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Publications in Scientific Journals:

J. Zach, J. Hroudova, A. Korjenic:
"Environmentally efficient thermal and acoustic insulation based on natural and waste fibers";
Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, Volume 91 (2016), Issue 8; 2156 - 2161.



English abstract:
BACKGROUND: Insulations play an important role in terms of the reduction of energy consumption of buildings which is of
key importance for environment protection and sustainable development. Current insulation puts significant strain on the
environment both during theproduction of thematerialandafter it has finished its service inthestructure.Thus,more ecological
options are insulations fromeasily renewable, recyclable raw resources.
The goal of our work is the development of materials based on natural, waste fibres which would be a suitable ecological
substitute for conventional insulations today. The production of these materials should have lower energy consumption and
be without negative impact on the environment. The final products should possess at least comparable properties as found
in insulations commonly used and should be affordable. However, given the different nature of the matrix of these fibrous
materials, it is necessary to examine their hygrothermal behaviour in order to properly design placement of the material and
ensure its optimal function.
RESULTS: This paper describes the evaluation of properties of natural insulations with thermal conductivity in dry state between
0.0360 and 0.0443Wm−1 K−1. The input raw materials were cotton, polyester, flax and textile fibres. The lowest thermal
conductivity was found in mixture 2 consisting of 40% cotton, 40% PES, 20% BiCO fibres.
CONCLUSION: It can be concluded that thermal and acoustic insulation materials based on natural and recycled fibres are
suitable for use in civil engineering. Their thermal-technical properties are similar to conventional insulations.

Keywords:
green insulation materials; natural fibres; waste fibres; thermal conductivity; hygrothermal behaviour


"Official" electronic version of the publication (accessed through its Digital Object Identifier - DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jctb.4940


Created from the Publication Database of the Vienna University of Technology.