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This paper aims to characterize and develop a new ecological lightweight concrete reinforced by addition of palm plant fibers (from vegetal waste) to be used in the thermal and acoustical insulation of local constructions. The date palm plant fibers are characterized by their low sensitivity to chemical reactions, low cost and large availability in local regions. Therefore, the newly obtained lightweight concrete may suggest a great interest, as it seems to be able to achieve good solutions for local construction problems, technically, economically and ecologically.

The experimental program focused on developing the composition of palm-fiber-reinforced concrete, by studying the effect of the length of the fibers (10, 20, 30 and 40 mm) and their mass percentage (0.5%, 1%, 1.5% and 2%), on the mechanical and acoustical properties of the composite. The main measured parameters were the compressive strength and flexural strength, sound absorption coefficient, noise reduction coefficient (NRC), etc. These tests were also borne out by the measure of density and water absorption, as well as microstructure analyses. To fully appreciate the behavior of the material, visualizations under optical microscope and scanning electron microscope analyses were carried out.

The addition of plant fibers to concrete made it possible to formulate a new lightweight concrete having interesting properties. The addition of date palm fibers significantly decreased the density of the concrete and consequently reduced its mechanical strength, particularly in compression. Acceptable compressive strength values were possible, according to the fibers content, while better values have been obtained in flexion. On the other hand, good acoustical performances were obtained: a considerable increase in the sound absorption coefficient and the NRC was recorded, according to the content and length of fibers. Even the rheological behavior has been improved with the addition of fibers, but with short fibers only.

Over the recent decades, many studies have attempted to search for more sustainable and environmentally friendly building materials. Therefore, this work aims to study the possibility of using waste from date palm trees as fibers in concrete instead of the conventionally used fibers. Although many researches have already been conducted on the effect of palm plant fibers on the mechanical/physical properties of concrete, no information is available neither on the formulation of this type of concrete nor on its acoustical properties. Indeed, due to the scarcity of raw materials and the excessive consumption of energy, the trend of plant fibers as resources, which are natural and renewable, is very attractive. It is therefore a major recycling project of waste and recovery of local materials.

This study has assessed the thermal performance of locally fabricated bio-based building envelopes made of coconut and corn husk composite bricks to reduce building wall heat transmission load and energy consumption towards green building adaptation.

Samples of coconut fiber (coir) and corn husk fiber bricks were fabricated and tested for their thermophysical properties using the Transient Plane Source (TPS) 2500s instrument. A simulation was conducted using Dynamic Energy Response of Building - Lunds Tekniska Hogskola (DEROB-LTH) to determine indoor temperature variation over 24 h. The time lag and decrement factor, two important parameters in evaluating building envelopes, were also determined.

The time lag of the bio-based composite building envelope was found to be in the range of 4.2–4.6 h for 100 mm thickness block and 10.64–11.5 h for 200 mm thickness block. The decrement factor was also determined to be in the range of 0.87–0.88. The bio-based composite building envelopes were able to maintain the indoor temperature of the model from 25.4 to 27.4 °C, providing a closely stable indoor thermal comfort despite varying outdoor temperatures. The temperature variation in 24 h, was very stable for about 8 h before a degree increment, providing a comfortable indoor temperature for occupants and the need not to rely on air conditions and other mechanical forms of cooling. Potential energy savings also peaked at 529.14 kWh per year.

The findings of this study present opportunities to building developers and engineers in terms of selecting vernacular materials for building envelopes towards green building adaptation, energy savings, reduced construction costs and job creation.

This study presents for the first time, time lag and decrement factor for bio-based composite building envelopes for green building adaptation in hot climates, as found in Ghana.

The purpose of this paper is to present the review of natural fibre composites as well as a specific type of fibre, i.e., sugar palm fibre and its composites.

The approach of this review paper is to present previous work on natural fibres and their composites. Then a review of several important aspects such as history, origin, botanic description, distribution, application and characterisation of sugar palm tree, and its fibre is presented. Finally a review of properties and characterisation of sugar palm composites is presented.

Findings of this review include the potential application of natural fibres and their composites for engineering application, the use of sugar palm and its fibres, as well as the suitability of sugar palm composites in engineering application after conducting review of their performance and characterisation.

The value of this review is to highlight the potential of natural fibres, natural fibre composites, sugar palm, sugar palm fibres and sugar palm composites as materials for engineering applications.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the tensile strength, Young’s modulus, dimensional stability and porosity of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS)–oil palm fiber composite filament for fused deposition modeling (FDM).

