A Critical Review on Date Palm Tree (Phoenix dactyliferaL.) Fibres and Their Uses in Bio-composites

The increasing environmental awareness and demand for utilizing waste materials have aroused the interest in utilizing agricultural wastes in developing sustainable composites for various applications. The date palm tree (Phoenix dactyliferaL.) is considered as the most abundant agricultural crop in the MENA region which produces around 2.6-2.8 million tons of waste, deposited annually in landfills. This paper thoroughly discusses date palm tree fibres, including fibres resources, properties and treatments required, and their composite developments. Critically reviewing the literature shows a need for interpretation of the current findings and highlights the areas that have not yet been developed and covered. Various chemical treatment methods have been adopted to pre-treat the fibre, technically and economically feasible treatments are yet to be found. Commercial production of date palm composites is still in its infancy, more efforts should be made in optimising the formulations and processing parameters. This review provides a comprehensive database and platform for researchers and industries to better determine how to utilize date palm fibres in producing more sustainable and renewable materials and how to effectively design and use date palm fibre composites for various applications. [GRAPHICS] .

Automated summary

The increasing interest in utilizing agricultural wastes for sustainable composite materials, specifically focusing on date palm tree fibers, highlights the need for further research in chemical treatments and optimization of processing parameters for commercial production. This review provides a comprehensive platform for researchers and industries to explore the potential of date palm fibers in producing sustainable and renewable materials.