Complex Study of the Composite Building Material Based on Flax Straw Organic Waste: Hygrothermal and Physicochemical Properties

• Published in: Waste and biomass valorization Vol. 15; no. 4; pp. 2231 - 2247
• Main Authors: Cerny, Pavel, Babenko, Maryna, Bartos, Petr, Kononets, Yevhen, Kriz, Pavel, Rabenseifer, Roman, Spalek, Frantisek
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.04.2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural wastes; Chemical elements; Composite materials; Engineering; Environment; Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology; Flax; Heat conductivity; Heat transfer; Industrial Pollution Prevention; Insulation; Mechanical properties; Moisture; Organic wastes; Original Paper; Physicochemical properties; Porosity; Relative humidity; Renewable and Green Energy; Rural areas; Silicon dioxide; Sorption; Spectral analysis; Spectrum analysis; Straw; Thermal conductivity; Waste Management/Waste Technology; Thermal conductivity; Insulation material; Agricultural waste; Organic composite material; Flax; Materials characterization
• ISSN: 1877-2641; 1877-265X
• DOI: 10.1007/s12649-023-02273-7

The focus of this study is on the hygrothermal and mechanical properties of the elaborated insulating composite based on flax straw. Flax straw is considered as an agricultural waste of organic origin, which has a high sorption capacity and a low thermal conductivity potential due to its natural porosity. Investigations on sorption moisture, thermal conductivity and mechanical properties under laboratory conditions have allowed us to develop a perspective building material suitable for use in ‘green’ construction, especially in rural areas, due to the relative accessibility of the base component. Liquid glass is proposed as a binder. The optimal composition of the filler and binder, sorption moisture, thermal conductivity and surface mapping of the proposed material were investigated. The thermal conductivity reached a minimum value of 0.0728 W m −1  K −1 at relative humidity of 50% during desorption, which is highly competitive to the values for conventional insulation materials on an organic basis. The binder was visually distributed evenly over the surface according to the SEM analysis. Corresponding to the spectral analysis by chemical elements, Na and SiO 2 in total showed 17.69% quantity volume on the composite surface of 2–5 μm in depth. Graphical Abstract