Thermal Insulation Particleboards Made with Wastes from Wood and Tire Rubber

Abstract

The concept of sustainable buildings addresses the environmentally efficiency, with respect to energy consumption, by adopting products that offer thermal insulation. Moreover, use of wastes from different materials also contributes to obtain products for this application. The volume of wastes from timber industry and those from tires are an environmental problem. This study aimed to production and characterization of particleboards using wastes from wood and tire rubber with castor-oil polyurethane resin. Panels were produced containing only wood and also with addition of tire rubber. The properties determined were density, modulus of rupture (MOR) and modulus of elasticity (MOE) in bending, according to Brazilian Code NBR 14810-3 (2006), and thermal conductivity. Statistical analysis was conducted in physical and mechanical properties. Panels containing wood were classified as low density (0.55 g/cm³), while those with wood and tire rubber resulted in medium density (0.78 g/cm³). For mechanical properties, the addition of rubber resulted in increased of MOR and reduction for MOE. Superior performance for thermal conductivity was achieved for panels produced only with wood. However, samples with a mixture of wood and tire rubber also showed consistent thermal conductivity with similar products. Considering the results obtained, panels containing wood and tire rubber addition have potential for application as thermal insulation.