Performance and environmental implication assessments of green bio-composite from rice straw and bamboo

The clean and eco-efficient utilization of agro-industrial lignocellulose wastes is imperative for social development. This study proposes a viable strategy combining rice straw and waste bamboo particles into bio-composites using green adhesives. These new bio-composites can displace the traditional wood-particle boards, which is a viable strategy to economize on wood resources. The internal bonding strength reached 0.57 MPa, and the thickness swelling rate was 7.00% (24h), which met the ISO requirements for P-FN MR1 particleboard in humid conditions. The characterizations of profile density distribution and microstructure were used to elucidate the mechanical strength and water resistance of bio-composites associated with the surface morphology of biomass and the density variation of bio-composites. The obtained green bio-composites can be utilized with long service life to realize carbon sequestration from agro-industrial lignocellulose wastes. According to the LCA, the net carbon flux could reach −1198.49 kg CO2 eq. when producing 1 m3 bio-composite. Meanwhile, if this strategy is successfully extended to the global particleboard market, the utilization of 23.97 million tonnes of rice straw per year can economize on 1.61 million hm2 of the forest, and decrease the emission of CO2 by 63.76 million tonnes. This study provided a new straw/bamboo-based bio-composite. While using agro-industrial lignocellulose wastes efficiently, this new strategy can appreciably favour carbon neutrality.