**4. Conclusions**

*Opuntia* (Cactaceae) is an alternative and sustainable plant for fiber production for semiarid and arid regions. It is in large quantities and considered as a useful source in most countries without forests. Indeed, natural fibers derived from Tunisian *Opuntia* (Cactaceae) plants prove their greatest potentials for use in paper manufacturing by applying two pulping processes which affects the pulp properties and paper characteristics and composite applications (as reinforcement in thermoplastic polymers) because of their excellent characteristics such as low density, high specific stiffness, good mechanical properties, biodegradability, eco-friendliness, and good thermal resistance. *Opuntia* fibers can be a good reinforcement candidate for high-performance biodegradable polymer composites. This study has paved the way of proposing this xerophyte genus as a suitable new resource of non-woody fibers at different fields and as an environmentally friendly alternative to green product.

### **Acknowledgements**

The authors would like to express their deep gratitude to Mohamed Naceur Belgacem, Professor and Director of the Grenoble INP-Pagora and Agefpi, for his *Novel Trend in the Use of* Opuntia *(Cactaceae) Fibers as Potential Feedstock… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.92112*

valuable advice and assistance, as well as to the Tunisian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research for the financial support.
