The rationale behind the research topic: lumber-like products from date palm midribs, is to test the potentiality of reliance on such a locally sustainable resource as date palm midribs to manufacture lumber-like products as a measure to decrease the country's wood imports, which are expected to reach ~22.8 billion US$ in 2050! The research results proved the potentiality of manufacture of palm midrib blocks enjoying mechanical properties (e.g. modulus of rupture, modulus of elasticity, maximum compressive strength, nail pull-through test results and hardness) comparable with those for spruce and beech woods. The rationale behind the research topic: organic products from date palm midribs and leaflets is to test the technical and developmental feasibility of reliance on the traditional artisans and the tools they possess in the manufacture of new designs of products and thus opening new markets locally, nationally and worldwide. Besides, this suggested approach means beginning the first cycle of production from the top of cascade of utilization of palm midribs and leaflets thus giving wide chances for subsequent life cycles. It is expected that the green products markets and ecotourism will be most interested in organic products, made from date palm midribs and leaflets. The following organic products from palm midribs and leaflets have been designed and manufactured: The rationale behind the research topic: Mashrabiah products from date palm midribs, is that Mashrabiah (Arabesque) is an important feature of Islamic house architecture in Egypt and the whole Arab world. Mashrabiah (Arabesque) in houses helps in preserving the privacy of house dwellers and in ameliorating the harshness of sun rays especially in summer, while introducing light and allowing the house residents to have a look from windows on the outside world without being exposed to the public! The drastic increase in prices of imported beach wood has led to the shrinkage of demand on Mashrabiah (Arabesque) products. Thus, the discovery of the date palm midrib enjoying physical and mechanical properties comparable with those for imported woods (spruce, pine and beech) opened before us a new realm of development: going to remote villages where the date palm plantations are extensive, teaching the poor there (especially women) the crafts of turning palm midrib pieces on lathes and thus reviving the traditional skills of Mashrabiah (Arabesque) manufacture. Thus, a village (Gededia village) in the New valley governorate in Egypt was chosen as a site for the project. A new multi-purpose lathe was specially designed and manufactured to suit work in houses of beneficiaries. A training center has been established to secure palm midrib pieces for the beneficiaries. Thus, Mashrabiah (Arabesque) products were manufactured by beneficiaries with high quality. How modern pieces of furniture were manufactured from date palm midribs? Four designers joined our team of rediscovery of the date palm byproducts. They put their bet on the uniqueness of the date palm midrib and its specific beauty features as compared with imported wood species. Their efforts have led to the design and manufacture (in village conditions) of new pieces of furniture to satisfy contemporary needs of high and high-middle class citizens in Egypt. Thus, a new market for products from date palm midribs has been opened to satisfy local contemporary needs in Egypt. Within the framework of the research on flooring and parquet products from date palm midribs, different chemical treatments have been applied on samples of date palm midribs with the objective of improvement of dimensional stability properties, static bending properties and abrasion resistance to be used in flooring and parquet products. A research has been conducted on eco-friendly laminated strand lumber from date palm midribs. The research results have proven that the laminated strand lumber manufactured from date palm midribs enjoys similar or superior strength properties compared to solid lumber and engineered products from wood or other lignocellulosic materials for building sector. The rationale behind the research on blockboards with core layer from date palm midribs was that we found that the local blockboard industry in Egypt is not economically competitive, because it totally relies on imported wood, the price of which is continuously increasing. Meanwhile, our research endeavors have shown that the date palm midribs being a sustainable locally available lignocellulosic resource enjoys physical and mechanical properties comparable with those for imported wood (e.g. spruce and beech). Here came the spark of rediscovery: could we replace the inner wooden core of the blockboard with palm midribs and thus save ~80% of the wood being imported for the manufacture of blockboards in Egypt? The research results have proven that the date palm midrib core blockboard enjoys excellent quality as compared with the wooden-core blockboard according to DIN standards and can be thus used as a substitute for spruce-core blockboards in furniture, wall and ceiling paneling, containers etc. A research has been conducted on the use of date palm petioles as a sandwich core. The petioles constitute the bases of the date palm leaves and are most dominantly treated as waste. But the petiole is very anisotropic with the best mechanical properties in the longitudinal direction, having a limited density and thus a high fatigue life. Proceeding from the above research results and the almost zero-price of the date palm petioles, they are a good candidate for the development of core for sandwich panels. Given the decline in plywood manufacturing worldwide due to limited large log supply, the oriented strand board—being typically manufactured from fast-growing small tree species—is one of the world's most commonly used engineered wood-base panel products in residential construction. In a pioneer study, date palm midribs from barhi, saqui, khalas and sukkari cultivars were used in making untreated strands to manufacture oriented strand boards with acceptable physical and mechanical properties. Within the framework of a research conducted on the use of date palm products of pruning in the manufacture of MDF, samples of products of pruning were collected with quantities proportional to those obtained during the traditional pruning activities in Bahariah oases