Bamboo Active Carbon - The Functional Material

Bamboo is one of the fastest growing grass species on earth. It is considered a highly renewable energy as it takes only 2-4 years to regrow. And it is a amazing plant with surprising functions for daily life.

Bamboo forests produce over 20% more oxygen than comparable wood forests. A bamboo shoot can grow up to 4 feet in 24 hours under ideal climatic conditions. LITRAX Bamboo Charcoal has significantly less toxic emissions than any wood charcoal. Bamboo charcoal burns almost smoke free, it is odor-free, lights up quickly and burns hotter than most wood charcoals.

LITRAX Bamboo charcoal is primarily used by 5-Star Hotels and first-class Restaurants in Japan due to its clean and environmental friendly operation. The carbon rate is above 75%, with a high burning rate typically at 33'000 kJ/kg.

Bamboo charcoal has unique functional values. If refined at temperatures between 600° and 1'200° Celsius, its powder form serves in various products, such as a moisture absorber, smell and stink binder, air quality improver, insulator, infrared emitter (!) and UV filter. It is also integrated in functional textiles and exquisite warming yarns with warming and insulation capability of over +20°C, quite remarkable for a purely natural fiber composite.

LITRAX supplies such high value-added textiles under the product name L2. Bamboo charcoal is also added to advanced facial treatment, combined with shower gel it develops excellent facial mask features such as pealing.

These products are in development stage.

Bamboo Charcoal finds various applications. It serves thus as purifier for food and water, shower gel & skin pealing, freshness preservation for fruits or vegetables. It is an active and ecologic deodorizer adjusting air quality. It protects against EMV and UV radiation (TV, Microwave, Sun). In Atomic Reactors it is actively used as ventilation filter for xenon & krypton absorption. In Agriculture it is used for nitrogen fixation, formation of ammonia and nitrate from organic nitrogen, soil structure regulation. In Medical fields it serves as conductive element of Electrode material for therapy.

Sportswear makers have discovered bamboo for many applications and Litrax L2 masterbatch pellets, fibers & filaments contribute to the fast growing markets worldwide. Bamboo is pyrolized under high heat and low oxygen. The resulting active carbon - we call it Thermo Bamboo - is processed to submicron particles. Those particles have amazing structures that help either filtering UV light, create rapid warming & insulating, deodorizing environment smell, absorb sweat, and even support some limited antibacterial effect within the nano air chambers of bamboo (tested in accordance with JIS standards). These particles are embedded either in nylon (PA6) or polyester or recycled polyester pellets to create fantastic functional filaments and fibers, used in daily or athlete wear. In combination with other natural or synthetic materials, some really great garments are created!