This paper dealed with the valorization of Benin natural resources through the development of new composite materials made of banana fibers-cement mortar which could be used as thermal insulator in building. The developed composites were formulated and made by substituting a mix of sand and cement, in mass fractions, with the banana trunk fibers previously washed with hot water and dried. Cement was dosed at 250 kg m -3 of mortar and the ratio W/C was equal to 0.7 for the samples. The effected

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... hermal tests by the hot plate method using two temperature measurements had shown a decreasing of the thermal effusivity and conductivity when the proportion of fibers increased. One had obtained the respective relative deviations of 25.54%, 56.09% and 65.68% between the thermal conductivity of the reference sample, which was equal to 1.14 W m -1 K -1 , and that of the composites. These results made the composites interesting thermal insulators in building with reduction of the normally used quantity of cement and sand and valorization of agricultural waste. The water absorption was also calculated for each sample. Copy Right, IJAR, 2016,. All rights reserved. ...................................................................................................................... Introduction:- World energy consumption is increasing and this growth affects all sectors, particularly the construction and reflects the need for more performance, power and comfort in the different uses of energy. This situation is not without environmental impacts due to significant emissions of the greenhouse gas effects. Thus, the new composite materials are developed to serve as natural or not thermal insulators, while maintaining an acceptable mechanical strength. We find in this class of materials, the concrete reinforced by the fibers often got from agricultural residues. The use of local materials in construction of buildings is one of the potential ways to support sustainable development in both urban and rural areas in developing countries (Mostafa et al., 2015) . Many research studies have developed this technology and its variants according to the chemical, thermal and mechanical aspects. The thermal conductivity and the mechanical strength are determined to know the insulation property of the material and to classify it in its appropriate use category. In general, these studies have shown that, the incorporation of the lightweight aggregate in composites results in a decreasing of the thermal conductivity