in Egypt. These samples were sent to the laboratories of Naga Hammady Company of Fiber Boards (MDF) in Egypt. The results of tests of physical and chemical properties, conducted according to EN322, EN317, EN120 and mechanical properties, conducted according to EN310; EN319; EN311 prove that it is possible to manufacture MDF boards from date palm products of pruning satisfying the international standards with respect to their physical, chemical and mechanical properties. This opens the potentiality—worldwide—to establish MDF industrial projects in locations having extensive date palm plantations. Within the framework of research on the potentiality of production of particleboards from date palm midribs, two semi-industrial experiments have been conducted. The first industrial experimental was conducted in October 1993 on 1.15 tons of air-dried date palm midribs in the Nasr Company for particleboards in Egypt according to the Egyptian standard 906/1991 for particleboards. The results of tests of the modulus of rupture were 30.3 N/mm2 satisfying the requirements of the above-mentioned standard. The second industrial experiment was conducted in August 1994 on 60 tons of air-dried date palm midribs in the Modern Arabian Company for Industry of Wood. The experiment on 100% date palm midrib boards gave the following results: A research has been conducted on the potentiality of production of particleboards from date palm midribs. Date palm leaves were collected from Barhi, Saqie and Sukkari cultivars in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. To manufacture particleboard panels, dried particles were blended with urea–formaldehyde resin 10% (oven dry particle weight), 1% liquid paroffin wax, as well as ammonium chloride as a hardener (2% based on the hard resin weight). From the results of tests, it can be concluded that the date palm midribs can be used for the manufacture of particleboards. Another research has been conducted on the potentiality of use of fast-growing tree species (e.g. A. Saligna, C. erectus L and M. azedarach L.) and date palm midribs for the manufacture of particleboards. As a conclusion of this research, all the tested species can be used for the manufacture of particleboards of density 750 kg/m3. A research has been conducted to evaluate the potentiality of use of the date palm midribs for the production of particleboards. Date palm midribs were collected from local areas in Quena governorate, south of Egypt, cut into small strips and then converted into small chips 25 × 25 × 5 mm. Three-layer particleboards 400 × 400 × 12 mm with density 680 kg/m3 were produced at a pressure 35 kg/cm2. The results of tests proved that the date palm midrib panels have satisfied the requirements of load-bearing boards for use in dry conditions type (p4) of the European standard (EN 314.2010). This opens a wide potentiality of use of such an available renewable resource in manufacture of a value-added product as particleboards. Another study has been conducted to test the potentiality of use of date palm midribs considered as waste and vemiculite (as an inorganic filler) in the manufacture of particleboards. Midribs were obtained by defoliation of date palm leaves obtained from Kerman region in Iran, cut to suitable lengths (30–40 cm) and air-dried. A hammer mill was then used to cut them into pieces of 15 mm length, 2 mm width and 0.4 mm thickness. A sample of vermiculate commercially available in Iran was used in micro and nanosize. Experimental panels were manufactured with resin content 10%, hardener content 2%, press closing rate 6 mm/s, press pressure 35 kg/cm2, press temperature 175 °C, board thickness 15 mm and target density 0.75 g/cm3. The experimental values were number of layers (single-and 3-layer), the size of vermiculate particles (micro and nano). The research results have led to the conclusion that date palm midribs are potentially feasible for the manufacture of particleboards for indoor applications, to absorb noise, preserve the temperature of indoor living spaces as a substitute for wooden boards. An important study has been conducted to evaluate the potentiality of use of date palm trunks and midribs in the manufacture of particleboards as a substitute for imported wood. Date palm trunks and midribs were sourced from a local plantation in south Algeria, reduced to a particle size 1–2 cm, oven-dried at 100 °C to reach a MC of 3%. To manufacture the particleboard specimens, the chips were placed in a drum blender and sprayed with phenol formaldehyde or melamine–urea–formaldehyde for 1 min. The resin content was 10% based on dry particle content. The panels were produced at a density 0.7 g/cm3. The test panels reached after trimming 320 × 270 × 14 mm3. The total press time was 7.5 min and temperature 195 °C. Proceeding from the research results, it can be concluded that the manufacture of particleboards from date palm trunks and midribs is technically feasible. It is worth noting that the particleboards produced from the trunk enjoy significantly higher MOR, MOE and 1B values as compared with those for midribs. This opens a great potential for use of a new material resource (old unproductive date palm trunks) for a high value-added product such as particleboards. Research has also been conducted on self-bonded particleboards from date palm products of pruning. The rationale behind the idea of self-bonding particleboards is the dispensing with the synthetic resins, the presence of which hinders the recycling of the products at the disposal stage. To conduct this study samples of date palm leaflets, midribs, petioles and fibrillum were sourced from Marrakesh province in Morocco, hammer milled, sieved by 3-mm sieve and oven-dried at 105 °C for 12 h. The self-bonding was successful: all samples were cohesive. The fibrillum boards enjoyed the highest MOR and MOE properties (12.9 N/mm2 and 1257 N/mm2, respectively). This can be explained by the high lignin content in the fibrillum (the lignin plays an important role as a binder forming a coherent thermosetting matrix during board manufacture gluing particles togethers). The panels of leaflets and midribs had the second highest MOR values of 8.4 and 8.5 N/mm2, respectively. This can be explained by the highest amount of hemicelluloses in midribs and highest content of extractives in leaflets, beside its average content of hemicelluloses.