A new feedstock material for FDM comprising oil palm fiber and ABS as a matrix was developed by a twin screw extruder. The composite filament contains 0, 3, 5 and 7 Wt.% of oil palm fiber in the ABS matrix. The tensile test is then performed on the fiber composite filament, and the wire diameter is measured. In this study, the Archimedes method was used to determine the density and the porosity of the filament. The outer surface of the wire composite was examined using an optical microscope, and the analysis of variance was used to assess the significance and the relative relevance of the primary factor.

The results showed that increasing the fiber loading from 0.15 to 0.4 MPa enhanced tensile strength by 60%. Then, from 16.1 to 18.3 MPa, the Young’s modulus rose by 22.8%. The density of extruded filament decreased and the percentage of porosity increased when the fiber loading was increased from 3 to 7 Wt.%. The diameter deviation of the extruded filaments varied from −0.21 to 0.04 mm.

This paper highlights a novel natural resource-based feedstock material for FDM. Its mechanical and physical properties were also discovered.

This study aims at extracting and characterizing palm leaf fibers from Elaeis guineensis species of palm trees found in Ethiopia.

The fibers were extracted using three methods: manually, through water retting and chemically with sodium hydroxide. Physical parameters of the extracted fibers were evaluated, including tensile strength, fiber fineness, moisture content, degradation point and functional groups. Its cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin contents were also analyzed.

The results showed that the palm leaf fibers have a comparable fiber strength (170-450 MPa), elongation (0.95-1.25 per cent), fiber length (230-500 mm) and moisture regain (8-10 per cent) to jute, sisal and flax and thus can be used for technical textile application.

The fibers extracted using the water retting method had better properties than the other extraction methods. Its fiber length of 307 mm, cellulose content of 58 per cent, strength of 439 MPa and elongation of 1.24 per cent were the highest for all the extracted fibers. When compared with other fibers, palm leaf fiber properties such as tensile strength (439 MPa), elongation (1.24 per cent), moisture content (7.9-10.4 per cent and degradation point (360-380°C) were consistent with those of jute, sisal and ramie fibers. Hence, palm leaf fibers can be used for technical textile applications such as composite reinforcement.

The literature reveals there is a limited knowledge regarding the extraction of long natural fibers, in particular those extracted from leaves. This investigation aims to present the extraction process and the characterization of long natural cellulose fibers from doum palm leaves (Hyphaene thebaica L.), with properties suitable for polymeric composite materials and textile applications.

The resulting H. thebaica L. fibers were identified using Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The physical properties of the extracted fibers were measured to estimate the reliability of extraction conditions. Mechanical properties were evaluated to determine ultimate strength, Young’s modulus and strain-at-failure of the fibers of the doum leaves.

The following properties of the doum palm are listed in this paper: physical properties of doum palm fibers (H. thebaica L.), TGA, XRD of doum palm fibers, tensile properties of doum palm fibers and surface morphology of doum palm fibers.

Like synthetic fibers, the inclusion of short or long natural fibers into the polymer matrix can increase tensile, flexural and compressive strengths of these matrixes. Compared to the short-length natural fibers, longer-length fibers provide better reinforcements and therefore accord higher performances to the composites. Long fibers can also provide exceptional opportunities to develop a new class of advanced lightweight composites and have the potential to rival glass fiber in the manufacture of composite materials, using matrix materials, such as polypropylene, epoxy and phenolic resins.

The following values are presented in this paper: density of doum palm fibers = 1.14-1.40 g/cm², linear density (Tex) = 33.10 ±11.5, equivalent diameter (µm) = 178.72 ± 41.7, diameter (µm) = 137.02-220.42, tensile strength (MPa) = 124.84-448.10, Young’s modulus (GPa) = 8.06-19.59, strain-at-failure (%) = 0.81-2.86.

The purpose of this study is to understand the behavior of hybrid bio-composites under varied applications.

Fabrication methods and material characterization of various hybrid bio-composites are analyzed by studying the tensile, impact, flexural and hardness of the same. The natural fiber is a manufactured group of assembly of big or short bundles of fiber to produce one or more layers of flat sheets. The natural fiber-reinforced composite materials offer a wide range of properties that are suitable for many engineering-related fields like aerospace, automotive areas. The main characteristics of natural fiber composites are durability, low cost, low weight, high specific strength and equally good mechanical properties.

