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International audience; Nowadays, the valorization of biomass, biowastes and by-products is among the key issue to be considered in the development of renewable energies from bioresources. Accurate analysis and characterization of these feedstocks is a crucial aspect in the understanding of their behaviour for further use. This chapter is focused on different characterization techniques which are commonly used up-to-date. They are classified in different categories: Sampling and storage; Proximate analysis; Ultimate analysis; Thermal analysis, Physical characterizations; Physico-chemical characterizations; Structural and textural characterizations; and Mechanical characterizations. For each of them, a general description of the technique is presented, followed by useful information on machines and experimental conditions such as sample preparation, sample pre-treatment, gas atmosphere, temperature program etc. Finally, examples, results treatment and exploitations will be provided to illustrate. This chapter provides an insight on generic and advanced characterization techniques for complex materials, such as biomass, biowastes and related bio-products, that will be again discussed along the handbook in the other chapters.

International audience; This paper presents the results of a combined experimental and theoretical study on a clay ceramic used for building applications. The thermal and mechanical properties of the clay ceramic were improved by addition of organic additives. The organic additives consisted of Olive Stone Flour (OSF), with round-shape particles of 55 µm, and Wheat Straw (WS), with 877 µm particles in the form of fibers. It was found that the combustion of OSF and WS resulted in a porosity formation during the firing process. The morphology of these pores corresponded to that of the organic additives. Therefore, the addition of small OSF particles decreased the median pore size of the clay ceramic. It improved the mechanical strength of the clay ceramic by 12% for an 8 wt% addition of OSF. On the other hand, the WS fibers increased the clay ceramic anisotropy. This resulted in a 41% improvement of the thermal conductivity using an 8 wt% addition of WS. Finally, a model was developed from these experimental results to predict the thermal conductivity and the mechanical strength of the clay ceramic with other organic additives. They were predicted from the parameters of the organic additives (i.e., true density, swelling degree, particle size distribution, particle shape factor). The predictions indicated that the thermal conductivity is improved by 50% with a 25% improvement of the mechanical strength using small organic fibers, which is a step forward in the development of fired clay bricks that can be used for both insulation and structure purposes in building applications.