Bamboo Fibre Mat Board/Bamboo Mat Board

Bamboo mat boards (BMB) are produced from woven mats of bamboo that are soaked in adhesive resin and then pressed firmly together in a hot press. They were the first of the wide range of different panel boards presently available that use bamboo as a raw material, but they are the simplest to produce, involve only bamboo raw materials and have great income generating potential for the rural poor, who are able to weave the mats from which they are formed. The technology for the manufacture of BMB in India has been developed by the Indian Plywood Industries Research Institute (IPIRTI), Bangalore, who have developed a technically feasible and commercially viable technology for its manufacture. BMB is gaining in popularity and there are currently a handful of BMB factories in operation in India and 16 in China.

Bamboo mat board is very versatile and can be produced up to 6 mm thick by varying the number of mat layers used; boards are usually formed of 2, 3, 5 or 7 mats. For thicker laminated boards, wood veneers are interleaved with the bamboo boards to produce bamboo mat-veneer composite boards (the production of these is not covered in this TOTEM). BMB is at least as durable and stable as wood-based plywood and is very resistant to pest attack, extreme climatic conditions and fire. It can be used for many of the uses to which plywood is now put such as paneling, ceilings, prefabricated shelters, packing cases and storage bins, roofs, doors and door panels, furniture, and household utensils such as trays and plates. BMB is much more flexible than wood-based-plywood and can be used in structural applications such as stressed skin panels, wall bracings and web beams for which plywood is not suitable.

The first recorded production of bamboo based panels was in China during the mid 1940s where bamboo mat board bonded with casein (enamel) glues was used in the interior of aeroplanes as an alternative to aircraft-grade plywood. At about the same time research was initiated in India to develop synthetic resinbonded bamboo mat board, for which the technology became available a decade and a half later. Since then, research has been carried out in several countries and over 30 types of panel products have been developed-some made of bamboo only and others of bamboo in combination with wood, lignocellulosic materials and inorganic materials. Research and development efforts have been mostly confined to countries of the AsiaPacific region i.e. China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Canada (in collaboration with Costa Rica) is the only country outside Asia where research on bamboo panels is being carried out.

The invention provides for this purpose a method for manufacturing a bamboo mat, comprising the processing steps of

• A) processing bamboo into bamboo strips,
• B) drying the bamboo strips to a predetermined moisture content,
• C) machining at least the longitudinal sides of the bamboo strips dried according to step B) so as to form a uniform plane,
• D) parallel positioning of a plurality of machined bamboo strips with the longitudinal sides adjoining, and
• E) mutually connecting the parallel positioned bamboo strips by means of coupling means.

Although there was some pioneering work in Taiwan and innovative products such as plybamboo (bamboo glue-lam) were developed, the bamboo board industry is reported to be facing extinction there due to the sharp increase in wages and shortages of raw materials. In Thailand, the only product manufactured is bamboo mat board glued with Urea Formaldehyde (UF) resin and this is mainly produced for export. In countries such as Laos, the Philippines and Vietnam, interest in bamboo matboard production is relatively new, and the industries there are presently in the phase of exploratory studies and experimental or pilot scale production.

EIRI have recently prepared a Detailed Project Report on this unit covering all the following contents, Entrepreneurs may contact at: eiri@eiriindia.org or Call at: +91 9811437895 for more details.

