The largest sea crossbage in the world uses bamboo boards

Stretching 54.7 km, the overtone of Hong Kong – Chau Hai – Macau (Hzmb) is the largest bridge and tunnel system in the world. Towards existence for more than a decade, this $ 18.8 billion architectural masterpiece includes 3 cable car bridges, a underground tunnel and 4 artificial islands, specially designed for intense sun, water The sea erosion and strong storms, follow Interesting Engineering.

With 7 tropical swirls sweeping the coastal areas of China each year in 27 – 28 storms formed nearby, the demand for construction works is very large. For many years, infrastructure investment in China is one of the key factors promoting economic development, accounting for 6.7% of the country’s GDP. However, the use of 20,000 m2 of bamboo boards on the artificial islands of the Hzmb bridge attracts the global attention, proves that the solution inspired by nature can also withstand extreme conditions. These bamboo planks have experienced all environmental challenges since the inauguration bridge in 2018.

The engineers said bamboo boards used in the Hzmb bridge project were still hard 6 years after the inauguration. According to Lou Zhicao, Associate Professor at the Bamboo Research Institute of Nam Ninh Forestry University, while abundant nutrients help bamboo grow fast, they also contribute to the decay. To solve the problem, Lou and colleagues apply a heat treatment method to eliminate decaying nutrients while maintaining the solid level of the structure of bamboo. This initiative helps to reduce more than 50% of complicated handling time for bamboo trees, allowing materials to bear outdoors for at least 5 years without requiring mold moisture treatment.

“The new pyrolysis technique is designed to reduce more than half of the temperature and heat treatment time, as well as cut energy consumption,” Lou shared. The team also developed adhesive substances with less formaldehyde and phenol, minimizing the release of toxic chemicals.

China is the world’s leading bamboo supplier with more than 4.22 billion sao of bamboo produced in 2022. In addition, their total industrial output reached US $ 74.2 billion in 2023. Regarding bamboo planting and exploitation, China is strengthening these ways to integrate these fast -growing sustainable materials into large -scale infrastructure projects.

Products from bamboo are environmentally friendly and biodegradable are increasingly popular, recently applying more and more widely in construction, pipes, interior and decoration thanks to durability and abundance. Meanwhile, thousands of other bamboo -based products such as knitting towels, fabrics and bamboo charcoal products are also born. With more than 6.67 million hectares of bamboo forest, China not only maximizes bamboo resources with large pole output of more than 7 times in the past 25 years, but also pioneered the application of bamboo in many diverse industries.