, bamboo shoots contain arginine histidine, leucine, and tyrosine
amino acids. The presence of tyrosine in the shoots eases the biochemical meta-
bolism of the body since it is the chief component in adrenals, being the antecedent
of adrenaline, which is required to stimulate metabolism in human bodies. Tyrosine
also plays a significant part in the function of the thyroid and pituitary glands,
which are involved in regulating and producing hormones in the human body. High
volumes of fibre and phytosterols in bamboo shoots, reduce cholesterol and fat
levels in the blood, making it the most desired health food among patients with
lifestyle-related disorders. Bamboo shoots medicinally are used to control the early
phases of cancer infection (Kalita and Dutta 2012), since lignans and phytosterols
in the shoots possess anticancer properties. The presence of phytosterols in bamboo
206 5 Applications of Bamboo

Table 5.2 List of some species of bamboo that are edible

Name of species Quality Name of species Quality
Acidosasa edulis Delicious Fargesia robusta Edible
Acidosasa lingchuanensis Edible Gigantochloa atter Good
Bambusa balcooa Good Gigantochloa levis Delicious
Bambusa bambos Edible Gigantochloa ligulata Good
Bambusa beecheyana Good Gigantochloa nigrociliata Good
Bambusa blumeana Good Gigantochloa pruriens Good
Bambusa gibboides Good Gigantochloa robusta Good
Bambusa polymorpha Good Gigantochloa thoii Good
Bambusa tulda Good Guadua sarcocarpa Good
Bambusa tuldoides Good Himalayacalamus falconeri Good
Bambusa vulgaris Edible Nastus elatus Edible
Chimonobambusa communis Good Oxytenanthera abyssinica Edible
Chimonobambusa Delicious Phyilostachys concava Edible
marcrophylla
Chimonobambusa marmoreal Delicious Phyilostachys incarnate Delicious
Chimonobambusa Delicious Phyilostachys sulphurea f. Good
pachystachys viridis
Chimonobambusa puberula Delicious Phyilostachys acuta Delicious
Chimonobambusa Delicious Phyilostachys angusta Edible
quadrangularis
Chimonobambusa rigidula Delicious Phyilostachys arcana Edible
Chimonobambusa Delicious Phyilostachys atrovaginata Edible
szechuanensis
Chimonobambusa Delicious Phyilostachys bambusoides Bitter
tumidissinida
Chimonobambusa utilis Good Phyllostachys bambusoides f. Edible
shouzhu
Chimonocalamus delicatus Delicious Phyllostachys bissetii Edible
Dendrocalamus asper Good Phyllostachys circumpilis Edible
Dendrocalamus brandisii Good Phyllostachys decora Edible
Dendrocalamus giganteus Good Phyllostachys dulcis Delicious
Dendrocalamus latiflorus Good Phyllostachys edulis Good
Dendrocalamus latiflorus Good Phyllostachys edulis f. edulis Delicious
‘Mei-Nung.’
Dendrocalamus membranaceus Edible Phyllostachys elegans Delicious
Dendrocalamus strictus Edible Phyllostachys erecta Edible
Phyllostachys fimbriata Edible Phyllostachys praecox Delicious
Phyllostachys fimbriligula Delicious Phyllostachys praecox f. notata Edible
Phyllostachys flexuosa Delicious Phyllostachys praecox f. Delicious
viridisulcata
Phyllostachys glabrata Delicious Phyllostachys prominens Good
(continued)
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 207

Table 5.2 (continued)

