Performance Comparison of Bio-based Thermal Insulation Foam Board with Petroleum-based Foam Boards on the Market

Abstract

A process is described for developing bio-based foam board using state of the art freeze-casting technology. The bio-based thermal insulation foam board was produced starting from wood-based cellulose nanomaterials (CNs) water suspensions. Its performance properties were compared to the current products on the market: Foamular® 150 (F150), Styrofoam™ brand square edge insulation (SF), and GreenGuard® XPS (GG). The bio-based foam board’s density was 0.1 g/cm3 with an 8.16% coefficient of variation (CV), which was higher than F150’s density (0.03 g/cm3 with 0.35% CV), SF’s density (0.04 g/cm3 with 3.79% CV), and GG’s density (0.04 g/cm3 with 0.03% CV). The insulation value (R-value) was determined as 3.14 (1.47% CV) for bio-based thermal insulation foam board, 4.37 (0.39%) for F150, 4.43 (0.39%) for GG, and 5.59 (1.55%) for SF. The mechanical performance of the bio-based thermal insulation foam board was lower than those of the current products on the market, so that it requires further enhancement before potential commercialization. However, being among the first nanocellulose thermal insulation foam boards currently available, it still has great potential for use in building systems.