Experimental analysis of cellulose Fibre insulation considering thermal conductivity dependence on density using environment-friendly additives

Abstract

Cellulose Fibre insulation made up of recycled newspaper is used as thermal and acoustic insulation, considered environmentally friendly. Cellulose Fibre insulation has excellent thermal resistance properties, biodegradability, and low thermal conductivity compared to most synthetic materials. The study was focused on preparing environmentally friendly cellulose Fibre insulation from waste newspaper from the local market using environmentally friendly additives like borax, boric acid, aluminium sulphate, silica gel and calcium carbonate. For mixing of all these additives by mass with cellulose Fibre pulp, fenugreek powder was used as a binder. In conventional methods for the preparation of cellulose Fibre insulation, adhesive substances like glue and potato starch are used. In the preparation process of cellulose Fibre insulation, fenugreek powder was used as a binder because it has excellent mucoadhesive properties. The mixture of cellulose Fibre pulp, additives and binder was carefully selected by percentage of mass. To analyse the effect of density on thermal conductivity, cellulose Fibre insulation structure was prepared varying thickness from 15 to 35 mm and density range from 280 to 360 kg m−3. The thermal conductivity of the cellulose Fibre insulation was found in the range of 0.032–0.044 W m−1 K−1 using the heat flow metre method. In the experimentation, thermal conductivity and density was considered as measuring parameters. Where, density was considered as independent parameter and thermal conductivity considered as dependent parameter. Using linear regression analysis, two equations were obtained for heat flow directions, and the results obtained showed that there was no significant effect of heat flow direction on thermal conductivity of cellulose Fibre insulation.