A new paper from GCB Bioenergy suggests that bamboo, being a fast-growing plant that absorbs carbon dioxide, could be a promising source for biofuels such as bioethanol and biochar.
Critics argue that even if biofuels have an efficient production process, they can still have significant environmental impacts.
Concerns about food insecurity are also raised, as industrialized bamboo production for biofuels could compound existing problems caused by industrial agriculture.
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Bamboo
A new scientific paper from GCB Bioenergy has found that bamboo could be the next big thing in biofuels. The authors argue that industrialized agriculture of bamboo for diversion to fuel mixes could be a win-win for the environment, as bamboo is fast-growing, absorbs carbon dioxide, and provides substantial quantities of oxygen to the atmosphere. Various transformative processes including fermentation and pyrolysis could then be used to convert raw bamboo into diverse bioenergy products, with ioethanol and biochar being the primary outputs.
The research is still in its early phases, and lead author Zhiwei Liang, of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Science, says that “since the chemical composition of bamboo varies across different species, future research efforts should focus on gathering a more extensive collection of quantitative data for selecting species advantageous for minimizing biomass pre-treatment time and cost.”
While bamboo would be a nearly inexhaustible source of biomass, there are concerns about the overall viability and logic behind pouring resources into bamboo biofuel research. For one thing, it’s deja vu all over again. For decades, algal biofuel was touted as the next big thing to save the planet, with much of the same reasoning as you just heard related to bamboo. But after years of research and billions of dollars invested, algal biofuel is dead in the water. In fact, research now suggests that biodiesel from microalgae may actually prduce more carbon than petroleum-based diesel due to its highly energy-intensive production process.
Furthermore, lots of environmentalists argue that even when biofuels have an efficient production process, they still aren’t good for the environment. Since they are combusted like fossil fuels, they create considerable carbon emissions, but they are also considered to be “inefficient land hogs.” Industrial biomass production such as corn and wood pellet production are drivers of serious environmental harm including deforestation, water pollution, and the creation of toxic dead zones across the country and the Gulf of Mexico thanks to the heavy use of pesticides.
