Journal
RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND RECYCLING
Volume 86, Issue -, Pages 9-15Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2014.01.004
Keywords
Wool insulation; Sustainable agriculture; Thermal properties; Guarded hot box; Green building products; Scale
Categories
Funding
- Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture, Energy Pilot Program
- Farm Energy Nova Scotia (FENS)
- Rural Research Centre of the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture
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Material selection in manufacturing may be characterized as a series of trade-offs between characteristics, properties, environmental impacts, sustainability, availability, and economics. Societal concerns about the environmental impacts of construction practices and materials have been expressed through an increase in the demand, production and use of green building products. This, combined with a desire to integrate more bioproducts and natural and renewable resources into the construction industry, has extended to the production and promotion of insulation made from sheep's wool. Although substantial literature exists on the insulation properties and other benefits of wool, less is known about the economics and manufacturing processes of sheep's wool insulation at varying scales of production. This paper contributes to this field of enquiry through presentation of the preliminary results of a wool insulation manufacturing pilot project, in which the scale and economics of the production of sheep's wool insulation were considered. Processing techniques, the impact of sheep breed, yield, energy use, and manufacturing costs were also examined. The results of the pilot project indicate that, while sheep's wool insulation produced at a smaller, or artisanal scale shows some potential, scale of operation and volume of production need to be carefully considered in order to ensure long-term sustainability of the operation. Using the least expensive sheep's wool available for the manufacture of wool batt insulation (and thereby reducing production costs) did not, in this pilot study, have a negative impact on productivity or product performance. Diversion of this waste stream of currently less marketable, and consequently less valuable wool, into the production of a green building material may offer small but significant benefit to sheep producers and the broader agricultural community, as well as consumers. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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