Compositions and methods for bamboo pulping

Abstract

Disclosed herein are compositions, methods and systems for bamboo pulping. Bamboo biomass materials that are exclusively or largely uniform are used for bamboo pulping. In some embodiments, the bamboo biomass materials are derived from a pure stand or monoculture of bamboo. In some embodiments, the bamboo pure stand or monoculture is generated by micropropagation comprising meta-topolin or an analogue thereof and / or thidiazuron or an analogue thereof.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. Nos. 61 / 433,153, filed Jan. 14, 2011; 61 / 514,792, filed Aug. 3, 2011; 61 / 514,797, filed Aug. 3, 2011; and 61 / 553,437, filed Oct. 31, 2011, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties for all purposes.FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE[0002]Disclosed herein are compositions, systems and methods for bamboo pulping.BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE[0003]The subfamily Bambusoideae (of the family Poaceae), comprises both woody and herbaceous bamboos. At present roughly 120 genera of temperate and tropical woody bamboos are recognized. Bamboos are versatile plants with many different applications. It has been estimated that approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide use bamboo to some extent, and in 1985 the global revenue attributable to bamboo was estimated around U.S. $4.5 billion. The market for bamboo is also expanding. Bamboo shoots are a staple of A...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018]The compositions, methods and systems of the present invention provide uniform bamboo material that pulps and bleaches similarly to hardwood, thereby enabling high throughput and low operating costs.

[0019]The rapid propagation of bamboo provided by the compositions, methods and systems of the present invention permit large-scale bamboo plantations that provide uniform feedstock at low establishment costs.

[0020]The uniform bamboo plants provided by the compositions, methods and systems of the present invention can be prepared with the same or similar kraft pulping and bleaching sequences typically used for hardwoods, thereby providing strong, high-brightness fibers suitable for many furnish blends.

Problems solved by technology

Although bamboo appears to be a promising biomass source, few plantations exist due to the high inherent cost of establishment.

Bamboo plants flower infrequently primarily reproducing primarily through rhizomal propagation, which creates a shortage of seeds or creates high-cost root stock.

Despite bamboo's rapid growth rate, it has other characteristics that make it a difficult crop to manage.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty comes from the fact that many commercially important bamboos only flower at intervals of as long as 60-130 years.

Compounding the difficulties of this long flowering cycle is the fact that many bamboos exhibit mass (or gregarious) flowering, with all plants in the population flowering simultaneously.

Bamboo's lengthy flowering interval and propensity for mass flowering makes it very difficult to obtain seeds for propagation.

Compounding this problem is the fact that bamboo seeds, even when they are available, remain viable for no more than 3-6 months.

These asexual propagation techniques, however, are insufficient to meet projected world demand because both their capacity to produce mass scale production, and their practical efficiency, are too low.

In addition many asexual propagation methods have the downside of failing to eliminate pathogens present in the parent plants.

Such short time frames and large numbers cannot be rivaled by any conventional method.

In practice, however (i.e., for large or mass scale propagation of bamboos), the methods described in these papers do not translate into commercially viable propagation systems.

The difficulties encountered in tissue culturing bamboo are high incidences of endogenous or surface contaminations and browning, factors related to dormancy or topophysis and hyperhydricity.

Images