LIU Anye, LI Hongqiang, CAI Chenghan, PENG Yizhe, LIU Lifang, BAI Chengying
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.