Thermal insulation potential of wood-cereal straws/plaster composite

Nowadays, it is important, even necessary, to develop building materials from renewable re-sources. In this context, the use of low-cost natural fibers in the manufacture and reinforcement of materials is of great interest from an economic and environmental point of view. Present paper investigated the use of plaster loaded with two untreated plant fibers, Wood Fiber (WF) and cereal Straw Fiber (SF), in order to use them in thermal insulation applications of buildings. Composite materials based on Wood Fiber Plaster (WFP), Straw Fiber Plaster (SFP) and Wood -cereal Straw plaster (WSFP) were prepared with varying densities (0 %; 5 %; 10 %; 15 %; 20 % by volume). Their thermo-physical characteristics were characterized from the chemical structure (FTIR), crystallinity (XRD), thermal conductivity (Hot Box Method), thermal diffusivity (Flash Method) and the water uptake (ASTM D570) point of views. Two linear correlations concerning thermal conductivity and thermal diffusivity of WSFP, WFP and SFP samples have been established. Results show that the incorporation of wood fibers and cereal straw fibers reduce the thermal conductivity as well as thermal capacity, effusivity and the weight of com-posite materials. The comparison between other composite materials show that proposed com-posite is good competitor vs. materials used in insulation.

Automated summary

This study investigates the use of low-cost natural fibers (wood fiber and straw fiber) loaded in plaster for thermal insulation applications in buildings. The results show that this composite material can reduce thermal conductivity and thermal capacity while also reducing the weight of the material.