The BIO4Africa pilot trials are complete. The results have established a firm foundation for building an African bioeconomy.

More than 60 tonnes of waste and side streams and 28 novel products have rolled in and out of the BIO4Africa pilot plants during their bio-based technology trials. Individual product evaluations in the field and lab have explored the performance and feasibility of the products in a wide range of practical applications.

With the evaluation and validation of the products and value chains now complete, the BIO4Africa partners have built a firm foundation for building local, societally impactful bio-based industries in Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and Uganda.

“Along with the life cycle assessments, the results of the lab analyses and field trials provide a strong argument for why private companies, cooperatives and policy makers should be interested in these products,” says Tracey O’Connor, senior researcher in the Circular Bioeconomy Research Group at Munster Technological University (MTU).

“The piloting phase that any fledgling business must go through is already complete. Some of these solutions are now ready to be integrated into existing companies. The trials have also added to knowledge about the viability of novel bio-based products and the idiosyncrasies of different biomass types.”

Alternative fuels
Biochar produced by pyrolysis has been used in all four countries for various application trials. In Senegal and Uganda, the biochar was transformed into briquettes for use as household fuel – a cleaner, more sustainable alternative to traditional charcoal produced from wood. Additional lab-scale trials in Senegal successfully tested the potential of biochar addition to improve biogas yield and purity and a new opportunity to produce hydrochar from wet biomass.

Soil amendment
In Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, biochar has improved selected crop yields through soil amendment. On the back of these promising findings, the Kapatchiva cocoa cooperative in Côte d’Ivoire has installed a Brazilian pyrolysis kiln, which produces biochar from empty cocoa pods to counter soil degradation in the cocoa plantations.

Addition of biochar to biogas has produced interesting results in Senegal. Professor Lat Grand Ndiaye from UASZ tells more in this video.

Water purification
Careful biomass characterisation also made it possible to identify the best biochar for water purification. Trials in Côte d’Ivoire have included the installation of a biochar-based water purification unit in the village of Dougba, where clean drinking water is now available all year round.

Livestock feed
Grassa delivered the pioneering green biorefinery technology for the production of green protein concentrate, press cake and whey juice from fresh leaves. Installed in Uganda and Ghana, the biorefinery products have been used in feed trials with cattle, poultry and pigs.

Additional trials in Côte d’Ivoire have used crop residues and local plants in the production of raw biomass feed pellets for improving the growth and health of sheep, poultry and rabbits.

High-value ingredients
Lab tests at MTU have also screened green biorefinery whey juice for compounds of interest to the cosmetics industry. The findings have exceeded expectations, finding a high content of antioxidants with potential anti-ageing benefits.

A number of findings from the pilot trials have already been published in scientific journals. For an overview, visit our published studies page. The interim report on the BIO4Africa trials and validation results is available here.