Study of Thermal Properties of Lightweight Insulation Made of Flax Straw

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the properties of flax straw as a raw material and as a lightweight, environmentally-friendly insulation made of a two-component mixture of flax straw and liquid glass. The flax is considered to be renewable and is a 100% natural waste product of the agriculture industry, which may be widely used as sustainable building insulation after light modifications. The ratio mixes of the two-component eco-insulation of flax straw and liquid glass (Na2O(SiO2)) have been developed in terms of sustainability principles such as environmental friendliness and energy efficiency. We used thermal analysis to compare flax straw as a raw material, and a complex insulation made of flax straw demonstrated a slower decomposition of the composite and shorter peaks, which supports the concept of the transformation of flax straw with liquid glass to increase its fire resistance properties. The peaks of the loss of mass with the exothermal process were defined for both flax samples. The thermal conductivity coefficient of the material is around 0.085 W/m K, which permits its use as an effective insulation material for sustainable buildings.

Keywords

• Flax, straw
• Ecological insulation
• Energy efficiency
• Sustainable development
• Agriculture waste
• Vernacular architecture