Bamboo could be future renewable energy source
Why in news:
- Bamboo was discovered by researchers to be a desirable resource in efforts to provide environmentally friendly renewable energy to replace fossil fuels.
- The research was published in the journal ‘GCB Bioenergy.’
- According to the authors, bamboo grows quickly, absorbs carbon dioxide, and emits a lot of oxygen into the atmosphere.
- They describe a variety of methods for converting raw materials into bioethanol, biogas, and other bioenergy products, including fermentation and pyrolysis.
- There is now a tool with constraints for selecting the best bamboo species for various bioenergy production procedures.
- Researchers found the potential use of bamboo resources in energy systems and energy value-added technology.
About Bamboo:
- It is a type of grass and grows from it’s roots, when it is cut it quickly grows back with most species maturing in 3-5 years.
- This amazing plant grows in both tropical and temperate environments and is very hardy, not needing pesticides or herbicides to grow well.
- Bamboo culms can attain heights ranging from 10 to 15 cm (about 4 to 6 inches) in the smallest species to more than 40 metres (about 130 feet) in the largest.
- There are over 1000 species of bamboo.
- Bamboos are used for a great variety of purposes, especially in East and Southeast Asia.
- The seeds of some species are eaten as grain, and the cooked young shoots of some bamboos are eaten as vegetables, especially in Chinese cuisines.
- The raw leaves are a useful fodder for livestock.
- The fine-grained silica produced in the joints of bamboo stems has been used as a medicine in the Orient for centuries under the name tabasheer.
Syllabus: Prelims
