Chemical Composition of Tamarix and Almond Fibers

Table 1 presents the chemical composition of several cellulosic materials such as wood, non-wood plants; these data have been obtained from the literature. When compared with data for grapevine stalks or vine shoots, cellulose and holocellulose contents are relatively close [1]. The comparison with other wood and non-wood species confirms that the amounts of extractives in the vine stems are high. According to structural components, this tow plants are characterized by relatively low cellulose content and high amounts of lignin, whereas the content in holocellulose is quite comparable. Finally, the ash content was found to be around 4%, which is much higher than that of wood and in the same range than that of non-wood plants. Tamarix is characterized by a higher amount of asch than almond, which is due to his botanical original [2].

Table 1: Tenacity and elongation under dry and wet conditions.

In conclusion, the Tunisian Tamarix and Almond are characterized by low amounts of extractives, lignin, and relatively high cellulose content. Thanks to the acceptable amount of holocellulose, this biomass could be viewed as a potential source of cellulose for the production of cellulose derivatives, and of lignocellulosic fibres for fibre-reinforced composite materials or papermaking applications [3].

1. Khiari R, Mhenni MF, Belgacem MN, Mauret E (2010) Chemical composition and pulping of date palm rachis and Posidonia oceanic-a comparison with other wood and non-wood fibre sources. Bioresour Technol 101(2): 775-780
2. Moussaoui Y, Ferhi F, Elaloui E, Bensalem R, Belgacem MN (2011) Utilisation of astragalus armatus roots in papermaking. Bio Resources 6(4): 4969-4978.
3. Manfred J (1993) Non-wood plant fibres, will there be a come-back in papermaking. Ind Crops Prod 2(1): 51-57.