Name of species Quality Name of species Quality
Phyllostachys glauca Good Phyllostachys propinqua Good
Phyllostachys glauca f. yunzhu Edible Phyllostachys propinqua f. Delicious
lanuginosa
Phyllostachys glauca var. Edible Phyllostachys purpurata Edible
variabilis ‘Solidstem.’
Phyllostachys heteroclada Edible Phyllostachys rivalis Delicious
Phyllostachys iridescens Delicious Phyllostachys robustiramea Edible
Phyllostachys makinoi Edible Phyllostachys rubella Edible
Phyllostachys heteroclada Edible Phyllostachys rubromarginata Edible
Phyllostachys iridescens Delicious Phyllostachys rutile Edible
Phyllostachys makinoi Edible Phyllostachys sapida Edible
Phyllostachys meyeri Edible Phyllostachys sulphurea f. Good
laqueata
Phyllostachys mirabilis Edible Phyllostachys tianmuensis Edible
Phyllostachys nidularia Delicious Phyllostachys Edible
viridiglaucescens
Phyllostachys nidularia f. Edible Phyllostachys vivax Delicious
farcta
Phyllostachys nidularia f. Edible Phyllostachys vivax Edible
mirabilis ‘Huangwenzhu.’
Phyllostachys nidularia f. Edible Phyllostachys vivax f. Edible
speciose aureocaulis
Phyllostachys nidularia f. Edible Phyllostachys yunhoensis Delicious
sulfurea
Phyllostachys nigella Delicious Pleioblastus hindsii Edible
Phyllostachys nigra f. henonis Delicious Sasa kurilensis Good
Phyllostachys nuda Delicious Sasaella masamuneana Edible
Phyllostachys nuda Delicious Thamnocalamus aristatus Edible
‘Ink-finger.’
Phyllostachys parvffolia Delicious Thyrsostachys siamensis Good
Phyllostachys pingyangensis Edible Yushania maling Good
Phyllostachys platyglossa Delicious
Source Edible Bamboo (20/07/2016)

shoots inhibits the production of cancer-cell growth, carcinogens, cell invasion, and
metastasis (Meric et al. 2006). Bamboo leaves, roots, shoots, and stems are used as
medicine and food. It can also be used for cosmetic products as well as containers.
A good amount of phytosterol can be extracted from freshly harvested bamboo
shoots, and this can effectively be utilised for the production of steroidal drugs
(Nongdam and Tikendra 2014). The use of bamboo for the production of steroidal
drugs will minimise the pressure on Dioscorea and Solanum as the primary natural
source of steroidal drugs. The nutrient and medicinal content of shoots of bamboo
species are intensely researched.
208 5 Applications of Bamboo

5.7.6.1 Amino Acids

These nutrients are found to be rich and abundant in most bamboo shoots. Of
approximately seventeen kinds of amino acids discovered in bamboo shoots, eight
are very useful to the human body (Qiu 1992). A study conducted on shoots of a
300 day-old Bambusa tulda to determine the content of individual amino acids
indicated a decrease in the individual amino acids (Giri and Janmejay 2000).
Sharma et al. (2004) conducted a study on the shoots to detect certain amino acids
in four species of Dendrocalamus and five species of Bambusa that revealed
extremely inconsistent results across the species. A study conducted by Nirmala
et al. (2008) on freshly harvested, fermented, and canned bamboo shoots of
Dendrocalamus giganteus in measured the amount of amino acid content in the
species. The results showed that there was a decrease in some amino acids in
canned shoots which contain 1.980/100 g fresh weight, and in fermented shoots
which contain 2.005/100 g fresh weight, compared to freshly collected young
shoots in which the amino acid content was found to be 3.863/100 g fresh weight.
In another study to determine the number of amino acids by Nirmala et al. (2007)
involving a ten-day-old harvested bamboo shoots of species such as Bambusa
bamboos, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus asper, Dendrocalamus giganteus, and
Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, shows a substantial reduction in free amino acids
compared to freshly harvested shoots. Zhang et al. (2011) in a study on the
Phyllostachys praecox shoots of bamboo discovered twelve free amino acids. Of
these twelve, six were paramount while the remaining six were found to be sup-
plementary. The six critical amino acids in the Phyllostachys shoots include iso-
leucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, and valine, while the extra amino acids are
alanine, aspartate, glutamine, glycine, histidine, and tyrosine. Because of the loss of
amino acids to fluids during heat treatment, there was a reduction in the total free
essential amino acid (TFEAA) and total free amino acid (TFAA) in the boiled water
of 38.85 and 38.35% respectively. The critical amino acids represented 12–48% of
the total amino acid content of bamboo shoots evaluated by Xu et al. (2005) on nine
bamboo species from China using conventional methods. Some amino acids in a
Dendrocalamus latiflorus shoot exhibited different salt concentrations during a
preserving process (Chen et al. 2013), and showed a high rate of reduction in the
shoots preserved in a 8% salt concentration, from 16.35/100 g to 6.898/100 g fresh
weight. According to a study conducted by Kozukuen et al. (1983), tyrosine was
found to be the most abundant total free amino acids in young shoots of
Phyllostachys pubescens bamboo.

