[en] Second-generation liquid fuels are now at the development stage that precedes their industrial implementation. They offer significant market opportunities for French lignocellulosic resources both from forests and crops. Those resources are limited and it is important to avoid competing against food crops or destabilising the sectors that already operate. It is therefore essential for the actors in research on these resources and processes to work in partnership and produce a common response to these issues. The REGIX project has provided an assessment of the suitability of various types of forests and cultivated biomass to the needs of processes for producing second-generation biofuels via biochemical and thermochemical processes. This article provides an overview of this approach for four classes of forest biomass: short and very short rotation coppice (SRC and VSRC), wood chips from hardwoods and from softwoods. The results show that these classes are very well-suited to most of the specifications for these processes, but a number of drawbacks were also noted, in particular for VSRC. (authors)

[en] The commercialization of cellulose nanofibrils (CNF) is limited due to the high energy consumed during production. Twin-screw extrusion has recently been employed for the energy-efficient production of CNF with high solid content, but the method requires several passes. Cellulose nanofibrils have been produced by using both a twin-screw extruder and a homogenizer. Some combinations require a fewer number of passes thereby using less energy, while maintaining the desired CNF quality. The morphology and quality of CNF were characterized by optical microscopy, MorFi analysis, and with a recently developed quality index. The combination of one pass through the twin-screw extruder and two passes through the homogenizer decreases energy consumption by 45%. These CNF have a similar quality to CNF produced after five passes through the homogenizer alone.

[en] The forest-based sector, like the regions where it is a symbolic feature, is currently central to challenges that are not only specifically national but also of a global nature. As a major carbon sink that is currently affected by climate change, forests are acknowledged as supplying a large number of products and services. Both economically and socially important - representing a turnover of euros 60 billion and 440,000 direct and indirect jobs -, the 14. ranking strategic industrial sector in France remains vulnerable, with a marked trade deficit of around euros 1 billion per year for timber alone, and nearly euros 5.5 billion per year if the imported materials used by the furniture, paper and board sectors are added. Faced with these challenges, support for the competitiveness of the forest-based sector, and improvements to its global, economic, environmental and social performance, necessitate a reinforcement of the research-development innovation (RDI) continuum. Work on this assignment combined various pre-existing sources (studies by the National Forest Wood Programme (PNFB) and the Strategic Committee for Forestry and Wood Sector (CSFB)), with individual or collective consultations with different actors in the sector. This approach generated two series of proposals: - 13 RDI projects grouped according to three central and complementary priorities: (a) to improve performance in all parts of the sector through systemic approaches, (b) to develop uses for wood in a future bio-economic context, and (c) to adapt forests and prepare forest resources for the future; - an analysis of RDI mechanisms and funding instruments in the sector, supplemented by recommendations: (a) mapping of these mechanisms, and (b) the characterisation and development of innovative funding modes