Bamboo could be the next big thing for renewable fuel, powering automobiles, planes, and trains for less than $3 per gasoline-gallon equivalent while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

​Researchers from Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s Department of Chemical Engineering have demonstrated bamboo’s potential as a raw material for a sustainable, economic liquid fuel that could offer an alternative to carbon-intensive fossil fuels.​

The team ran modeling experiments to compare the cost and emissions of fuels made from the perennial grass with conventional fuels.

​Based on economic modeling studies, researchers found that fuel sourced from bamboo can be produced at much more affordable prices. The model predicted that for the same driving distance and power as a standard gallon of gas, one needs to spend as little as $2.75 for this plant-based fuel. The price factors in production costs, including the money needed to build and operate the fuel plant at commercial scale. This fuel could cost about the same as, or even less than, regular gasoline at the pump, according to the study, making it a potential cost-effective alternative.

​Besides its competitive pricing, bamboo-based fuel for the transport industry might also benefit the environment.

​The transportation sector is the leading source of carbon emissions in the United States. The team found that fuels using bamboo as a source have a 26-times lower carbon footprint than petrol or diesel fuel.

5 grams of carbon dioxide-equivalent per megajoule of energy. This makes the fuel 26 times cleaner than standard fossil fuels, which release 90-95 grams of carbon dioxide-equivalent per megajoule of energy.

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