Bamboo: A Sustainable Alternative for Biochar Production

Biochar is a carbon-rich, heterogeneous, and chemically complex material produced by the thermal decomposition of biomass sources through the process of pyrolyzation. Research interest in biochar has grown recently due to its potential to improve soil microbial and enzymatic activity and soil properties, thus increasing agricultural yields along with contributing significantly to sustainable carbon sequestration, thereby mitigating climate change. With the continuous increase in food insecurity, soil pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and environmental safety demands, biochar in recent years has been linked to the development of sustainable agriculture and soil management as well as carbon sequestration. Due to the recent explosion of methods of large-scale synthesis of biochar, research relevant to biochar and biochar-based materials has increased exponentially. A wide range of biochar types is produced from feedstock, including woody residues, crop straws, animal manures, sewage sludge, and food wastes. Biochar made of woody feedstocks is of the highest quality but large production of wood biochar leads to deforestation and increased pressure on forests, thereby affecting the environment. Bamboo is a multipurpose plant with a wide range of uses, from construction, household items, food, biofuel, cosmetics, textiles, nutraceuticals and many more. It is an ideal precursor for biochar because of its significantly accelerated growth rate allowing harvesting of its culms every year, abundance, high biomass yield, low price, low ash content, alkali index and the possibility of propagation through tissue culture which makes it a sustainable alternate for biochar production. Dendrocalamus and Phyllostachys spp are some common bamboo species used for biochar production. This chapter will explore the feasibility of utilizing bamboo as biochar feedstock and as a suitable alternative for the remediation of environmental pollutants, soil conditioning, crop growth-boosting and carbon sequestration and will offer a perspective for future research and development of bamboo as biochar and its numerous uses.