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L.N. Revathy

Coimbatore, Aug 26

‘The high energy biomass from bamboo could serve as ‘green coal’. This is renewable and less polluting than coal,’ Dr N. Barathi, Director, Growmore Biotech, has said.

He said biomass from bamboo was never seen as an alternative for alternative to coal until recently due to various reasons such as the low average yield of bamboo, difficulty in harvesting and the lack of standardised agricultural practice for cultivating the plant.

“We have developed a thornless bamboo variety – Beema. Not only is the yield high (about 100 tonnes a hectare a year), its energy value at 4,000 Kcal is also high, at 80 per cent of coal energy value. The bamboo (green coal) is available at just about a third of the cost coal,” he said, adding “today we are witnessing not only coal shortage, but a steep rise in its price. By going for this green coal, we can save foreign exchange and protect the environment as well.”

Growmore has a monthly production capacity of 4 lakh bamboo plants. The company has been involved in supplying bamboo plants to the Governments of Mizoram, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. “We are in talks with Maharashtra Government as also some corporates for supply of tissue culture plantings,” Dr Barathi said.

The company has supplied to farmers with small holdings of up to 10 acres in Tamil Nadu. “It is more than a year now. Plantations in Kerala have raised bamboo as a border crop and in swampy lands.”

Stating that the variety – Beema – from Growmore stable served as an excellent carbon sink, he said that under well managed condition with drip and fertigation, the crop could be harvested in two years, unlike the normal crop which could be harvested only after 6-7 years.

The combustion property and energy value/kg can further be improved by either pelletising chips and powders made from all plant parts of bamboo or by gasification by heating bamboo biomass, he added

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