Environment

Eco-friendly insulation would put rice husks and newspapers in our walls

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Three samples of the insulation, prepared for tensile strength testing
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Grupo de Investigación: Iniciativa de Integración de Tecnologías para el Desarrollo de Soluciones Ingenieriles (I2TEDSI)
Three samples of the insulation, prepared for tensile strength testing
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Grupo de Investigación: Iniciativa de Integración de Tecnologías para el Desarrollo de Soluciones Ingenieriles (I2TEDSI)
The four ingredients of the insulation were combined in three different ratios
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Grupo de Investigación: Iniciativa de Integración de Tecnologías para el Desarrollo de Soluciones Ingenieriles (I2TEDSI)

Although various uses for post-harvest rice husk waste are being explored, the stuff is still usually either incinerated, dumped in landfills, or at best composted. Soon, however, rice husks may be combined with discarded newspapers to form eco-friendly insulation.

Commonly used insulation materials, such as spun fiberglass and expanded polystyrene foam, are made using not-so-green petroleum-based resins. For this reason, various groups have started looking into more environmentally friendly alternatives. If those alternatives utilize materials that would otherwise just be dumped, so much the better.

Led by Dr. Nacarí Marín Calvo, a team of scientists at the Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (Technological University of Panama) recently turned their attention to the rice husks which are produced in large quantities in rural Panama. As is the case in most other countries, plenty of old newspapers are also readily available for recycling.

To make the insulation, the researchers started out by shredding the husks and the newspapers, then extracting cellulose from the latter. The husks and cellulose were subsequently mixed with glue (as a binder) and borax (for fire and fungi resistance) in three different ratios.

All three ratios were found to deliver k-values (the ability to conduct heat), tensile strengths (the ability to stretch without breaking) and compressive strengths (the ability to withstand being pushed together) in line with those of other natural and recycled insulation materials.

The four ingredients of the insulation were combined in three different ratios
Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá, Grupo de Investigación: Iniciativa de Integración de Tecnologías para el Desarrollo de Soluciones Ingenieriles (I2TEDSI)

Further research will focus on evaluating the rate at which the insulation degrades under various conditions, and how well it actually keeps heat from escaping from homes. The scientists will also explore its use in other applications, such as construction panels and sustainable packaging.

A paper on the research was recently published in the journal Frontiers in Built Environment.

Source: Frontiers Science News

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5 comments
CarolynFarstrider
Are there problems with rodents?
TechGazer
Maybe combine this with the fungi-based insulation reported earlier? That might let them skip the glue and boost insulation value.
Username
"in line with those of other natural and recycled insulation materials." How does it compare to standard pink fiberglass?
1stClassOPP
I hate to burst your bubble, but spun fibreglass is not a petroleum based material. I worked for Fibreglass Canada, fo a while, and was given a tour of the plant. The process at the plant begins with glass marbles, that are heated, then fired though a jet engine forming the fibreglass batts. The slower the production line, the thicker the batts. It is however, not pleasant to work with. It is after all a glass product.
Karmudjun
Spun fiberglass does have a significant carbon footprint without using petroleum as a raw resource. Ben should have been a little more specific regarding the rice-hull and paper construction without high heat requirements to produce such a product. Either way, your taking umbrage is only somewhat useful as I seriously doubt Ben has a bubble that can be burst by your reply. And how do we heat sand to produce glass???????