Investigation of thermal conductivity and physical properties of oil palm trunks/ramie fiber reinforced biopolymer hybrid composites as building bio-insulation

Abstract

The current buildings insulating materials in the construction market, which mainly consist of synthetic materials, have a high performance in thermal resistivity. However, they negatively impact the human health and the environment, thereby finding bio-insulating materials is necessary. This research investigates the thermal conductivity and physical performance of oil palm trunks/ramie fibers reinforced biopolymer hybrid composites for thermal insulation of buildings. The hybrid composites were further prepared using oil palm trunk particles, ramie fiber as the reinforcement, and tapioca starch as a biopolymer binder. All the manufactured hybrid composites exhibited thermal conductivity in a range of 0.0723 W/mK to 0.1344 W/mK and density of 732 kg/m3 to 801 kg/m3, respectively. Sample C1, with a density of 732 kg/m3 had the lowest thermal conductivity of (0.0723 W/mK). Moreover, the minimum absorbed water (53.66%) and thickness swelling (21.36%) were found in the C1 sample hybrid composites after 24-hours immersion in water. Thermal conductivity performance was influenced positively by physical properties. Therefore, the results of this research show that waste oil palm trunks and ramie fiber could be used as a thermal insulating material for buildings.