Could bamboo be a viable alternative to petrol?

A new study by the Imperial College, London, has suggested that bamboo ethanol may be a promising alternative to petrol.

According to the research, published in Biotechnology for Biofuels, the composition of bamboo is similar to energy grasses that are used in biofuel production, including switchgrass.

Bamboo, the researchers highlight, has a cell wall that comprises cellulose, lignin and hemicellulose. However, a pre-treatment stage would be needed to maximise hydrolysis of cell wall sugars into monomeric form.

The team looked at using liquid hot water as a pre-treatment that enhanced sugar release from bamboo lignocellulose and minimised both environmental and economic costs. Pre-treatments were carried out at 170-190⁰C for 10-30 minutes.

Their economic analysis found the lowest enzyme loading presented the most commercially viable scenario with a production cost of $0.484 per litre. This was due to significant enzyme contribution compared to cost. Bamboo is therefore, they conclude, cost-competitive with petrol at the pump in scenarios with enzyme loadings of 60 FPU/g glucan and below, even without tax breaks.

China has suggested that a biofuel industry could be used to utilise its surplus grain stocks and it is now the third largest bioethanol producer in the world.