5.7.6.2 Protein

Bamboo sprouts possess a high amount of protein in the range of 1.49/100–

4.04/100 g new weight in fresh bamboo shoots (Chongtham et al. 2011; Sundriyal
and Sundriyal 2001). A study conducted on nine bamboo species by (Sharma et al.
2004) concluded that there are variations of proteins in various species. There was a
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 209

considerable decrease of protein in Bambusa bamboos shoots that had been boiled in
a concentrated salt solution. The protein content of the bamboo shoots after 25 min
of boiling in a concentration of 10% NaCl solution was low (Pandey and Ojha 2011).
A study by Nirmala et al. (2008) on Dendrocalamus giganteus species of bamboo
found that canned shoots have the lowest protein content of 1.980/100 g fresh
weight compared to fermented shoots which have (2.2005/100 g fresh weight),
ten-day-old emerged sprouts have 2.230/100 g fresh weight, and freshly harvested
sprouts have (3.863/100 g fresh weight) of Dendrocalamus giganteus.
Devi and Singh (1986) conducted a study and reported an improvement of
protein in fermented bamboo sprouts from 3.1 to 7.1% and 8.1% on the third and
fifth days, respectively, in the process of fermentation. Zhang et al. (2011) con-
ducted a study on Dendrocalamus asper and Dendrocalamus strictus and found that
the amount of protein reduces in bamboo shoots over time. Hence, the amount of
protein in eight-day-old Dendrocalamus asper and Dendrocalamus strictus sprouts
is 1.21/100 g and 1.91/100 g fresh weight, respectively. The amount of protein was
observed to have reduced significantly in Dendrocalamus asper shoots after an
additional ten days, namely to 0.86/100 g fresh weight. The amount of protein
detected in freshly harvested sprouts of species such as Bambusa bamboo, Bambusa
tulda, Dendrocalamus asper, Dendrocalamus strictus, Dendrocalamus giganteus,
and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii in an experimental study indicated a reduction in
ten-day-old bamboo sprouts as compared to freshly harvested sprouts (Nirmala
et al. 2007).

5.7.6.3 Minerals

Bamboo sprouts are full of rich and valuable minerals which include calcium, iron,
magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium. Several metabolic processes in
the human body need these minerals to function efficiently. A study by Bhargava
et al. (1996) on Bambusa arundinaria and Melocanna baccifera found that there is a
high amount of potassium, namely 1400 mg/100 g fresh weight in the former, and a
minimum quantity of 20 mg/100 g fresh weight in the latter. In another study by
Bhatt et al. (2005), it was reported that there were low quantities of potassium,
namely 20 mg/100 g fresh weight in Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus hookeri,
Dendrocalamus longispathus, and Dendrocalamus sikkimensis. A study conducted
by Nirmala et al. (2007) detected minor decreases in potassium content in
ten-day-old harvested bamboo species shoots which includes Bambusa bamboo,
Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus asper, and Dendrocalamus giganteus. It was
observed that, with the exception of Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, potassium levels
dropped from 416 mg/100 g to 210 mg/100 g fresh weight in the ten-day-old
sprouts, which is about half of the fresh amount. A study by Feleke (2013) was
conducted on Oxytenanthera abyssinica bamboo sprouts in Ethiopia to determine
the amount of potassium, and high quantities of potassium were found depending
on the location of the harvest. Sprouts harvested from the Assosa region contain
210 5 Applications of Bamboo