The tensile properties like tensile strength and tensile modulus of flax/hemp/sisal/Coir/Palmyra fiber-reinforced composites are majorly dependent on the chemical treatment and catalyst usage with fiber. The flexural properties of flax/hemp/sisal/coir/Palmyra are greatly dependent on fiber orientation and fiber length. Impact properties of flax/hemp/sisal/coir/Palmyra are depended on the fiber content, composition and orientation of various fibers.

This study is a review of various research work done on the natural fiber bio-composites exhibiting the factors to be considered for specific load conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to develop strategies for potential environmental impacts as a result of institutional arrangement and development of oil palm downstream industry both regionally and nationally.

The research location is in the areas potential for oil palm plantation development, either by plasma through BUMN and BUMS or self-supporting by the society. The research location will be divided into two parts, namely, the land area and the coastal area. The Riau land areas are Regency of Kampar, Rokan Hulu, and Kuantan Singingi, while Riau coastal areas are Regency of Pelalawan, Siak, Bengkalis, Indragiri Hilir, Indragiri Hulu and Rokan Hilir. Both research areas have different productivity due to the different soil fertility levels. The sustainability level of oil palm plantation from the socio-economic and environmental aspects is analyzed using the multi-dimensional scaling approach modified into Rapid Appraisal-Index Sustainability of Palm Oil Management.

In Riau Province, the development of oil palm is quite rapid. This is reasonable for several reasons which include the following supporting factors: the geographical condition of the Riau region is very supportive; the high demand for palm oil derivative products; the existence of market guarantee for oil palm farmers; the higher income oil palm generates than other plantation crops; and the relatively flat area. Most of the problems faced by oil palm farmers are the use of less good seeds, the length of the fruit laying at the location of the plantation, the inadequate production road, the relatively far distance to palm oil mill (POM) (National Agency of Drug and Food Control), the tendency of determining the unilateral revenue of the POM, the collectively measurement of revenue and the general revenue information. The development of oil palm plantations has created an entrepreneurial capability for farmers who are able to capture business opportunities in the agricultural sector, especially the plantation sub-sector.

The originality of this paper shows the comprehensively control strategy, potential of environmental impact and palm oil plantation. The method used for data collection was rapid rural appraisal method because accurate information is needed in a limited time as it relates to decisions related to village development that must be taken immediately. The study area was conducted in Riau Province because Riau Province is one of the biggest palm oil producers in Indonesia. The study sites will be divided into two, namely, the land area and the coastal area.

Earthen construction does not meet today’s requirements due to certain limitations such as low water resistance and its high vulnerability to cracking damage. The purpose of this study is to improve the mechanical properties and low durability of adobe blocks by incorporating date palm wastes as a natural reinforcement and lime as a stabilizer.

Soil from the region of Biskra in Algeria was mixed with sand and lime in suitable ratios. Then, date palm wastes were added to the previous mixture at different ratios (0.3%, 0.6% and 0.9%) by dry mix weight to manufacture adobes. Cubical and cylindrical specimens were prepared and tested in a laboratory to investigate the curing time, mechanical and durability characteristics of the formulated blocks. In addition, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tests were used to identify the materials.

It has been observed that the addition of lime to the soil is very beneficial for its stabilization, in particular for an optimum of 12%. The presence of date palm waste in the mixture (soil + lime) generated a significant improvement in tensile strength reaching a rate of about 67%. The same observation was made for the tests of resistance to dry abrasion, resistance to erosion, attack by external sulphate and wetting/drying. However, for cases of compressive strength, water absorption and swelling an unfavorable effect was recorded.

Based on the above-mentioned findings, this paper presents a novel solution to increase the durability of adobe materials using date palm wastes with oven curing at 65°C for about nine days. Adopting such an approach would certainly encourage building durable mud housing on a large scale. This can contribute to solving the acute housing shortage, particularly in poor countries.

Composites based on fiber are commonly used in high-performance building materials. The composites mostly use petrochemically derived fibers like polyester and e-glass, due to their advantageous material features like high stiffness and strength. All the same, these fibers also have important shortcomings related to energy consumption, recyclability, initial processing expense, resulting health hazards, and sustainability. Increasing environmental awareness and new sustainable building technologies are driving the research, development, and usage of “green” building materials, especially the development of biomaterials.

In this chapter, the natural fiber evaluation approach is applied, which covers a diverse set of criteria. Consequently, the comparative assessment of diverse natural fiber types is applied through the use of an expert decision system approach. The best performing fiber choice is made by comparatively evaluating the materials related to green building. The proposed fiber can be used and applied by green building material manufacturing companies in various countries or locations as a reference when selecting the fiber with the best performance.