Biomass to bioenergy transition through sustainable bioconversion and circular bioeconomy strategies

Abstract

Access to modern electricity and clean cooking technologies remains uneven across much of Africa, despite the continent's abundant biomass resources, which have the potential to enhance energy security while supporting the transition toward a circular bioeconomy. However, a substantial proportion of agricultural, forestry, municipal, and marine organic residues is still treated as waste rather than valorized within the formal energy sector. Morocco exemplifies this disconnect. Although the country has achieved near-universal rural electrification, biomass derived from agricultural and marine resources contributes less than 2% of the modern energy mix, highlighting that the principal challenge lies not in resource availability but in the development of efficient conversion pathways and integrated deployment strategies. This review examines recent advances in biomass-to-bioenergy technologies, with particular emphasis on sustainable bioconversion processes, including enzymatic hydrolysis, microbial fermentation, anaerobic digestion, and microbial fuel cells. Beyond evaluating technological progress, we assess research trends, innovation dynamics, and technology transfer through bibliometric and patent analyses to identify leading research areas, emerging technologies, and geographical disparities across Africa. We further discuss the role of life cycle assessment in evaluating the environmental sustainability of biomass conversion pathways and demonstrate its importance in identifying low-carbon alternatives capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We conclude that Africa's energy sovereignty depends on moving away from generic policies toward integrated, country-specific deployment strategies that prioritize locally available biomass within circular bioeconomy frameworks.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Bioresources and Bioprocessing, 2026 · DOI ↗