One of the key areas where innovation thrive in South Africa is in the development of a bio-economy through investing in programmes that allow for efficient beneficiation of biomass and organic waste, turning them into useful products and services that support various industries and, ultimately, promote economic growth. This is an essential feature of a circular economy where production and consumption rely on sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products as long as possible. The life cycle of products is thus extended and waste is reduced to a minimum.

South Africa aims to make bioeconomy a significant contributor to the country’s economy by 2030, in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP), through the creation and growth of novel industries that generate and develop bio-based services, products and innovations, with a corresponding increase in the new and existing companies that provide and utilise these solutions. South Africa’s bio-economy aims to address the country’s socio-economic development goals of poverty reduction and improved quality of life, while ensuring continued economic growth.

To this end, a Biorefinery Industry Development Facility (BIDF), a first of its kind in South Africa, was established in 2014 and officially launched in March 2018 by Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, the then Minister of Science and Technology (now known as the Department of Science and Innovation).

The facility was established to support innovation in a range of industries, including forestry, agro-processing and other biomass-based industries, as part of efforts to strengthen the country’s national system of innovation, especially RDI-based industrial development.

Based in in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, the BIDF works on a number of ground-breaking projects, including:

• Production of microcrystalline cellulose from waste sawdust.
• Development of engineered transparent wood for building applications.
• Development of novel fractionation and extraction technologies for cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin from wood.
• Development of wood polymer composites for wood composites applications including lightweight materials for the motor industry, building industry.
• Adding value to potato bag waste stream by recovering useful fibres from it and using it to make paper packaging materials.
• Extraction of hemicelluloses and its application to improve the recyclability of linerboard fibres.
• Novel application and adaptation of the hydrocyclone technology for the fractionation of the brown stock pulp to improve process economics.

Dr Viren Chunilall is the Research Group Leader of the BIDF. “I am responsible for the overall management of the facility as well as project programme management ensuring that deliverables are met and that reporting is completed timeously. I interact directly with clients and beneficiaries and participate in steering committee meetings with the funders,” says Dr Chunilall. “I am also the Principal Investigator for several projects which focusses on maturation of technologies in partnership with SMMEs. I play an important role in ensuring annual renewal of the funding for the various funding programmes.”

BIDF receives massive support from the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). “The DSI supports a number of programmes at the BIDF. These include the DSI – General Budget Support Programme, DSI – Bio-refinery Research Consortium, DSI – Industry Innovation Partnership Fund, DSI – CSIR Waste Research Development and Innovation, TIA – DSI – Forest Bio-economy Innovation Cluster. These programmes allow the Research, Development and Innovation (“RDI”) of technologies for the beneficiation and valorisation of biomass into high value products,” says Dr Chunilall. “The support has allowed for a major infrastructure upgrade with scale-up equipment for demonstrating technologies at the pilot scale. The programmes have enabled SMME support and have contributed to human capital development, especially for post-graduate students. These programmes have also allowed us to partner with numerous tertiary institutes that include UKZN, DUT, TUT, WITS, SUN and UP.”

The BIDF currently has three platforms that enable waste beneficiation towards a circular economy:

extracting high value compounds from waste cellulosic biomass, (bio)chemical conversion platform, and analytical platform.

Chunilall believes South Africa stands to massively benefit from BDIF since it “intends to close the chasm between ‘technology concepts’ and ‘commercial implementation’. It has capabilities, infrastructure, and pilot facilities that are being used to help develop and expand the beneficiation of biomass and organic wastes. In the National System of Innovation, the Centre is the only one of its kind in South Africa that has equipment, infrastructure, and expertise to enable transitioning of basic and applied biorefinery R&D into pilot scale, thus facilitating evaluation of products and processes before full-scale industrial implementation – this significantly reduces costs for SMMEs and industry to try and test new technologies and products.

Investors can get in touch with Dr Chunilall via email, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; cell +21 (0)71 899 0419. Or they can visit the CSIR Website, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.