Estimating sequestered CO2 in BWCP (Bamboo Winding Composite Pipe)

An estimate was made of the weight of sequestered atmospheric CO2 per metric tonne of BWCP
product using a methodology developed for timber products [42]. The estimate was made based on
the assumption that 30% of total pipe weight is bamboo curtain stock. From data given for BWCP
constituents by Shi et al. [30] for a functional unit (1 m) of BWCP the weight balance of bamboo
curtain is 28.6%. The density of the bamboo is 627 kg/m3 while that of the non-bamboo resin matrix
and other constituents’ averages around 1200 kg/m 3 . Converting to a volume basis, 1 t of pipe is
assumed to contain 30% w/w bamboo or 300 kg comprising 0.48 m3 of its total volume.

Previous estimates of sequestered CO2 in bamboo and its products [43,44] use a carbon (C) content
of bamboo biomass of 50% of oven dry weight, equivalent to wood. Therefore, a standard method
used for estimating the sequestered CO2 content in wood building products [42] may be used to
make an estimate of the sequestered CO2 in bamboo products such as BWCP. Estimates of embodied
CO2 were made for 1 tonne of pipe and each factory is assumed to produce a total of 5 kt of pipes
per year for a total of 80 kt of pipes estimated to be produced by four BWCP factories over a period
of 4 years (the common harvest cycle for Moso bamboo culms). The weight of a standard 12 m
length of 800 mm diameter pipe calculated from the constituent figures given in Shi et al. [30] is
approximately 1 tonne and the bamboo curtain stock was assumed to contain 8% water. The
following calculations were derived from Bergman et al. [42] and used here to estimate the weight of
CO2 equivalent sequestered in the bamboo portion of the pipe.

Bw = fB × Pw

where Bw = weight of bamboo, fB = weight fraction of bamboo in pipe, Pw = weight of total pipe.

Bodw = B − (B × 0.08)

where Bodw = oven dry weight bamboo tissue; C = Bodw/2, where C = weight of carbon in bamboo;
CO2eq = C × 3.663, as C represents 27.3% of the atomic weight of CO2.