The Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Biology at Cheikh Anta DIOP University (UCAD) has extensive experience in water treatment, its use for algae cultivation, and the food industry in sub-Saharan Africa. More recently, it has focused its efforts on addressing local challenges such as the energy deficit, largely due to dependence on petroleum-derived resources. Among the solutions being explored are the use of microalgae as biofuels and the reuse of process by-products, in line with the aim of providing sustainable solutions to technical and environmental issues.
UCAD in NATUR-EXT: The activities of the Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Biology at Cheikh Anta DIOP University will focus on the study and extraction of high-value compounds from microalgae to upcycle biofuel by-products, and on the study and development of scalable extraction techniques. In addition, emphasis will be placed on knowledge exchange centered on microalgae production and the use of photobioreactors for large-scale cultivation, considering factors such as water resource use and optimization.