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The greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the excessive use of Diesel Generators (DGs) in mining locations pose a threat to the environment and the macroeconomic sustainability of this industry. This paper aims to decrease or eliminate the use of DG units in gold mining areas to increase access to more clean Renewable Energy Sources (RESs) such as Photovoltaic (PV) systems. In order to evaluate PV potential at small-scale gold mining sites in Mauritania, ArcGIS software is utilized to analyze Chagatt gold mining location as a case study. The techno-economic viability of a PV/DG/battery Hybrid Energy System (HES) was examined and discussed. For yearly modeling, the PVsyst and HOMER Pro were employed to assess the performance of the ideal size of HES in terms of installation and energy costs. The findings indicate that Mauritania's gold mining locations are most suitable for PV energy harvesting. As a result, this industry may rely on clean PV energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the influence and content of Typha Australis fibers on the thermal and mechanical properties of clay composites. The objective is to find a better combination of length and percentage of fibers. This combination will allow to have a good compromise between thermal and mechanical properties. The results found at the end of this study are conclusive. Indeed, the increase of the length and the percentages of fibres improve the thermal properties but the values of the compressive resistances decrease.

Typha Australis is a plant that grows abundantly in fresh water. The proliferation of this plant causes health problems, so several measures have been taken to eradicate this problem such as: cutting the plant, coal production. So this article is about the valorisation of this plant as a bio-based material in order to solve the energy problem in the building. In this study, clay was used as a binder with a given percentage. The mixture of clay and Typha was used as an insulation panel and a comparison was made with a conventional habitat without an insulation panel. A dynamic thermal simulation was performed on TRNSYS to evaluate the influence of the use of this insulation panel on the energy consumption in the building. The results of the comparison showed that the use of this insulation panel, which is a mixture of clay and Typha Australis, reduced the energy requirement by 23%, which is a satisfactory result.

Developing countries are facing population growth, which leads, on the one hand, to increased requirements for buildings and, on the other hand, to the depletion of fossil fuels along with exposure, of people living in those areas, to some detrimental consequences of climate change. Because of these factors, we propose approaches to control energy consumption in buildings. In some countries, the architectures adopted are not adequate to the environment and climate, resulting in discomfort in those buildings, in such circumstances, residents resort to the use of energy systems, such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, which leads to exorbitant electricity bills. Housing consumes 40% of the world's energy and is responsible for a third of greenhouse gas emissions. Optimizing energy needs in buildings is a solution to overcome these problems. For this purpose, there are solutions such as: the design of the building characterized by its shape and envelope, while using less energy-consuming equipment. For several years, the building materials sector has been developing with a particular focus on bio-source materials, which are generally materials with good thermal performance. In order to highlight the thermal performance of bio-source materials, we will study the case of Typha Australis which is a plant of the Typhaceae family that grows abundantly in an aquatic environment mainly in the Senegal River valley.Recent studies showed that Typha Australis has good thermal insulation properties. In order to determine the impact of Typha Australis on a building, a dynamic thermal simulation was carried out using the Trnsys software according to specific scenarios, the Typha was mixed with other local materials and used as a wall insulation panel, the result of the study shows that this fiber has allowed us to optimize energy consumption in a building. Mixing Typha with other materials (e. g. clay) is a promising solution for energy efficiency in buildings.

Despite the remarkable potential for biogas production from livestock and organic wastes, the number of constructed biogas digesters for the continent is in the order of thousands and in case of Mauritania is lower than the number of the provinces. While majority of the existing digesters left far behind the expected efficiency, lack of a comprehensive economic assessment along with an efficient design questions their practical application. The present study introduced the first assessment to evaluate the biogas potential from livestock manures and waste from slaughterhouses in Northwest Africa (a case of Mauritania). Using ArcGIS® software, a database was conducted to build maps that show the amount of waste products, the potential of biogas, and equivalent amounts of energy. These were used to assess the potential of biogas and the corresponding potential energy for each geographical department in Mauritania. The results indicated that the southern provinces had the highest biogas potential with the maximum and the average values of 520 and 258.7 (±125.8) × 106 m3/year. On the other hand, the lowest biogas production potential (27.7 × 106 m3/year) was recorded for northern provinces with the maximum and the average values of 135 and 76.4 (±39.7) × 106 m3/year. The results showed that 63,579 × 106 kg of waste associated with livestock (cattle) and slaughterhouse applications were annually produced in the country. It was determined that this quantity could generate 2451 × 106 m3 of biogas per year, corresponding to an energy potential of 52,704 × 106 MJ/year. Considering the rapid depletion of conventional energy sources and the significance of biogas as a renewable fuel, a detailed feasibility analysis (for the biogas production in each province of Mauritania by means of community type fixed-dome digesters) was also performed in the scope of this study. The results of the comprehensive cost breakdown analysis revealed that the revenues obtained from sale of biogas-generated electricity and digested slurry (as fertilizer) could able to pay the initial investment within approximately 6.5 years without subsidy. The findings of this study, as the first of its own, could be used to comprehend how utilization of information such as slaughterhouse and livestock population, nutrition habitats, land-usage maps and geographic information system (GIS) can be employed to germinate a model for more comprehensive assessment of biogas production potential from livestock manure and slaughterhouse wastes, specifically in case of northern African countries. Moreover, in case of biogas plant, this model could be employed as a decision-making tool to identify the highly qualified location for construction of the biogas plant. • Mapping of biogas production potential is conducted in Mauritania for the first time. • 63,579 × 106 kg of waste can generate 2451 × 106 m3 of biogas per year in the country. • The southern provinces are found to have approximately 4 times more biogas potential. • Energy production in Mauritania heavily depends on oil, natural gas, and wood fuels. • A nationwide biogas digester project can pay for itself in 6.5 years without subsidy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]