Baobab (Adansonia digitata L.) fruit shell was used as the raw material to produce cellulose. A 37.67 % of cellulose was successfully extracted from baobab fruit shell through sodium hydroxide (NaOH) pre-treatment and acidified sodium chlorite delignification. Cellulose was then converted to carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) by etherification process using monochloroacetic acid (MCA), and various sodium hydroxide concentrations (20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 g/100 ml), in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) medium. The synthesized CMC yield increased with increasing amounts of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) concentration for the alkalization step. Structural information of cellulose and CMC was obtained using Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and the surface morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The carboxymethylation process of cellulose was confirmed by FT-IR spectroscopy. The presence of a new and strong absorption band at 1600.92 cm-1 for all CMCs samples is due to the COO‾ group, which substitutes OH groups at anhydroglucose unit (AGU). The degree of crystallinity for BFS cellulose was calculated to be 60.6% while the crystal size was calculated to be 31.12 nm. XRD analysis confirmed that CMC crystallinity was reduced remarkably compared with cellulose. The viscosity average molecular weight (Mη) of baobab fruit shell cellulose obtained by Mark-Houwink equation using intrinsic viscosity data is 51,024 g mol-1. The optimum condition for carboxymethylation was found to be 35 g/100 ml NaOH, which provided the highest viscosity average molecular weight (Mη=39,241 g mol-1) and degree of substitution (DS = 0.94). The characteristic features of synthesized CMC suggest the possibilities of utilization as food additive.

Jojoba oil (Simmondsia chinensis Link Schneider) has potential as an alternative, nonfood feedstock for Biodiesel production. Jojoba seed which obtained from Erkaweit-Sudan was used in biodiesel (JME) production using Coralline limestone rocks as a heterogeneous catalyst. Coralline limestone rocks is a abundant and environmentally friendly in the Red Sea area, the main characteristic of this rock is the high content of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), which was transformed into CaO by calcinations. The transesterification reaction variables; methanol / oil molar ratio, catalyst weight% and reaction time were fully optimized using response surface methodology (RSM) based on a central composite design (CCD). The catalyst was characterized by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and HPGe gamma spectrometry. Jojoba seeds were investigated for agronomical parameters, the analysis of jojoba seed gives, 45.187g weight of 50 seeds, the seeds measurements were 16.256 mm length, 10.551 breadth and 9.721mm thickness, the proximate composition of the seed were 46.711 oil content, 3.486 Moisture, 1.71 Ash, 15.45 Protein and 32.633 Carbohydrates (by diff.). Jojoba oil was also tested for its physiochemical properties including acid value, peroxide value, FFA, flash point, pour point, refractive index, density, viscosity @ 40 ˚C, saponification and iodine values. Proximate analysis of extracted oil gives (0.936 mgKOH/g, 2.469 mEq/kg, 0.47%, 150 ˚C, +9 ˚C, 1.464, 0.864 g/ml, 22.507 Cst, 95.011 mgKOH/g and 84.20 I2/100g) respectively. The important fuel properties of Jojoba oil methyl ester (JME) were evaluated including kinematic viscosity @ 40 ˚C (6.783 Cst), acid value (034 mgKOH/g), Flash point (154 ˚C), density (865 kg/m3) and cetane number (53.33 min.). The fatty acids profile fatty jojoba oil and jojoba methyl ester were established by GC analysis. According to this study, the maximum yield of JME was 81.93% at 12/1 methanol/oil molar ratio 5% catalyst weight and 3 hours reaction time.

The aim of this study is to investigate the chemical content of mesquite (prosopis juliflora) stalk, and the potential use in manufacture of sustainable fiber reinforced polymer composite, papermaking, plastics and textile industry. The raw mesquite stalk has 69% cellulose, 8% hemicelluloses, 0.53% lignin and 11.19% moisture content. The proportion of minerals in the samples were estimated by Inductively Coupled Plasma Emission (ICPE) spectrometer, the minerals in μg/L were, and Ba concentration is less than μg/L. The production of vegetable fibers from the prosopis juliflora stalk was done through chemical extraction and water treatment. The produced fibers have 67% Cellulose, 5.47% lignin, 7.20% hemicelluloses and 0.09% ash. The fibers characterized by Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Density, porosity and Tensile strength. The density of the fiber was 0.50 g/cm3 and porosity 0.671. The FTIR spectrum show peaks at 3423.76, 2920.32, 781.20 and 1425.44 cm-1, attributed to O-H stretching, C-H stretching, C-O stretching and deformation vibrations of CH2 and CH groups respectively. The Tensile strength for three samples and elongation for each sample, were 1.09 kg, 3.76 kg , 1 kg, and elongation 1.09% , 1.03% , 0.56% respectively. The Morphological investigation was carried out using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and identifying elements zoom in 20 μm. By analyzing cross section of the sample, it was found to contain 80.6% oxygen and 19.4% calcium.