Program overview
In simple terms, this major focuses on turning agricultural waste (like straw and rice husks), forestry residues (sawdust, branches), and even urban organic waste into useful energy and materials. You'll learn how to produce bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, or create biodegradable plastics, bio-based fibers, activated carbon, and more. Core courses include biomass chemistry, biomass conversion technologies (such as fermentation, pyrolysis, gasification), bio-based material preparation, and related engineering equipment design. Many Chinese universities offer strong practical resources in this field—for example, South China University of Technology and Beijing Forestry University have pilot-scale lab equipment where you can operate the entire process from raw material to product. This major suits students interested in chemistry, biology, and engineering, especially those who enjoy hands-on experiments and care about environmental protection and sustainable development.