Help Save the World

with
Bamboo
By

Dr. Segundino U. Foronda, Ph.D.

Forester, Inventor & Forest Products Specialist
E-mail: drdino.foronda@gmail.com

Democracy M. Icawalo
INBAR Alumnus & Bamboo Advocate
E-mail: mr8ph@yahoo.com
If you don't know bamboo,
then be ready
to fall in love
with this miracle grass!
Bamboo Approach to Climate
Change
 CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change refers to any change in climate
over time whether due to natural variability or as a
result of human activity or changing levels of
Green House Gases (GHGs).
It describes the short and long term effects on the
earths climate as a result of human activities such
as fossil fuel combustion and vegetation clearing
and burning.
It is also now referred to as GLOBAL WARMING.
What is Climate Change?
Causes of Climate Change

Wanton utilization of fossil fuels

Deforestation
 Effects of Climate Change
Pollution of water, air and soil
Polar ice caps melting
Negative economic consequences
Increased extreme weather conditions
Spread of diseases
Landscape changes
Adverse effects on agriculture and food supply
CO2 Level
Time Frame
NASA Mandate
Only Natural Processes Can Draw
Down CO2
 Solutions
1. Re-greening with trees and bamboo
Bamboo is more recommended, however,
considering its natural characteristics as follows:
- Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide
compared to trees. It also emits 35% more oxygen.
Even in finished products form, it will not release
its C02 contents for centuries.
- It is much more sustainable and easier to
plant. Even when burned, it will just grow back
unlike trees.
- Its maximum maturity period is only 5 years
while the minimum time for trees to mature on
the average is 10 years.
- It could be a feedstock for bio-fuel.
 Bamboo
. Regreens the earth faster than trees
. Controls erosion along river banks
. Establishes on depleted soils
. Restores soil fertility
. Improves micro-climate bringing needed
rains
 Solutions

2. Shift from dirty non-

sustainable fossil-based fuel to
clean sustainable bio-fuel
 Bio-oil
What is bio-oil (BO)?
Not oil in traditional sense
Liquid biomass, molecular composition
resembles the feedstock
Clean burning, carbon dioxide neutral fuel
Aka: pyrolysis oil, bio-crude oil
Can be co-fired in furnaces, boilers, gas
turbines, and diesel engines
 Benefits of Bio-oil
Reduce dependence on fossil fuel
Establish land cover
Reduce GHG emissions
Create jobs
Motivate economic activity in the countryside
Stabilizes rural economies
Save foreign exchange
Cheaper than fossil fuel
 Bio-oil
Green substitute to
conventional fossil fuels
in power generation for
now.

( Soon, for transportation

fuels! )
Bio-oil Processing
Fast Pyrolysis
 Feedstock
Any lignocellulosic or cellulosic material
Forestry, agricultural and processing residues
Wood, sawdust, bark, forest slash, waste paper
Rice straw & husk, corn stalks & cobs, bamboo
Cellulosic residues from bio-diesel/ bio-ethanol
production, e.g., coco shell & husk, bagasse, etc.
Poultry litter, animal dung

No competition with food supply!

Bamboo Most Favorable Feedstock
Indigenous plant species
Easier to establish than tree species
High regenerative capacity, even when burned
High capacity to withstand extreme
environmental conditions
Fast growing and high-biomass yield
Short maturity period
Co-products:
- Bamboo shoots
- High quality pole segments
Bio-fuel Crops Compared
 Products of Fast Pyrolysis
Bio-oil Char
- Liquid biomass - Black powder
- Can be stored, pumped - Incompletely
and transported combusted biomass

Non-condensable gas
- Re-circulated into the
pyrolysis process
 Cost of Bio-oil
Even more importantly, bio-oil is priced at
$25 - $35 a barrel (Zeman, 2007)

Equiv crude oil: US$ 45.45 63.64 a barrel

CDM benefits when factored will increase

bio-oils competitiveness!
 Bamboo BO Plant Capacity

1000 ha plantation = 100TPD BO Facility

Daily BO output = 70-75 TPD

 Moving Forward
Invest in Bamboo Bio-oil Production
and make money!
Reduce dependence on fossil fuels
Reduce GHG emissions
Protect the environment
Reduce Poverty
 Bio-coal
What is bio-coal?
Torrefied biomass
Aka: e-coal, green coal
No smoke/ odor, clean
HHV = 22-26 MJ/kg
Easy to mill, friable
Hydrophobic
Decay resistant
 Benefits of Bio-coal
Stores and handles like fossil coal
Requires no retrofitting for coal-fired plants
Consistent and uniform fuel efficiency
Generates electricity as efficiently as fossil coal
Enables immediate GHG emissions reduction
Fossil coal will emit (+/-) 300% more carbon dioxide
compared to bio-coal
Cost of bio-coal is only (+/-) 40% of the cost of fossil
coal
 Bio-coal Processing
Torrefaction
200-300 C
zero oxygen
(+/-) 30 minutes

Densification
milling/ grinding
pelletizing
2 . Use of clean & sustainable bio-fuels

Fossil Fuels vs. Bio-oil & Bio-coal

Non-renewable Renewable
Grey CO2 Green CO2
Dirty Clean
Not cheap Cheaper than
fossil fuels
Bio-char
 What is Bio-Char?
It is a by-product of
pyrolisis process
Bio-char with Microbes
Win-win
Bio-char for Climate Stailization
Bio-char Works!
We need to move

from this

to this!
 Remember, we need to save
our world for our children.

Help save the world with bamboo!!!

Xie xie !