A real and untapped potential

Here is a famous but little exploited potential: "urban" biomasses. Tree branches, clumps, these biomasses grow in a medium rich in CO2 and therefore are prolific.
Their disposal requires a service of cutting, of collection to deposit them in discharge.
The city of Oujda has accounted for more than 300 tonnes of green waste annually that can be converted into biofuels for regular heat producers.

Over the last decade, a large number of advanced biofuels have been developed from solid biomass, which has attracted considerable attention from research, industry and policy makers. However, no major algal biofuel marketing facility has yet been put in place by the end of 2015. Over the next four years, experts from six European countries will strive to make breakthroughs in the field of biofuels. commercially viable production of the third generation. biofuels from seaweed macroalgae.

The MacroFuels project (€ 6 million from the Horizon 2020 program) is dedicated to this research and innovation project.

The working methodology is based on a 2D substrate for deep-sea culture.

Algae do not need fresh water, arable land or fertilizer to grow. Algae can be obtained through improved biofuels derived from high quality co-products. For an improved crop, MacroFuels will use advanced textile-based 2D substrates to facilitate offshore cultivation. These textiles provide 3 to 5 times more biomass than 1D rope systems. Rotational crop technology coupled with advanced textiles will further increase biomass by surface yield.

MacroFuels will conduct process-oriented studies that will allow algal-derived biofuels to compete favorably with fossil or earlier generation fuels.

Improve the efficiency of technologies for converting algae into biofuels, which are currently in their infancy.
The expected breakthroughs in terms of pre-treatment and bioconversion of algae sugar to ethanol and butanol as well as thermal chemical conversion to furan-based biofuels. Significant improvements in efficiency will be achieved by reducing the use of water through the use of enzyme products in the pre-treatment stages.

The goal is to quadruple the production of the same amount of substrate while decreasing the cost of production of the raw material by a factor of 10.
The project foresees the creation of around 15,000 jobs based on the target of 2.5% biofuels, which corresponds to 5,000 km of cultivated algae.
For more details on the project, please visit the MacroFuels website: www.macrofuels.eu

9.000 tons per year

The Profao project, conducted with Belgian technical cooperation, planted 6,000 hectares of almond trees between the period of 2011 to 2015 to reach a total of 25,000 hectares of almond trees in late 2016 in the Oriental region.

The 15 cooperatives involved in the project are organized in 3 Economic Interest Groups (GIE).

The three GIEs (group of cooperatives) are created in the main production areas of almonds covered by the PROFAO project at the Oriental.

For the moment, these GIEs are at the beginning of the valorisation phase and the organization of the sector. The almond crushing units planned by the project are undergoing installations and equipment (three major crushing units are planned by the project in the Oriental region.)

Almond shells contain almost 38% of lignin, a bioenergy-efficient material that is sought after in chemistry in addition to cellulose and hemicellulose.

15.000 tons in l'Oriental

The production of rosemary essential oil leaves a series of branches without use.

They have a heating value of nearly 4 MWh / ton, equivalent to 400 liters of diesel per tonne of rosemary (dry).

Converted into briquettes, these branches can usefully replace firewood and generate additional income for rural farmers and families.

5 to 6 tons per hectare

This tall reed (C4 plants) develops mainly in the wadis and is very acclimatized to the conditions of l'Oriental.

It is an excellent raw material for densification as a substitute for a wood fire.

This type of biomass is also sought after by industrialists wishing to refine it to produce bio-ethanol and other biobased liquids for producing, for example, bio-plastics.

Finally, compressed and mixed with lime, this type of fiber is suitable for the production of biomaterials

2/3 of by products left

Exports of argan oil from Morocco have improved significantly, both in terms of volume and value.

At the end of 2016, exports amounted to 300 millions dirhams, or 1,300 tons sold on the international market, whereas in the 2000's this volume did not exceed 36 tons.

The export performance is part of the ambitions of the program-contract dedicated to the sector over the period 2012-2020 and covering, in particular, the rehabilitation of 200,000 hectares of argan trees, the domestication of the argan tree and the extension of its culture in modern land management over 5,000 hectares.

The contract also aims to increase the production of argan oil to reach, in 2020, some 10,000 tons, with an average annual production of 4,000 tons.

Between 2012 and 2017, no less than 100.000 hectares of argan tree were rehabilitated. And no less than 610 projects were financed by the government for an amount of nearly 800 million dirhams.

The valuation of by-products can be included in the Green Goat ecosystem

about 20% of the yearly harvest are throwed away

Well known to citrus exporters, this crop generates waste either that the fruits are not the size required, either for surplus production or other reasons.

This biomass can be used with others in anaerobic digestion to produce biogas, a renewable energy source for the production of electricity and / or heat.

To be completed

Bio energy and bio chemicals

The production of olive-pomace in Morocco is estimated between 600 and 700,000 tons per year depending on the extraction technologies used.

This pomace in some areas is used as fuel without extraction of the residual oil.

A new application aims to use the pomace as compost. The value of compost is currently 600-1000Dhs per ton.

Among the elements of the composition of pomace, lignin (35%) is an attractive constituent for biobased chemistry.

A weed in Senegal

Considered as a weed, "invasive" plant, the typha has become an alternative to Senegal, to fight against energy problems.

Growing a lot, it is a bonanza of 5,000 tons of fresh materials per year available to the country and is an invaluable development potential if it is valued.

Typha grows mainly in the Senegal River, Lake Guiers and Dakar. Typha is a plant that regenerates very quickly (less than ten days) after cutting. It is therefore a raw material that does not fail if we need it.

Cattails have proliferated along the Senegal River, apparently since the construction of the Diama Dam in 1986, 26 km upstream from Saint Louis. Called anti-salt dam, it prevents the rise of sea water in the river. This one, during a period of low water, could go back up to 200 km in the grounds. In addition, during dry periods, the flow of the river was almost zero, which disrupted irrigation. Henceforth, the barrier lake thus created allows the irrigation of 120,000 hectares, and provides drinking water to Dakar and Nouakchott.

But, because there is one but ... the gradual reduction of the salinity of the banks and a consequent water reserve have led to a change in the environment.

Today, 100,000 hectares are infested with aquatic vegetation. The consequences are multiple and paradoxically impact agriculture as well as the wild environment.

A mapping system is necessary

For this project to supply wood-based biomass to an industrialist who needed a biofuel, a map of the different supply zones was drawn up from Google maps.

This offered a view of the supplies and logistics required by this large supply (25,000 tons / year).

The mapping of the biomass potential is necessary to establish with more precision the locality but also the seasonality. The economic and technical availability of biomass is a prerequisite for any biobased economy.

The Google Maps system makes it possible to carry out this inventory at a very low cost.