6.63%, sprouts from Dhidhessa 7.02%, and sprouts from Pawa is 7.15%.
Comparatively, the amount of potassium in this species (Oxytenanthera abyssinica)
is higher than in popular vegetables such as amaranthus spinous, hibiscus, and
Solanum marcrocarpon.
Pandey and Ojha (2011), conducted a study on Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus
asper, and Dendrocalamus strictus, to determine the variations of mineral content in
various bamboo species by exposing them to different salt concentrations over
various time durations. They found that calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potas-
sium, and sodium in the fresh bamboo sprouts showed no substantial changes
between the treatments. Instead, the amount of sodium improved significantly from
0.07 mg/100 g fresh weight in the fresh sprouts to 1.15 mg/100 g fresh weight in
the sprouts boiled in a 10% NaCl for 25 min. There were traces of minor dis-
crepancies in the levels of elements in the freshly harvested sprouts, fermented, and
non-salted canned species of Dendrocalamus giganteus, including cadmium, cobalt,
manganese, nickel, and selenium. According to a study conducted by Nirmala et al.
(2008), the amount of zinc decreased in fermented and canned bamboo sprouts as
compared to fresh sprouts. Medically, it is suggested that a daily dose of potassium
for humans should range between 2.0 and 5.5/day (Belitz and Grosch 1999)
because it enhances and protects the heart by sustaining normal BP and a steady
heartbeat. Women during pregnancy and infant nursing require high amounts of
iron (Tapiero et al. 2001), and consistent intake of iron rich bamboo sprouts can
boost this intake.

5.7.6.4 Carbohydrate

The percentages of carbohydrates in bamboo sprouts, e.g. the highly edible Bambusa
nutans, Bambusa vulgaris, Dendrocalamus aspers and Dendrocalamus strictus, are
3.3, 3.4, 2.9, and 0.6%, respectively (Kumbhare and Bhargava 2007). It was also
found that heat treatment through boiling does increase the amount of carbohydrate
in bamboo sprouts as a result of the hydrolysis of complex polysaccharides into
single monosaccharide units of sugar. In a study conducted by Pandey and Ojha
(2011), it was found that some carbohydrates decline when the sprouts of Bambusa
bamboos, Bambusa tulda, Bambusa strictus and Dendrocalamus asper are boiled in
various different concentrations of saline solutions. The existence of salt in the
solution might have an influence on decreasing the carbohydrate content by
enhancing the hydrolysis of carbohydrate in the process of boiling. In a study
conducted by Pandey and Ojha (2013) on the rise of carbohydrate levels with an
increase in the age of the sprouts, it was found that the amount of carbohydrate in a
two-day-old sprout of bamboo increases from 1.45/100 g to 2.46/100 g fresh weight
after sixteen days. In a study by Nirmala et al. (2007) on the decrease of carbohydrate
with an increase in the age of bamboo, a ten-day-old sprout contains 2.30/100 g
fresh weight carbohydrates which is less than a freshly harvested sprout which
contains 5.42/100 g fresh weight. The carbohydrate content in a fermented sprout is
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 211

1.504/100 g fresh weight, which means that it has declined when compared to the
content in a fresh sprout of Dendrocalamus giganteus which is 5.103/100 g fresh
weight (Nirmala et al. 2008). In other findings by (Devi and Singh 1986), carbo-
hydrate content also decreased in the fermentation of Phyllostachys humilis sprouts.

