The development history and prospects of biomass-based insulation materials for buildings

• Published in: Renewable & sustainable energy reviews 2017-03, Vol.69, p.912-932
• Main Authors: Liu, LiFang, Li, HongQiang, Lazzaretto, Andrea, Manente, Giovanni, Tong, ChunYi, Liu, QiBin, Li, NianPing
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural residues; Bio-insulation; Building energy saving; Building thermal insulation; Fabricated building; Factory building; Innovative use of biomass
• ISSN: 1364-0321; 1879-0690
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.11.140

Thermal insulations have begun to play an increasing important role in realizing building energy saving in the past years. Thermal insulations made of biomasses like agro-residues, forest residues, etc., are developing very fast recently, although their research and development history is relatively short. In order to help researchers to achieve a global viewpoint of the research on this topic and to improve the research and application progress, a systematic review is presented in this study. After review and screening, 144 original research journal papers were selected as samples and analyzed to investigate the following topics: Historical development of bio-insulations from 1974 up to April 2016, from viewpoint of number of papers published and corresponding journals; Geo-graphical distribution of researchers, according to country and continent categories; Kinds of biomasses under research including agro-residues, forestry residues, economic plants, etc.; Analysis methodologies and research scale of bio-insulations; Common types, manufacturing methods and properties of bio-insulation; Experimental equipment, software, and corresponding standards. Moreover, the shortcomings of the current research are discussed in details. Finally, some suggestions are presented, including: a scientific plan on bio-insulation research; selection of suitable types; traditional and innovative treatments for improving specific properties; the required properties testing order; scientific presentation of research results. This study can help to achieve a more precise comprehension about bio-insulations research status, find suitable experimental equipment for effectively testing various properties, adopt innovative ways to improve specific properties, avoid making mistakes during the research and provide a better expression of the research results. Furthermore, this study can stimulate the research and application of bio-insulations to get a great-leap-forward development in the near future, especially in the fabricated building field.