Faten Mannai, Y. Moussaoui
Bio-based materials from biomass resources generated a wide use of industrial crops in recent years, and have received potential applications in several sectors, due to the human desire to consume sustainable and ecological products. Opuntia (Cactaceae), were mainly studied as cellulosic resources for their sustainability and cellulose content richness. Cellulosic fibres from Opuntia feedstock was exploited for value-added applications such as (i) fibrous-network reinforcement in composites and paper manufacturing (ii). A green process for cellulosic fibrous-network extraction was used and their morphology, fundamental properties, chemical and structural compositions, was studied. The obtained fibrous-networks were incorporated into PVOH and SBR thermoplastic polymers; their properties towards enhancement, swelling and biodegradability have been studied.