5.7.6.5 Fibre

The high content of dietary fibres and low fat in the shoots help to control blood
pressure and the thickening of arteries, hypertension, obesity, cardiovascular ail-
ments, thus protecting the human body from coronary diseases and possible car-
cinogens (Kalita and Dutta 2012). The consumption of a fibre-rich bamboo diet
contributes to a decrease in undesirable cholesterols (low-density and very
low-density lipoprotein) in the blood, lowers insulin demand, keeps the digestive
tracks healthy, and improves laxative properties (Howarth et al. 2001; Park et al.
2005). Bhatt et al. (2005) and Park and John (2009) claim that eating bamboo
shoots continuously enhances bowel movements and lipid profiles in young
women. Bhatt et al. (2005) found maximum occurrences of crude fibre (35.5%) in
Melocanna baccifera species bamboo shoots. Sharma et al. (2004) also detected a
differences in the total fibre, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin content in bamboo
sprouts of Bambusa arundinaria, Bambusa polymorpha, Bambusa tulda,
Dendrocalamus calostachyus, Dendrocalamus giganteus, Dendrocalamus mem-
branaceus, and Dendrocalamus strictus. According to Nirmala et al. (2007), the
quantity of dietary fibre increased to twice the amount in ten-day-old sprouts
compared to fresh sprouts in Bambusa bamboos, Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus
asper, Dendrocalamus giganteus, and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii. An investigation
conducted by Kumbhare and Bhargava (2007) revealed no substantial reduction in
fibre content after boiling bamboo sprouts. However, dietary components such as
ADF, NDF, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in fermented sprouts of
Dendrocalamus gigantic increased as compared to freshly harvested sprouts
(Chongtham et al. 2011).

5.7.6.6 Phytosterol

Phytosterol is similar in structure to cholesterol and is found in most plants, and its
existence in fresh or fermented bamboo sprouts is important (Miettinen and Gylling
2003). Several researchers have studied the importance of phytosterol in bamboo
sprouts in contributing to its life sustaining qualities (Kritchevsky and Chen 2005;
Phillips et al. 2005; Ostlund 2007). Using ultra performance liquid chromatogra-
phy, the phytosterol content in the sprouts of Pleioblastus amarus, Pleioblastus
pubescens, Dendrocalamus latiflorus and Pleioblastus praecox were evaluated by
Lu et al. (2009), and they detected higher levels of b-sitosterol as compared to other
sterols like campesterol and stigmasterol. According to Choi et al. (2007), Bradford
212 5 Applications of Bamboo

and Awad (2007), and Woyengo et al. (2009), phytosterol-rich diets help to
decrease breast, colon, and prostate cancer; the development of tumour growth is
subdued by interference in the apoptosis, cell cycle, and tumour metastasis. The
existence of phytosterol also hinders the absorption of dietary cholesterol and
cholesterol esterification in intestinal mucosa by decreasing of cholesterol levels in
the blood. The main sterols available in bamboo sprouts include b-sitosterol,
campesterol, and stigmasterol, according to Lachance and He (1998). A study by
Sarangthem and Singh (2003) found that that sitosterol is the major phytosterol in
bamboo sprouts. A sizeable quantity of phytosterol are extracted from freshly
harvested bamboo sprouts and effectively used to produce steroidal drugs which
help to reduce the demand on the Dioscorea and Solanum species as the main
natural source of steroidal drug components.

