The use of polymers as a soil-stabilizer additive has expanded significantly in agricultural use to control soil degradation and desertification and also to improve arid and semi arid soils. This research was conducted to determine the effects of different synthetic polymers and biopolymers at low concentration (0.03 %-1%) at arid and semi arid soil of North Africa. Polystyrene, Polyacrylamide; Cellulose and the mixture of Polyacrylamide with other polymers were characterized by viscosity, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Diffractometry, thermal analysis (TG and DSC) and Scanning electron micrographs (SEM). The results showed that the polymer composites (10 mg /L Polyacrylamide and 0.5g / L Cellulose) in soil could improve better soil physical properties and augment 60 % water retention at arid soils compared with application of any other polymer at the same concentration. This work can help to improve the productivity of arid and semi arid soils by using low concentration of biopolymers from plant fibers and polymers from synthetic plastics compounds or wastes plastic industry to augment water holding capacity improve the physical properties of soils by binding soils particles together reducing the losses of water by evaporation and deep percoloration, and to make valuable products of plastic industry and renewable organic fibers to protect environment.

This work investigates the morphology, the thermal, and mechanical properties of technical fibers extracted from the Ampelodesmos mauritanicus (Diss) grass using a process that combines mechanical, mild chemical, and enzymatic steps. The structure and the thermal stability of Diss fibers make them suitable as a reinforcing filler in polymer composites, which was assessed by manufacturing biocomposites with improved stiffness and a tensile strength not degraded by Diss fibers when compared to those of a commodity polymer and a biodegradable one, namely polypropylene and poly(lactic acid). This work confirms that enzyme mixtures obtained from commercially available products of relatively low cost can represent a simple and environmentally friendly means to extract less common natural fibers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 59:2418–2428, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers

Alfa fibers are cellulose-based fibers extracted from esparto grass leaves using alkaline procedure to remove noncellulosic substances such as pectin, lignin, and hemicelluloses. Morphological characterizations (length, width) of esparto fibers are analyzed. The cellulose fiber extracted was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, thermal analysis TG and DSC, optical and scanning electron micrographs (SEM). In this study, we attempted to characterize the esparto fiber obtained from a chemical extraction using sodium hydroxide then sodium hypochlorite as a bleaching agent. The characterization was based on the measurement of the morphological structure.

The date industry currently produces thousands of millions of metric tons of waste per year. Hence, there is an urgent need to find suitable applications for this waste which are still largely unused. The aim of this research is to value date waste and its potential application for water treatment. Three types of activated charcoal were prepared from the seeds of dates. Different essays were done for each material prepared (moisture rate and ash, pH, concentration, mass, granulometry). The Materials obtained were characterized by different methods like FTIR and BET. The results obtained indicate that the materials prepared from date seeds are low-cost activated carbon with an effective surface similar to commercial activated carbon which has an important economic advantage through the valuation of these wastes.

Ampelodesma Mauritanica, commonly called Diss in Arabic very fibrous, is a plant of the family Poaceae, a plant native of northern Africa and southern Europe, is perennial and luxuriant, growing spontaneously in the wild state. Esparto grass in arid and semi-arid regions of North Africa; fight against the turning into desert regions form and was an important contributor in animal grazing and paper making. Natural fibers from plant are nowadays increasingly employed for replacing the synthetic materials due to economic and/or environmental considerations. A. Mauritanica and esparto grass fibers are cellulose-based fibers extracted using alkaline procedure to remove noncellulosic substances such as pectin, lignin, and hemicelluloses. The characterization of extracted fibers from both grass was based on the measurement of the morphological structure, chemical analysis, infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffractometry, thermal analysis. The use of the natural fibers for composite materials, exhibits many benefits as it is low in weight, ecologically biodegradable, renewable, and cost-effective; it may have a role in local sustainable development in north Africa countries by valorizing these grass. Therefore, these grass materials could be a worthwhile choice for cellulosic fiber supply, and can lead to different useable products in order to improve the grass fiber added value.