Production of insulation material using styrene acrylic resin from animal and agricultural waste part 1. Thermal insulation and water absorption

Abstract

Decreased energy resources and subsequent increasing environmental pollution have increased the tendency towards the production of renewable and sustainable insulation materials. This study aimed to produce an innovative and sustainable insulation material using water-based resin from wastes such wood shavings, wheat straws, goose down, to bring the large amount of Kars regional waste into the economy. Response Surface Method Box-Behnken Design was used for process optimization. The result of the optimization optimum mixing ratio was determined as 125 gr binder, 80 gr wood shaving, and 30 gr wheat straw for 0,06 W/mK the thermal conductivity coefficient. It was observed that goose down added to the optimum mixture reduced the thermal conductivity coefficient. %5 Polydimethylsiloxane as hydrophobic agent was used to reduce water absorbency, which is one of the biggest disadvantages of materials produced from animal and agricultural wastes. As a result of this study, water absorbency was reduced from 175% to 20% and the thermal conductivity coefficient of the produced samples were determined between 0.055 W/mK − 0.0681 W/mK. The resulting samples were found to have thermal conductivity and waterproofing properties that make them suitable for building envelope insulation. Produced samples have the potential to be used as light and sustainable insulation materials produced from natural materials in future in building industry.