In Bangalore, industrial designer and mechanical engineer Deepak Dadheech envisions a delivery drone made largely out of bamboo that is more sustainable to produce and would biodegrade at the end of its usable life. Dadheech has created a design with bamboo being used for the drone’s frame, legs, and arms. In most of today’s drones, […]
In Romania, bike startup Diodra has developed e-bikes with bamboo frames. At 15 kilos, Diodra claims the e-bikes are the lightest ever produced and boast additional features like auto-shifting gears and puncture-free tires. According to designboom, bamboo has a higher strength-to-weight ratio than common bike frame materials like aluminum. It also notes that wood can […]
In India, Reuters reports Numaligarh Refinery plans to start producing ethanol from bamboo at its Assam refinery in March. The technology developed by Chempolis will produce 50,000 metric tons of ethanol annually as well as 16,000 tons of furfural, the surplus of which will eventually be exported to the European Union, and 11000 tons acetic […]
In India, NTPC, the largest power-generating utility in India, and Chempolis India, a Fortum group associate Co & a leading Finnish biorefining technology provider, have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding on April 10 to explore the feasibility of setting up a Bamboo Based Bio-Refinery in Bongaigaon/Assam. Through this MoU, Chempolis will work with NTPC […]
In India, the Hindu newspaper reports Numaligarh Refinery’s bamboo-based biorefinery is set to come online this year, producing 49,000 metric tons of ethanol. The Sentinel Assam previously reported the facility will also produce 11,000 tons of acetic acid and 19,000 tons of furfural. Last fall, 25 local entrepreneurs were identified to set up bamboo chipping […]
In India, a young product designer has created a prototype of 70% biodegradable headphones made out of bamboo. Twenty-six-year old Aakansh Chaturvedi tells The Better India he chose to pursue headphones because it’s a widely used product globally. “I found out that it is actually quite difficult to manufacture a headphone without plastic,” he says. […]
In California, a Tesla featuring a custom bamboo-based leather interior is on display at the Petersen Automotive Museum. According to Luxury Launches, the bespoke Model S Plaid uses Banbū animal-free leather developed by Von Holzhausen. Banbū is described by Von Holzhausen to be “buttery-soft like lambskin, scratch-resistant, stain-resistant, water-resistant, and lightweight.” It is also biodegradable. […]
In the United Kingdom, Eco Green Living is selling compostable diapers made from bamboo. Developed in partnership with Eco Boom, the company hopes the nappies help address the almost 3 billion disposable diapers that are thrown out in the UK annually. Conventional plastic diapers can take up to 500 years to break down, releasing greenhouse […]
In Connecticut, razor brand Schick has launched disposable razors that are 70% composed of bamboo appeal to environmentally conscious consumers. Edgewell Personal Care Co., parent company of Schick, has also increased the sustainability of its packaging by using paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. By 2030, Edgewell is targeting 100% recyclable, compostable, or reusable […]
In Massachusetts, a team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and around the globe has co-developed a process to convert bamboo into an ethanol fuel for powering cars and trucks. The research, funded in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) the World Bank African Centers of Excellence program through the Pan African Materials […]
