The emerging bioeconomy is providing promising new opportunities for the development of new products from forestry and agriculture biomass. While significant progress has been made in the conversion of forestry residues to useable biomaterials, developments in the agroforestry sector require a better understanding of the chemical composition of forestry biomass from a variety of different sources and the availability of effective and reliable production technologies with a low environmental impact.
Collège de Maisonneuve’s Industrial Research Chair Dr. Yacine Boumghar, has considerable expertise in extraction and separation bioprocesses and in scaling-up pilot-scale processes. He is leading a research program on the conversion of agroforestry biomass to usable materials and the commercial scale-up of agroforestry extraction processes. Dr. Boumghar intends to make Collège de Maisonneuve a hub of knowledge on agroforestry extraction and an incubator for leading edge technology solutions to address community and industry needs. The research team will work to:
- develop extraction, purification and separation bioprocesses;
- develop analytical tools to determine the chemical composition of agroforestry extracts;
- assess the biological activity of the extracts or fractions of extracts produced.
- develop linkages between government, associations and industry to help pool efforts and coordinate innovative actions;
- break down barriers between the forestry and agroforestry sectors approaches to scientific and economic issues and promote integrated technology solutions;
With the establishment of the Chair, a number of agroforestry cooperatives and companies have been able to launch innovative projects promoting both diversification and product development. This research is helping ease the transition from a linear economy to a circular one.
“As a representative of the international corporation DuPont de Nemours, I’ve had the opportunity to work with [the Centre d’études des procédés chimiques du Québec (CEPROCQ) at Collège de Maisonneuve] over the past several years to test new sources of extractables. I saw firsthand how effectively this organization was able to design research and quickly produce tangible results for industry,” said Simon Langlois, director of business development, DuPont Building Innovations.