COST ESTIMATION
Plant  Capacity                                            :       15.00 Cubic Mtr./day
land & Building (3000 Sq.Mtrs)                :    Rs. 1.58   Cr
Plant & Machinery                                       :    Rs. 1.96   Cr
Working Capital for 2 Months                   :    Rs. 2.85   Cr
Total Capital Investment                            :    Rs. 6.55   Cr
Rate of Return                                             :    30%
Break Even Point                                         :    53%
Following are the Contents covering in this Detailed Project Report prepared by EIRI (eiri@eiriindia.org)
INTRODUCTION
ADVANTAGE OF BAMBOO MAT BOARD
THE MAIN DEVELOPMENT ATTRIBUTES OF THE TECHNOLOGY
ARE AS FOLLOWS
USES AND APPLICATION
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS
CHARACTERISTICS & PROPERTIES
OF BAMBOO FLOORING/PANELLING
IT HAS VARIOUS IMPORTANT USEFUL PROPERTIES – IN ITS
CONSTRUCTION FEATURES.
SIZES OF BAMBOO FLOORING/BAMBOO PANELING
STYLES
FOR BAMBOO FLOORING/PANELING ETC
BAMBOO MAT BOARD – A REPLACEMENT FOR PLYWOOD
OVERVIEW OF BAMBOO IN INDIA
TABLE DISTRIBUTION OF BAMBOO IN INDIA
TABLE DISTRIBUTION OF SOME IMPORTANT BAMBOO SPECIES IN INDIA
BAMBOO MAT CORRUGATED SHEET [BMCS]
DEVELOPMENT OF BAMBOO COMPOSITE AND MAT BOARD IN INDIA
A. BAMBOO MAT BASED PRODUCTS
B BAMBOO STRIP BASED PRODUCTS
C. BAMBOO IN ROUND/SPLIT/COMPOSITE FORM
FIG 1. A GENERALIZED PROCESS FLOW CHART FOR BAMBOO
MAT COMPOSITES IS AS FOLLOWS
FIG 2. FLOW CHART FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF BAMBOO WOOD
ADHESIVES
RESIN APPLICATION
HOT PRESS CONDITIONS
TEMPERATURE
PRESSURE
TIME
FINISHING OF PRODUCTS
BAMBOO MAT BOARD
TABLE
BAMBOO AND BAMBOO PLYWOOD
PROPERTIES OF BAMBOO MAT CORRUGATED SHEET
A. BOND QUALITY
B. RESISTANCE TO DECAY AND INSECTS
C. WATER PERMEABILITY
D. LOAD BEARING CAPACITY
E. THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
BAMBOO MAT BOARD AND TECHNOLOGIES OF BAMBOO BASED PANELS
B.I.S. SPECIFICATION
METHODS OF TESTS FOR ROUND BOMBOOS (AS PER IS: 6874 – 1973)
MOISTURE CONTENT AND SPECIFIC GRAVITY
APPARATUS
PROCEDURE
MEASUREMENT OF LOAD AND DEFLECTION
RECORDING OF DATA AND COMPUTATIONS
MARKET SURVEY
INDUSTRY STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENTS
WOOD PANEL PRODUCTS
FURNITURE INDUSTRY
OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS
OPPORTUNITIES
THREATS
OUTLOOK AND OPTIMISM
DETAILED EXPORT DATA OF BAMBOO MAT
MANUFACTURERS/SUPPLIERS/EXPORTERS FOR BAMBOO MAT BOARDS
MANUFACTURING PROCESS OF BAMBOO MAT BOARD
CUTTING OF BAMBOO
REMOVAL OF OUTER
BAMBOO SPLITTING & SIZING
REMOVAL OF INSIDE BAMBOO KNOTS OF OUTSIDE BAMBOO SKIN
PROCESSING OF FOUR SIDES OF BAMBOO STRIP TO SIZE REQUIRED
DRYER TREATMENT
STICK SIZING
BAMBOO STRIP GLUING
ADHESIVE PREPARATION
GLUE/ADHESIVE MIXING
SHAPING THE BAMBOO FLOOR BY HYDRAULIC PRESS
PLANING OF BAMBOO FLOOR
DOUBLE END CUTTING AND SHAPING
SANDING
COATING OF BAMBOO FLOOR SURFACE WITH UV PRIMER
FEATURES OF ROLLER TYPE COATING MACHINE
UV CURING
PLANING OF BAMBOO SURFACE BY SANDER 2′
STANDARD ACCESSORIES AND FUNCTIONS OF SANDER 2′
COATING OF BAMBOO SURFACE WITH UV PRIMER
UV CURING & FINISHING
GRADING AND INSPECTION
PROCESS FLOW CHART
SPECIFICATIONS OF PLANT & MACHINERY
PROCESSING DETAILS OF BAMBOOS
BAMBOO CROSS-CUTTING MACHINE
BAMBOO SPLITTING MACHINE WITH KNIVES
BAMBOO SPLITTING MACHINE WITH CIRCULAR SAWS
BAMBOO WIDTH SIZING, KNOT REMOVING AND PLANING MACHINE
BAMBOO FOUR-SIDE PLANING MACHINE
BAMBOO ONE-SIDE PLANING MACHINE
BAMBOO SLAB MAKING MACHINE
BAMBOO TREATMENT
DETAILS OF BAMBOO MATS BOARD MANUFACTURE
HARVESTING BAMBOO
SPLITTING BAMBOO
KNOT REMOVAL
SLIVER MAKING
DRYING AND WEAVING
STORAGE OF MATS
RESIN APPLICATION
RESIN DILUTION WITH WATER FOR DIPPING
QUANTITY OF PF RESIN REQUIRED
STABILIZATION AND DRYING OF RESIN COATED MATS
ASSEMBLY
HOT PRESSING
TRIMMING AND CHECKING
MANUFACTURE OF RESIN
DRY-WET PROCESS TO MANUFACTURE
SLICED BAMBOO VENEER
PRODUCING BAMBOO STRIP AND BOARD
PRODUCING LAMINATED BAMBOO LUMBER
BAMBOO BOARD MOISTURE CONTENT
QUALITY OF SLICED BAMBOO VENEER
PRODUCTIVITY
CONCLUSIONS
PLANT LAYOUT
SUPPLIERS OF RAW MATERIALS
MELAMINE UREA FORMALDEHYDE RESIN
SUPPLIERS OF PLANT AND MACHINERY
BAMBOO CROSS CUTTING MACHINE
BAMBOO SPLITTING MACHINE
BAMBOO KNOT REMOVING MACHINE

APPENDIX – A:

1.      COST OF PLANT ECONOMICS
2.      LAND & BUILDING
3.      PLANT AND MACHINERY
4.      FIXED CAPITAL INVESTMENT
5.      RAW MATERIAL
6.      SALARY AND WAGES
7.      UTILITIES AND OVERHEADS
8.      TOTAL WORKING CAPITAL
9.      COST OF PRODUCTION
10.      PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS
11.      BREAK EVEN POINT
12.      RESOURCES OF FINANCE
13.      INTEREST CHART
14.      DEPRECIATION CHART
15.      CASH FLOW STATEMENT
16.      PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET