Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, May 11, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, May 11, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Events Tapping commercial potential of bamboo Our Bureau
BANGALORE, May 10 BANGALORE-based Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI) is showcasing technologies developed by it as part of the National Technology Day celebrations. The IPIRTI, part of the National Bamboo Mission, is focussing on developing commercially viable bamboo composites as an alternative to wood, according to scientist Dr S. K. Nath. ``We want to give the general public, architects, builders, engineers and entrepreneurs access to the technologies being developed at the centre and to highlight their usability,'' he said. On show will be the bamboo-corrugated sheet developed by the institute as an alternate to asbestos and metallic corrugated sheets being used now. The bamboo sheets can take up to five times the load of current materials and even last five times as longer. The uses of the sheets have already been demonstrated in Bangalore, New Delhi and Chennai and its commercial production would begin in the next 4-6 months, he said. In terms of thermal comfort and the ability to keep noise away, the bamboo-corrugated mat compared favourably with other materials, Dr Nath said. A replacement for plywood, in the form of bamboo mat board, is also under development. Another product on which experiments are on is the `bamboo lam,' a sheet product that can replace solid wood in furniture. "We have a pilot project going on... but for a few refinements, the product is ready for commercial production,'' Dr Nath said. IPIRTI is also working on several projects to develop processing techniques to ensure strength, pest resistance and workability for immature plantation timber and on panelling products, block boards, flush doors and particle board that are eco-friendly and of natural origin. Other projects with commercial potential are making plywood or panel products from shade-grown silver oak used in coffee plantations, developing ply-type products from over 20 different species identified by the Tamil Nadu Government, developing laminate or wood-work from immature sal trees as requested by the West Bengal Government, and a project by the Himachal Pradesh Government to develop particle board from pine needles apart from casuarina needles that are found in Karnataka.
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