Chemical Composition of Yushania alpina (K. Schum.) W.C.Lin (1974) (Highland Bamboo) Grown in Ethiopia

Chemical properties of any lignocellulose species are one of the major properties that used to select the material for any purpose either chemical or biological. Since bamboo is one of the woody grass species used for various applications worldwide; therefore knowing the chemical composition plays greater a role. Based on the above assumption, this research was conducted to study the major chemical composition of Yushania alpina (K. Schum.) W.C.Lin (1974) (Highland Bamboo) grown around Enjibara in Ethiopia. In the work, Yushania alpina (Highland Bamboo) sample was harvested, dried, milled using a Wiley Mill, sieved and all chemical composition were determined based on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (ASTM) approaches, except that the Kurschner-Hoffer method (1931) was applied for cellulose determination. Based on the study, the chemical composition characterization shows that Yushania alpina has 46.76% cellulose content, 25.27% lignin content, 12.18% hemicellulose, 3.77% ash, 12.23% hot-water extractive and 3.93% ethanol-toluene extractives.