Thermal insulation materials

At the moment we have developed two different products of loose-fill thermal insulation materials suitable for use in many building constructions and are ready to sell the technology licence
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Hemp Shives fiber
Grey Alder fiber

What we offer?

We offer the developed green technology for producing loose-fill thermal insulation materials from renewables. Producing lignocellulosic loose-fill thermal insulation materials using the steam explosion technology would solve the problems in the industries:

1)     A new, innovative and natural thermal insulation material with high thermal insulation properties will be offered to the market;

2)     Wood ( forestry) and non-wood (agriculture) crop industries will be offered an alternative way of processing production by-products, which will ensure more efficient processing of by-products and higher profits.

Product application

Lignocellulosic loose-fill thermal insulation material can be used for insulation of all types of residential and non-residential buildings. Given that the technology offered by Rignocell allows the development of a natural product from renewable raw materials, the most effective use of the product is in wooden frame houses, eco-houses and passive houses, where the new material can be integrated in floor, wall, ceiling and even roof structures, similar to eco-wool.

Potential product price

The price of a product is influenced by three factors: the cost of the product, the surcharge and the prices of competitors or similar materials. It was assumed that the price of Rignocell-developed thermal insulation material from hemp shives will be 0.55 EUR/kg or 33.00 EUR/m3 (thus creating a surcharge or profit of about 11.00%). The price of Rignocell-developed thermal insulation material from grey alder chips will be 0.40 EUR/kg or 24.00 EUR/m3 (thus creating a surcharge or profit of about 40.41%). The Figure below provides a price comparison with other loose-fill thermal insulation materials available on the market.

Comparison of Rignocell-developed thermal insulation material prices vs available on the market

Principal

The offered technique for the production of Rignocell lignocellulosic fiber includes the following steps:

» mechanical crushing of raw lignocellulosic material to get a shape like chips;
» fractionation by using a sieve system to get an appropriate fraction;
» control of appropriate moisture content;
» steam explosion pre-treatment;
» drying of the obtained fiber mass to a moisture content of 10-15%.

Mechanical crushing

The mechanical crushing is a necessary step before the steam explosion pre-treatment and is dependent on the shape of raw lignocellulosic material. Round wood raw materials need to be crushed by chipping machine, while straw lignocellulosics need to be crushed by a knife mill according to the parameters of steam explosion reactor.

Steam explosion pre-treatment

Traditionally, to convert wood chips to pulp, defibrators and rafinators are used. It is known that steam explosion pre-treatment is also a very effective method to convert raw lignocellulosics to a fibre substrate but usually is used to disrupt its polymeric complex for further downstream products.
The team of Rignocell revealed and developed the steam explosion method for conversion of raw lignocellulosics to a fiber subtrate with good thermal insulation properties. Steam explosion is the hydrothermal process where a pressurized saturated steam acts on the biomass in a closed reactor a certain time (up to 10 min) at an elevated temperature (160-250 °C). After the time exceeds the reactor is opened and the biomass is exploded to the receiver due to the rapid pressure reduction. In such a manner processed lignocellulosic material contain different shapes fiber that is suitable to be used as loose-fill thermal insulation material.
Steam explosion can be implemented in the batch and continuous reactors, however with the different process parameters. In continuous system, the mechanical compression is a source of stress in addition to hydrothermal and explosion effects.

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Technological diagram for production of loose-fill thermal insulation material from hemp shives
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Hemp shives fiber

Hemp Shives Fiber is the Rignocell-developed loose-fill thermal insulation product obtained from steam-exploded hemp shives under certain parameters having a good thermal insulation properties shown below.

Thermal conductivity

Nominal thermal conductivity of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined according to the Test Standard ISO 8301 is 0.043 (W/m K).

Bulk density

Bulk density of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined with a moisture content of 8% according to the Test Standard EN 15103 is 47 ± 3 (kg/m3).

Vapor Diffusion  (μ)

Vapor diffusion of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined according to the Test Standard EN 12086 is Class 7.

Specific heat capacity

Specific heat capacity of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined according to the Test Standard ASTM 1784 is 1700 (J/kg K).

Settlement

Settlement of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined  according to the Test Standard EN 15101-1:A1 in vertical walls is of Class 10.

Sound  absorption performance

Transmission Loss of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined  according to the Test Standard ISO 10534-2 is 0 (dB) at the frequencies between 50 Hz and 200 Hz and reaches 4 (dB) at the frequencies between 4000 Hz and 5000 Hz.

Fire resistance performance

Heat release rate (HRR) of Hemp Shives Fiber product determined at a cone calorimeter according to the Test Standard ISO 5660-1 is 135 ± 5 (kW/m2).

Insulation area

The nominal insulation area of Hemp Shives Fiber product from 1 tone raw chips is 160 (m2) at the wall thickness of 200 mm.

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grey alder fiber

Grey Alder Fiber is the Rignocell-developed loose-fill thermal insulation product obtained from steam-exploded grey alder chips under certain parameters having a good thermal insulation properties shown below.

Grey alder wood is a low-value raw material which contain up to 10% of all forest area in Latvia. Usually it is used for heat production, in small capacities for charcoal, but we offer to use grey alder to produce value added eco-friendly thermal insulation material.

Thermal conductivity (λ)

Nominal thermal conductivity of Grey Alder Fiber product determined according to the Test Standard ISO 8301 is 0.044 (W/m K).

Bulk density

Bulk density of Grey Alder Fiber product determined with a moisture content of 8% according to the Test Standard EN 15103 is 55 ± 5 (kg/m3).

Vapor Diffusion  (μ)

Vapor diffusion of Grey Alder Fiber product determined according to the Test Standard EN 12086 is Class 6.

Specific heat capacity

Specific heat capacity of Grey Alder Fiber product determined according to the Test Standard ASTM 1784 is 1400 (J/kgK).

Settlement

Settlement of Grey Alder Fiber product determined  according to the Test Standard EN 15101-1:A1 in vertical walls is of Class 10.

Sound  absorption performance

Transmission Loss of Grey Alder Fiber product determined  according to the Test Standard ISO 10534-2 is 0 (dB) at the frequencies between 50 Hz and 200 Hz and reaches 5 (dB) at the frequencies between 4000 Hz and 5000 Hz.

Fire resistance performance

Heat release rate (HRR) of Grey Alder Fiber product determined at a cone calorimeter according to the Test Standard ISO 5660-1 is 126 ± 5 (kW/m2).

Insulation area

The nominal Insulation Area of Grey Alder Fiber product from 1 tone raw chips is 170 (m2) at the wall thickness of 200 mm.

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