On Monday, June 12, 2023, the first Master’s thesis in the framework of the joint Master’s degree/patent for the creation of a start-up was discussed at the University of Shahid Hamou Lkhder in the Mediatheque lecture hall. The thesis was entitled “Rapid Treatment of Polluted Water Using Palm Waste” and was prepared by a team consisting of Dr. Arabi Haddad, Lecturer at the Faculty of Exact Sciences, Department of Chemistry, as supervisor, and students Khadija Trili, Radia Lahache, Mohamed Osama Hathroubi, Hasna Gharbi and Ramissa Ben Omar.
The thesis was discussed by a committee composed of Professor Naima Ben Chikha, President of the Faculty of Exact Sciences, Djilani Ghemam Amar, Examiner from the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Life Sciences, and Khaled Mansouri, Representative of the University Business Incubator, as well as مفيد عبد اللاوي, Director of the Entrepreneurship House, and Mr. Youssef Radjab, Representative of the Technology and Innovation Support Center, and Hicham Mouhaid, Representative of the economic partner, the National Office of Sanitation in El Oued, and Hamza Serrai, Representative of the economic partner, Algerian Waters, El Oued Unit. The discussion was also attended by Mr. Lakhdar Attaallah, Director of Algerian Waters, and a number of the institution’s executives, Mr. Fouad Farah, Director of the Incubator, Dr. Abdelouahab Mansour, Dean of the Faculty of Exact Sciences and Vice-Dean for External Relations and Scientific Research, and Dr. Abdelmalek Zaatar, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Life Sciences and his Vice-Deans for Studies and External Relations
After the opening of the meeting by the director of the incubator, the students in their study reviewed three main axes:
- The possibility of using palm waste as raw materials in the field of water treatment and recycling and reusing these materials.
- The possibility of using treated water for agricultural irrigation.
The results were very promising on the research and economic levels, and the research team reached several important recommendations.
The members of the committee and the audience also expressed their interest in the topic due to its close relationship to reality, especially with what the world is experiencing today regarding the problem of water pollution.
It is worth noting that the research team is the first at the national level to include two different specialties in its team: organic chemistry and environmental and marine diversity from the Faculties of Exact Sciences and Natural and Life Sciences. This was emphasized by the supervisor on the need and possibility of unifying the efforts of everyone, especially if the problem studied is related to the most important material on Earth, which is water. It should also be noted that the team obtained a patent and is waiting to obtain the label of an innovative project, as mentioned by the supervisor. The discussion concluded with the committee congratulating the supervisor for his clear efforts and awarding the students the full mark with a grade of excellence.
