Suitability of Miscanthus genotypes for lightweight concrete.

According to a recent patent it is possible to produce a solid building carcass on an ecological basis using biomass from selected plants (WO, 2004; HÖHN, 2002). Hence new, legal laws are considering thermic insulation in buildings and the trading of CO2 emissions (MÜLLER-SÄMANN and HÖLSCHER, 2004) there is a great interest in the public. The use of renewable materials as construction material opens up an enormous scope of possibilities for farmers and industrial enterprises. Different plants such as conifers, straw, Panicum virgatum or Miscanthus giganteus, provide an excellent ressource basis for the production of plant-based lightweight concrete. However, the plant material of Miscanthus has other fibre compounds which are considerably stronger than e.g. straw (HESCH, 2000), and also because of its chemical constituents like silicon, it could represent a suitable basic