Nanocellulose From Pineapple Waste To Transform Sandy Soils In Arid Regions Into Fertile Ground

Khalifa University of Science and Technology reports that its researchers develop a sustainable, low-cost method that strengthens sandy soils using nanocellulose fibres derived from discarded pineapple peels, aiming to ease water scarcity, reduce soil degradation, and support food security in arid regions such as the Middle East.

The approach targets farming and land restoration challenges common across desert climates, where poor soil structure and very low water retention limit crop yields, increase irrigation demand, and threaten long-term agricultural stability in countries including the UAE and wider Middle East and North Africa region.

The team uses nanocellulose fibres sourced from pineapple peel waste and mixes them with sandy soils to improve water holding capacity, strengthen soil mechanically, and keep nutrients in place, while also testing how stable these mixtures remain and how they influence plant growth and soil microorganisms over extended periods.

These findings appear in a peer-reviewed paper titled ‘Evaluating nanocellulose from food waste as a functional amendment for sandy soils: Linking fiber structure to water dynamics, soil mechanics, and plant-microbe interactions’, published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, which is ranked within the top 1 percent of journals in its field.

Prof. Ebrahim Al Hajri, President, Khalifa said, "Khalifa University researchers have developed this novel method that can transform arid regions into green areas, illustrating the region-relevant research that aligns with the UAE’s objectives towards achieving food security and tackling water scarcity. This solution could be a boon to the Middle East and North Africa regions, which face severe challenges in soil fertility and water scarcity. This scalable, low-cost solution that leverages local waste streams to restore degraded soils and enable sustainable agriculture, will also benefit the environment and sustainable development."

The study is authored by M. Haidar Ali Dali, Dr. Mohamed Hamid Salim, Malak AbuZaid, Maryam Omar Subhi Qassem, Dr. Faisal Al Marzooqi, Dr. Andrea Ceriani, Alessandro Decarlis, Ludovic Francis Dumée, and Blaise Leopold Tardy, representing several Khalifa University research units focused on food, water, and energy systems.

Researchers involved in the nanocellulose sandy soils work are affiliated with the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, the Food Security and Technology Centre (FSTC), the Research and Innovation Centre on CO2 and Hydrogen (RICH), and the Centre for Membrane and Advanced Water Technology (CMAT), highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of the project.

With inputs from WAM