Cold-Press Manufacturing of Laminated Bamboo and Bamboo–Timber Composites for Sustainable Construction: A Life-Cycle Carbon Assessment

This study examines a cold-press manufacturing method for laminated bamboo and bamboo-timber composites, together with a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint analysis of the produced materials. The proposed material systems are assessed as alternatives to conventional engineered bamboo and to widely used construction materials such as structural steel, concrete, and aluminum. Existing engineered bamboo products are typically manufactured using hot pressing and formaldehyde-based adhesives, both of which contribute to their environmental burden. The present work, therefore, considers a more practical and environmentally responsible route based on lower-energy processing and lower-emission adhesive systems. Following a cradle-to-gate carbon footprint analysis of the produced materials, the embodied carbon values obtained for the four systems are 404.8, 310.8, 264.8, and 197.5 kg CO₂e/m³ for BBE, BPA, CBE, and CPA specimens, respectively. Relative to conventional hot-pressed laminated bamboo, these values, respectively, correspond to embodied-carbon reductions of 32.0%, 47.8%, 55.5%, and 66.8%. When the biogenic carbon stored in the bamboo and pine biomass is included, the net carbon balances become −484.0, −619.0, −646.1, and −631.2 kg CO₂e/m³, respectively. These results show that the proposed engineered bamboo and bamboo-timber composites offer a feasible low-carbon option for construction applications.