5.7.6.7 Phenols

Phenols are essential bioactive compounds in plants that exhibit strong natural
antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties and are sometimes antimicrobial
(Rotelli et al. 2003; Puupponen-Pimia et al 2005; Lehane and Saliba 2008; Oboh
and Ademosun 2012). According to Oboh and Ademosun (2012), Rice-Evans et al.
(1997), and Lu et al. (2005), phenolic compounds in bamboo leaves possess
antioxidant qualities. In a study conducted by Velioglu et al. (1998) on the link
between the antioxidant properties of a plant and its phenolic compound content, it
was found to be statistically relevant. According to Zhang et al. (2011), the quantity
of phenolic compounds changes in fresh bamboo sprouts boiled, steamed, and
stir-fried, as there is a slight decrease in the overall phenolic content in both boiled
and stir-fried sprouts as compared to fresh ones. However, in steamed shoots, there
is an increase in the level of phenolic compounds. The reduction in boiled or stir
fried sprouts may be due to the decomposition of the phenolic compounds during
the heat-treatment process. Yamaguchi et al. (2003) opine that heat treatment might
lead to the inactivation of existing phenolic oxidases which are responsible for the
decomposition of polyphenols. The higher level of overall phenolic compounds and
the increase in antioxidant action are interrelated (Baardseth et al. 2010). A study by
Pandey and Ojha (2013) on Bambusa tulda, Dendrocalamus asper, and
Dendrocalamus strictus reported variations in phenolic compounds at different
optimum harvesting time of the shoots. The concentration of vanillic acid was
reduced in Bambusa tulda, but concentration increased in both Dendrocalamus
asper from 0.009/100 g to 1.262/100 g fresh weight and Dendrocalamus strictus
from 0.273/100 g to 2.563/100 g fresh weight. In another study by (Pandey and
Ojha 2011) on some bamboo species sprouts boiled in a higher salt concentration
for an extensive period, a reduction in an overall phenolic content in the sprouts was
indicated, including Bambusa bamboos, Bambusa tulda, and Dendrocalamus asper.
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 213

5.7.6.8 Taxiphyllin in Bamboo Shoots

Bamboo shoots comprise a range of quantities of cyanogen glycosides known as

taxiphyllin (Nartey 1980; Hunter and Fenge 2000; Vetter 2000). The b-glycosidase,
when released in the tissues of a disturbed bamboo sprout, acts on taxiphyllin to
produce hydrogen cyanide which is harmful, and its toxicity should not surpass the
toxic level in humans (Seigler 1991). The hydrogen cyanide in bamboo is harmful
for humans and requires further treatment to ensure complete removal through
boiling (EFSA 2004). Earlier studies to determine the cyanogen content in some
bamboo species were conducted by Schwarzmaier (1977) and Hunter and Fenge
(2000). Jones (1998) investigated on the content of cyanide (HCN) in various
sections of the bamboo plants of different species, and the results show that there
are differences in content. Moreover, the quantity of cyanogen glycoside in bamboo
sprouts of most edible species has a maximum concentration centered in the sprout
tip. Investigations conducted by Haque and Bradbury (2002) concluded that the
overall cyanide content in Bambusa arundinacea sprout (1010 ppm) was much
higher than in other plant parts like an apricot stone (785 ppm) and sorghum leaf
(750 ppm). Edible bamboo sprouts with high toxic levels of cyanogenic com-
pounds can be completely detoxified by boiling in water for about two hours. When
bamboo shoots are improperly treated before consumption by humans, the fol-
lowing symptoms may be experienced: a drop-in blood pressure, dizziness, head-
ache, rapid respiration, vomiting, convulsion, coma, and stomach pains (FSANZ,
2004). Hydrogen cyanide interferes with the appropriate performance of cyto-
chrome oxidase preventing normal cellular respiration. The existence of HCN in a
concentration of 0.5–3.5 mg/Kg body weight, according to FSANZ findings, may
cause serious health problem that can result in death. An HCN is a respiratory
poison found in high concentrations in bamboo shoots and can cause serious health
concerns if consumed untreated. If bamboo sprouts are not well processed before
consumption, stomach ailments and other mild health-related problems may also
occur. The processing of bamboo sprouts for consumption is based on traditional
Asian methods. However, these processing methods are crude and lack a scientific
foundation. In recent years, scientific processing methods have been adopted to
decrease cyanogenic content and also to evaluate the toxicity of processed bamboo
foods. The methods applied to reduce cyanide and also to remove bitterness from
the fresh or fermented sprouts includes boiling the sprouts at 100 °C for 48 h,
which successfully eliminates 97% of the cyanide (Ferreira et al. 1995). Tender
sprouts can be cut into thin slices, dried, boiled in salt solutions, and drained off to
reduce cyanide content. The process of steaming bamboo sprouts significantly
reduces hydrocyanic acid content (Tripathi 1998).
In an investigation by Pandey and Ojha (2011), they detected that bamboo
sprouts boiled in water with various different concentrations of NaCl at several time
intervals produced the greatest cyanide reduction with the least nutrient loss. The
cyanogen in Bambusa tulda and Dendrocalamus asper sprouts significantly dropped
without much decrease in the content of carbohydrate, phosphorus, potassium,
protein, sodium, and total phenol when the sprouts were boiled for 25 min in 1, 5,
214 5 Applications of Bamboo

