On thermal characteristics and microstructure of a new insulation material extracted from date palm trees surface fibers

Date palm trees surface fibers (DPSF) are one of the most common environmental waste in the Middle East. Thermal and microstructure of date palm tree surface fibers (DPSF) reveal that they could be used as a new building insulation material. Cornstarch is used as a resin to bind the fibers, which makes the insulation material totally natural. Thermal conductivity of the proposed insulation material is measured for four different densities and the results show that the minimum and maximum values are 0.0475 and 0.0697 W/m-K, respectively. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis of the fiber diameter shows the average range of the diameter is 12-580 mu m. Fourier Transformation-Infra Red (FT-IR) spectra of the fibers is obtained and shows that there are strong stretching peaks at 2918.45 and 2850.6 cm(-1) which may be due to the presence of Alkane (C-H) functional group. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA and DTGA) indicates that the degradation and decomposition of the fibers starts at 232 degrees C where the sample loses only about 8.5% of its original mass. The Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) analysis is performed and shows that the endothermic transition starts at around 243-382 degrees C with a peak at 369 degrees C. Three points bending test is used to determine the maximum flexural strength a and the Young's Modulus E for some specimens of bounded fibers and relationships between load-deflection and flexural strength-deflection are obtained. The proposed natural material is comparable to conventional insulation material with the advantages of being safe to human beings as well as utilizes waste material. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.