The project No. lzp-2021/1-0599 "Investigation of eco-friendly thermal insulation materials from sustainable and renewable industrial crops residuals" was confirmed by Latvian Science Council to be implemented by Rignocell team during time period of 2022-2024.

The aim of the project is to develop new potential eco-friendly thermal insulation materials for building insulation from local crop residues such as wheat straw, buck wheat husks, corn and reed stems. To achieve the project goal four work packages will be implemented: Development of thermal insulation materials, Testing and analysis of developed materials, Development of prototypes and Dissemination of results. For the development of new thermal insulation materials three different pre-treatments will be applied: mechanical shredding, hydrothermal pre-treatment by steam explosion and refining. The developed thermal insulation materials will be characterized by chemical composition, particle size distribution, bulk density, settlement, thermal conductivity, water vapor diffusion resistance, reaction to fire, specific heat capacity, mould fungi resistance and volatile organic compounds. At least 2 prototypes of the final products will be fabricated in loose-fill form by blowing them into the wall structure and testing the settlement and resistance to fungi in real conditions. The obtained results will be published in at least 3 scientific articles and presented at least at 2 international conferences. The implementation of the project will contribute to the development of thermal insulation materials and materials science, development of scientific staff competencies, Latvian smart specialization, European Green Course and EU long-term climate neutrality strategy.

The project implementation scheme is shown below

More info about the project could be found here.