and 10% NaCl solutions. A study by Wongsakpairod (2000) revealed that HCN
could be eliminated when the sprouts of harvested bamboo are exposed to super-
heated steam because taxiphyllin decomposes at a temperature of over 116 °C.
The addition of banana leaves by the Adi tribe of Arunachal Pradesh was
reported by Bhardwaj et al. (2005) to be effective way to remove toxic cyanogen
during bamboo sprout fermentation. The process involves constraining bamboo
sprouts under big stones and leaving them for 3–4 months to lower the bitter taste
of fermentation. According to Choudhury et al. (2012), formulating appropriate
processing methods for the production of healthy sprouts is essential to yield
products with longer life spans.

5.7.7 Hydraulic Application of Bamboo

Bamboo culms have been used in the hydraulic industry as pipes to safely and
continuously supply water to a large rural population in Tanzanian. A bamboo culm
for piping should have diameters in the ranges of 3.5, 5.0, 9.0, 10.0, and 12.5 cm
with a 4.0 m length, having an internal water pressure up to 6 atmospheres without
leaking at the joints (Lipangile 1991). This system is employed to transport water
through a network of 150 km of bamboo pipelines in Tanzania and as gutters for
rainwater harvesting (Lipangile 1991). In a study, Singh (1979) reported and dis-
cussed an original method of drip irrigation that is made out of split bamboo and
has been practised in Meghalaya State in India for a long time. The method is
simple and of valuable scientific importance and is extensively used on steep slopes
of up to 10%. This type of well is drilled down to a depth of 50–80 ft. Also, Baqui
and Angeles (1992) evaluated the economics of bamboo-drip irrigation systems and
reported that the low-level technology used in its fabrication, installation, operation,
and maintenance encourages adoption by farmers. The use of bamboo drip for
making inexpensive irrigation and water-supply wells is a promising technology in
some developing countries in Asia and Africa. The cost of the bamboo screen is
only 20% of the expense of a conventional agricultural screen made of steel and
coated with copper. The curing process of bamboo culms does not require chem-
icals but rather air drying, heat treatment, or submerging in water for about 90 days.
The use of bamboo culms for pumping water is safe for domestic purposes. The
system, according to a study conducted by the authors, lasted for a little over ten
years based on a survey of fifteen farmers. These wells provide an excellent
example of simple technology well suited to the needs of small-sized land holdings.

5.7.8 Soil Conditioning

Many countries in Asia (China and India, among others) use bamboo propagation
as a tool for soil-nutrient reclamation and rehabilitation of degraded mined lands.
5.7 Non-engineering Applications 215

Bamboo is suitable for such rehabilitation because it binds loose soils to prevent
erosion and is very versatile, growing in a variety of soils that are poor in mineral
and nutrient content (Christianty et al. 1997).

5.7.9 Transportation and Navigation

Bamboo is used to make components such as: yokes, vehicle shafts, and rollers for
moving heavy objects employed in land transportation. Masts and spars for boats,
or lifts, boat poles, seats and false bottoms, and ribs for boat canopies are examples
of bamboo products used in navigation.

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Amanda S, Untao S (2001) Fracture properties of bamboo. Compos B 32:451–459
Baardseth P, Bjerke F, Martinsen BK, Skrede G (2010) Vitamin C, total phenolics and
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