Composites based on Juncus maritimus fibers for building insulation

The building sector is known to have a significant environmental impact, considering that it is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions of around 36% and is also responsible for about 40% of global energy consumption. Of this, about 50% takes place during the building operational phase, while around 10–20% is consumed in materials manufacturing, transport and building construction, maintenance, and demolition. Increasing the necessity of reducing the environmental impact of buildings has led to enhancing not only the thermal performances of building materials, but also the environmental sustainability of their production chains and waste prevention. As a consequence, novel thermo-insulating building materials or products have been developed by using both locally produced natural and waste/recycled materials that are able to provide good thermal performances while also having a lower environmental impact. In this context, the aim of this work is to provide a detailed analysis for the thermal characterization of recycled materials for building insulation. To this end, the thermal behavior of different materials representing industrial residual or wastes collected or recycled using Sardinian zero-km locally available raw materials was investigated, namely: (1) plasters with recycled materials; (2) plasters with natural fibers; and (3) building insulation materials with natural fibers. Results indicate that the investigated materials were able to improve not only the energy performances but also the environmental comfort in both new and in existing buildings. In particular, plasters and mortars with recycled materials and with natural fibers showed, respectively, values of thermal conductivity (at 20 °C) lower than 0.475 and 0.272 W/(m⋅K), while that of building materials with natural fibers was always lower than 0.162 W/(m⋅K) with lower values for compounds with recycled materials (0.107 W/(m⋅K)). Further developments are underway to analyze the mechanical properties of these materials.

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Comparison of the role of the sea club-rush Scirpus maritimus and the sea rush Juncus maritimus in terms of concentration, speciation and bioaccumulation of metals in the estuarine sediment

Environmental Pollution ◽

10.1016/j.envpol.2005.09.002 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 142 (1) ◽

pp. 151-159 ◽

Cited By ~ 66

Author(s):

C. Marisa R. Almeida ◽

Ana P. Mucha ◽

M. Teresa S.D. Vasconcelos

Keyword(s):

Estuarine Sediment ◽

Juncus Maritimus ◽

Scirpus Maritimus

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Agro-industrial wastes as building insulation materials: A review and challenges for Euro-Mediterranean countries

Industrial Crops and Products ◽

10.1016/j.indcrop.2021.113833 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 171 ◽

pp. 113833

Author(s):

Eleonora Cintura ◽

Lina Nunes ◽

Bruno Esteves ◽

Paulina Faria

Keyword(s):

Industrial Wastes ◽

Insulation Materials ◽

Building Insulation ◽

Mediterranean Countries

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Variability of metal contents in the sea rush Juncus maritimus–estuarine sediment system through one year of plant’s life

Marine Environmental Research ◽

10.1016/j.marenvres.2005.12.002 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 424-438 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

C. Marisa R. Almeida ◽

Ana P. Mucha ◽

M. Teresa S.D. Vasconcelos

Keyword(s):

Estuarine Sediment ◽

Metal Contents ◽

Juncus Maritimus ◽

One Year

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Preparation and characterization of building insulation material based on SiO2 aerogel and its composite with expanded perlite

Energy and Buildings ◽

10.1016/j.enbuild.2021.111661 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 111661

Author(s):

Qiuhui Yan ◽

Zhao Feng ◽

Jieren Luo ◽

Weidong Xia

Keyword(s):

Insulation Material ◽

Expanded Perlite ◽

Building Insulation ◽

Sio2 Aerogel

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Use of technical hemp in the construction industry

MATEC Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/matecconf/201814603011 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 146 ◽

pp. 03011 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Petra Nováková

Keyword(s):

Construction Industry ◽

Building Industry ◽

Environmental Burden ◽

Building Insulation ◽

Technical Properties

Current requirements for building insulation are constantly increasing, not only in terms of the technical properties of the material used but also in terms of the environmental burden. This article focuses on the use of technical hemp in the building industry, describes individual products, its properties and uses. Part of the article is also the experience of realization and use of the building along with photographs.

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Traditional, state-of-the-art and future thermal building insulation materials and solutions – Properties, requirements and possibilities

Energy and Buildings ◽

10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.05.015 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 43 (10) ◽

pp. 2549-2563 ◽

Cited By ~ 544

Author(s):

Bjørn Petter Jelle

Keyword(s):

State Of The Art ◽

Insulation Materials ◽

Building Insulation

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FIRE TESTING OF THE BUILDING FACADE INSULATED WITH FOAM POLYSTYRENE/PUTŲ POLISTIRENU APŠILTINTŲ FASADO FRAGMENTŲ GAISRINIAI BANDYMAI

Journal of Civil Engineering and Management ◽

10.3846/13921525.1999.10531486 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 340-346 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Albertas Nyderis ◽

Romualdas Mačiulaitis

Keyword(s):

Thermal Radiation ◽

Functional Relation ◽

Heat Radiation ◽

Bottom Line ◽

Fire Hazards ◽

Testing Conditions ◽

Foam Polystyrene ◽

Building Insulation ◽

Building Facade ◽

Insulation Systems

In the past decade, construction business applied various heat insulating materials comprising a spectrum of properties according to their combustibility. Particular attention was paid to insulation materials related to fire hazards. The normative fire safety documents started to be drawn up in this country at the time when the process of building insulation had not been initiated yet. Therefore, there still exists a great need for assessing the fire hazards of building insulation systems. With the use of the experience of other countries new testing equipment for insulating building facade with foam polystyrene has been recently established. The equipment is loaded with a 2.4×2.0 meter wall fragment and 800×700 mm plate of electrical thermal radiation flow, as well as a gas burner and a device for taking the temperature. The theoretical bottom-line of these testing methods lies in the heat exchange between two parallel walls, one of which is much hotter. The calculation of the thermal radiation flow is presented in formula 1 and the theoretical basis is indicated in formulae 2–10. Formula 11 indicates the rates of the flame heat radiation flows. Formula 12 shows special testing conditions. In the course of testing the insulation systems, the geometrical quantities of violation zones of foam polystyrene have been determined, they have exceeded the calculations of the flow radiation plate of active heat several times. A strong functional relation between the thickness of foam polystyrene and the rates of violation zones (r xy =0.694) and a weak functional relation between the thickness of plaster and the rates of violation zones (r xy = −0.580) have also been defined. Formulas 13 and 14 describe the relations between the surface areas of the destruction, the thickness of the foam polystyrene and the thickness of the plaster. By taking the temperatures in the vertical axis of the geometrical centre of the wall fragment, it was determined that in the course of testing the temperatures become dangerous in relation to the combustibles (about 250°C). The tests indicate that favourable and stable testing conditions established. It is expedient to continue the tests with other types of building facade materials.

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