Thermal and Mechanical Properties of Green Insulation Composites Made from Cannabis and Bark Residues

Konstantinos Ninikas,Andromachi Mitani,Antonios N Papadopoulos,Dimitrios Koutsianitis,Hamid R Taghiyari,George Ntalos

doi:10.3390/jcs5050132

Abstract

The objective of this paper was to investigate the technical feasibility of manufacturing low density insulation particleboards that were made from two renewable resources, namely hemp fibers (Cannabis sativa) and pine tree bark, which were bonded with a non-toxic methyl cellulose glue, as a binder. Four types of panels were made, which consisted of varying mixtures of tree bark and hemp fibers (tree bark to hemp fibers percentages of 90:10, 80:20, 70:30, and 60:40). An additional set of panels was made, consisting only of bark. The results showed that addition of hemp fibers to furnish improved mechanical properties of boards to reach an acceptable level. The thermal conductivity unfavorably increased as hemp content increased, though all values were still within the acceptable range. Based on cluster analysis, board type 70:30 (with 30% hemp content) produced the highest mechanical properties as well as the optimal thermal conductivity value. It is concluded that low density insulation boards can be successfully produced using these waste raw materials.

Highlights

It has to be mentioned that preliminary tests revealed that it was not feasible to manufacture boards with higher hemp fiber content, since this attempt lead to non-consistent boards
This paper examined the technical feasibility of manufacturing low density insulation This paper examined the technical feasibility ofrenewable manufacturing low namely density hemp insulaparticleboards that were made from two resources, fibers (Cannabis tion particleboards made from two were renewable resources, namely methyl hemp fibers sativa)that and were pine tree bark, which bonded with a non-toxic cellulose glue, as a (Cannabis sativa) and pine tree bark,that which were bonded non-toxic cellulose binder
It was found that higher hemp all fiber levels resulted an within increasing conductivity of boards, board types wereinstill the trend acceptable thermal in thermal conductivity of boards, all board wereλstill within the acceptaconductivity range when compared to types the value

Summary

Introduction

The main products, which are available in the market for heat insulation materials, can be categorized, as follows: (i) synthetic materials, like polyurethane and polystyrene; (ii) inorganic materials, like mineral wool and glass. A third, and perhaps more attractive option, is materials produced from renewable resources, which have gained increased popularity in recent years [6,7,8,9,10,11,12]. These may include wood residues, agricultural residues, and tree barks

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion