Experimental Study on a Feasible Bio-Insulation Material for Buildings Taken Reed and Raw Soil as Resources

  • LIU Anye ,
  • LI Hongqiang ,
  • CAI Chenghan ,
  • PENG Yizhe ,
  • LIU Lifang ,
  • BAI Chengying
Expand
  • 1. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
    2. National Center for International Research Collaboration in Building Safety and Environment (NCIRCBSE),Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
    3. Key Laboratory of Building Safety and Energy Efficiency of the Ministry of Education, Hunan University, Changsha 410082, China
    4. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, China 
    5. Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, Harbin 150001, China

Online published: 2025-07-04

Supported by

This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52076070, No. 52008166), the Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (No. 2021JJ30256, No. 2022JJ30139) and the Department of Ecology and Environment of Hunan Province (No. 2021003630).

Copyright

Science Press, Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, CAS and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025

Abstract

In response to the challenges posed by the transformation of China’s reed industry, leading to difficulties in reed utilization, and the significant increment in raw soil from the expansion of urban infrastructure, the authors proposed a novel method of coupling reed with raw soil to produce an ecological building insulation material. The aim is to enhance the thermal comfort of rural buildings and achieve building energy saving. The research has applied theoretical and experimental methods as the core means of exploration for key factors in the preparation of the novel ecological insulation material. These factors include raw soil content and curing methods. Key performance indicators such as thermal insulation, mechanical properties, fire resistance, water resistance, moisture resistance, and acoustic performance have been utilized for evaluation. The research results indicate that the proposed process and method for the preparation of the ecological insulation material effectively utilize reed and raw soil, achieving excellent multi-target performance. When the content of raw soil is in the range of 0–40%, the material’s thermal conductivity ranges from 0.097 W/(m·K) to 0.104 W/(m·K), compressive strength from 0.70 MPa to 0.79 MPa, water absorption rate from 29.42% to 38.95%, moisture absorption rate from 13.33% to 31.48%, and the maximum sound absorption coefficient is 0.80, with a maximum sound insulation of 56.66 dB. Additionally, a non-combustible A-grade fire resistance was achieved. To expand the application space and scope of the novel material, the research team further explored on-site construction material preparation processes and conducted experimental research, focusing on the key aspect of the “curing process”. The low temperature curing method of industrial heating blanket was proposed. The research results indicated that the method is feasible. At an environmental temperature of 25°C, with different curing times and curing temperatures, the material’s thermal conductivity ranges from 0.089 W/(m·K) to 0.109 W/(m·K), and the compressive strength is between 0.14 MPa and 0.70 MPa, meeting the relevant parameter requirements. This research opens up avenues for other types of biomass with high economic added value applications and can be directly applied to improving the thermal environment of residential buildings, contributing to building energy saving, rural revitalization, and the implementation of dual-carbon strategies in China.

Cite this article

LIU Anye , LI Hongqiang , CAI Chenghan , PENG Yizhe , LIU Lifang , BAI Chengying . Experimental Study on a Feasible Bio-Insulation Material for Buildings Taken Reed and Raw Soil as Resources[J]. Journal of Thermal Science, 2025 , 34(4) : 1314 -1327 . DOI: 10.1007/s11630-025-2117-2

References

[1] IEA, World energy outlook 2023. International Energy Agency, Paris, 2023.
[2] Tsinghua University Building Energy Conservation Research Center, Annual development research report on building energy efficiency in China. China Construction Industry Press, Beijing, 2022.
[3] Belhadj B., Bederinaa M., Makhloufi Z., et al., Study of the thermal performances of an exterior wall of barley straw sand concrete in an arid environment. Energy Buildings, 2015, 87: 166–175.
[4] Wang S., Li H., Zou S., Zhang G., Experimental research on a feasible rice husk/geopolymer foam building insulation material. Energy and Buildings, 2020, 226(7): 110358.
[5] Zou S., Li H., Liu L., et al., Experimental study on fire resistance improvement of wheat straw composite insulation materials for buildings. Journal of Building Engineering, 2020, 43: 103172.
[6] Li H., Zou S., Liu T., et al., Research on a composite biomass insulation material with Geopolymers as binders and forestry waste as fillers. Journal of Thermal science, 2022, 31(2): 590–605.
[7] Bakatovich A., Gaspar F., Boltrushevich N., Thermal insulation material based on reed and straw. SSRN Electronic Journal, 2022. DOI: 10.2139/ssrn.4018843
[8] Zhou J., Study on basic characteristics of different kinds of straw. Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China,
2020.
[9] Eslami A., Banadaki H., Ronagh H., Sand-coated reeds as an innovative reinforcement for improving the in-plane seismic behavior of adobe walls. Construction and Building Materials, 2022, 326: 126882.
[10] Parracha J., Lima J., Freire M., et al., Vernacular earthen buildings from Leiria, Portugal—Architectural survey towards their conservation and retrofitting. Journal of Building Engineering, 2021, 35: 102115.
[11] Wang F., Wang X., Wang J., et al., Study on structure and properties of metakaolin composite reinforcement modified soil materials. Journal of Lanzhou University (Natural Science Edition), 2020, 56(3): 341–348.
[12] Lin G., Ye H., Experimental study on modified soil materials of cotton straw. Journal of Tianjin Urban Construction University, 2018, 24(3): 196–199.
[13] Zhu C., Qiu S., Shi W., et al., Experimental study on durability and microstructure of some traditional modified raw soils. Journal of Natural Disasters, 2022, 31(2): 165–175.
[14] Liu L., Li H., Lazzaretto A., et al., The development history and prospects of biomass-based insulation materials for buildings. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2017, 69: 912–932.
[15] Mahrous M., Šegvi B., Zanoni G., et al., The role of clay swelling and mineral neoformation in the stabilization of high plasticity soils treated with the fly ash- and metakaolin-based geopolymers. Minerals, 2018, 8(4): 146.
[16] Rangan B., Geopolymer concrete for environmental protection. Indian Concrete Journal, 2014, 88(4): 41–59.
[17] Long S., Chen J., Li R., et al., Ultrasonic monitoring of coagulation process of geopolymer mortar. Journal of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2025, 4(3): 210–217.
[18] Zhao Y., Xiang J., Lu Q., et al., Effect of alkali activators on engineering characteristics of geopolymer solidified loess. Journal of Beijing University of Technology, 2021, 47(6): 636–643.
[19] Hu S., Zhong X., Study on flow resistance of fibrous porous sound absorbing materials. Acoustic Technology, 1994, 3: 139–143.
[20] Li Y., Yu X., Hu S., Research on sound absorption performance of lightweight aggregate concrete. Journal of Hunan University (Natural Science), 2021, 48(12): 112–119.
[21] Zhou H., Huang G., Chen X., et al., Polymer sound absorbing materials. Advances in Chemistry, 2004, (3): 450–455. 

Outlines

/