Biomass, Wood, Energy, Bioproducts
Valorising plant biomass into materials, energy and bio-sourced products for the countries of the South
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Making the best use of resources
The BioWooEB (Biomass, Wood, Energy, Bioproducts)Research Unit is conducting research into Mediterranean and tropical ligno‑cellulosic biomass utilization in the form of materials, energy or bioproducts. It relies on its skills in understanding and characterizing biomass to take into account the influence of the variability of these resources as well as the environmental impacts when optimizing processes on a local scale in developing countries.
Real-life applications
In this approach, we favour three types of applications:
- Materials for sustainable construction
- Decentralized energy with a wide range of power and technologies
- Bioproducts stemming from extractions and participating in improving the performance of both families of the above two outputs
Bioproducts or bio-sourced products are manufactured from plant residues for use in materials or chemistry. They exist for the production of construction materials, packaging, or road surfaces.
Our research takes into account regional and local economic contexts and integrates a measurement and analysis of their economic and environmental impacts. It is fully in line with one of CIRAD's priorities: "Innovating for the sustainable use of biomass for non-food purposes".
Our Research & Tools
- The scientific programme
- For solutions for the production of bio-sourced products and bio-energy in Southern countries, integrating the entire chain "from resource to impact".
- Materials and molecules from plants
- We put our expertise at the service of the valorization of plant biomasses (tropical and temperate woods, natural rubber) and co-products of transformation processes in the form of bioproducts.
- Bioenergy and thermochemical processes
- The understanding and optimization of torrefaction, pyrolysis, gasification, and combustion processes has been at the heart of our concerns for more than 20 years, in order to respond to the energy supply difficulties of Southern countries.
- Tropix, a database and reference software
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Developed by the unit, Tropix lists the main technological characteristics of 245 tropical and temperate forest species.
Technical support for operators in the forestry and wood resources sector
Find out more about CIRAD's Tropix service offer
Key projects
Sustainable bioenergy for small agribusinesses in rural areas of West Africa
Diversifying incomes in rural Africa through sustainable and replicable solutions: agro-products and energy
Focus on the BIOSTAR project in french
BIO4AFRICA Website in english