Towards the utilization of different parts of date palm biomass waste, low-concentration acid-alkali treatment was used to isolate the contained cellulose and α-cellulose. The cellulose yields achieved from the rachis, leaflet, and fiber parts of the biomass were 74.70%, 71.50%, and 73.82%, respectively, while the corresponding α-cellulose yields were 78.63%, 75.64%, and 70.40%, respectively. The cellulose samples were bleached and characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD results revealed high crystallinity of both the cellulose and α-cellulose samples, while the TGA thermograms indicated that the alkali treatment completely removed lignin and hemicelluloses from the rachis. The results of this study demonstrate the promise of using date palm biomass waste as raw material to produce cellulose and α-cellulose.

Current environmental concerns have led to a search of more environmentally friendly manufacturing methods; thus, natural fibers have gained attention in the 3D printing industry to be used as bio-filters along with thermoplastics. The utilization of natural fibers is very convenient as they are easily available, cost-effective, eco-friendly, and biodegradable. Using natural fibers rather than synthetic fibers in the production of the 3D printing filaments will reduce gas emissions associated with the production of the synthetic fibers that would add to the current pollution problem. As a matter of fact, natural fibers have a reinforcing effect on plastics. This review analyzes how the properties of the different polymers vary when natural fibers processed to produce filaments for 3D Printing are added. The results of using natural fibers for 3D Printing are presented in this study and appeared to be satisfactory, while a few studies have reported some issues.

The Middle East North Africa (MENA) region is under continuous threat of the re-emergence of West Nile virus (WNV) and Rift Valley Fever virus (RVF), two pathogens transmitted by the vector species Culex pipiens. Predicting areas at high risk for disease transmission requires an accurate model of vector distribution, however, most Cx. pipiens distribution modeling has been confined to temperate, forested habitats. Modeling species distributions across a heterogeneous landscape structure requires a flexible modeling method to capture variation in mosquito response to predictors as well as occurrence data points taken from a sufficient range of habitat types.

In this study, silica in the form of raw local natural sand was added to high-density-polyethylene (HDPE) in order to develop a composite material in the form of sheets that could have potential applications in thin film industries, such as packaging, or recycling industries, such as in 3D printing. The silica/HDPE composite sheets were developed using a melt extruder followed by using a hot press for compression molding. The impact of two different particle sizes (25 µm and 5 µm) of the silica particles on selected properties such as toughness, elastic modulus, ductility, and composite density were analyzed. A considerable increase in the toughness and elastic modulus was observed from 0 wt% to 20 wt% with a 25 µm filler size. However, a general decreasing trend was observed in the material’s toughness and elastic modulus with decreasing particle size. A similar trend was observed for the ductility and the tensile strength of the sheets prepared from both filler particle sizes. In terms of the composite density, as the filler was increased from 20 wt% to 50 wt%, an increase in the composite densities was noticed for both particle sizes. Additionally, the sheets developed with 25 µm particle size had a slightly higher density than the 5 µm particle size, which is expected as the size can account for the higher weight. Results from this work aim to analyze the use of local sand as a filler material that can contribute towards maximizing the potential of such composite materials developed in extrusion industries.

Due to the significant properties of silica, thermostatics can be enhanced using silica-additives to maximize the quality of polymer compounds and transform plastics into tailored properties. The silica additives can enhance the handling and quality performance of composites and thermoplastic polymers due to their diverse potential. Besides, using silica as an additive in different characteristics can allow granulates and powders to flow easily, minimize caking, and control rheology. On the other hand, the eruption of 3D printing technology has led to a massive new waste source of plastics, especially the polylactic acid (PLA) that is associated with the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process. In this paper, the impact on the mechanical properties when silica is mixed with waste PLA from 3D printing was studied. The PLA/silica mixtures were prepared using different blends through twin extruders and a Universal Testing Machine was used for the mechanical characterization. The result indicated that increasing silica composition resulted in the increase of the tensile strength to 121.03 MPa at 10 wt%. Similar trends were also observed for the toughness, ductility, and the yield stress values of the PLA/silica blends at 10 wt%, which corresponds to the increased mechanical property of the composite material reinforced by the silica particles. Improvement in the mechanical properties of the developed composite material promotes the effective recycling of PLA from applications such as 3D printing and the potential of reusing it in the same application.