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Applied Sciences
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Biomass-Based Materials for Building Applications
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Biomass-Based Materials for Building Applications

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Materials Science and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 5105

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Francesco Martellotta

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Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Architettura Costruzione e Design, Politecnico di Bari Via Orabona n.4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: hermal comfort; indoor environment quality; architectural acoustics; building simulation; energy saving and renewable energies
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Stefania Liuzzi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Architettura Costruzione e Design, Politecnico di Bari, Via Orabona n.4, 70125 Bari, Italy
Interests: building; building materials; construction; construction engineering; construction materials; sustainable construction; sustainable architecture; built environment; architecture; sustainability
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nowadays, the use of renewable materials capable of substituting the raw matter responsible for greenhouse gases can significantly reduce global warming caused by the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, especially CO2. In this context, the use of biomasses for developing high performance and low-cost building materials represents an emerging research topic in the construction field and civil engineering. Biomasses of any type, from agricultural crops and vegetable processing waste to biogenic materials resulting from industrial or municipal waste, may find a new life as components of innovative concrete, insulating plaster, mortar, or wallboard panels for indoor applications. The addition of biomass in the form of fibers also allows for enhancing the acoustical and hygrothermal performances of the building products. According to the current European regulations, the use of sustainable materials can be considered one of the best passive strategies to improve the whole sustainability of new and redeveloped building envelopes. In view of the above reasons, studies on different uses of biomass in building materials are welcome for this Special Issue. Papers can be reviews, case studies, original researches, or meta-analyses, relevant in terms of physical aspects; structural, hygrothermal, and acoustic properties; or economic and environmental analyses.

Prof. Dr. Francesco Martellotta
Dr. Stefania Liuzzi
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomass-based material
  • sustainable materials
  • hygrothermal properties
  • acoustic performances
  • vegetable fibers
  • circular economy
  • life-cycle analysis

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 2368 KiB  
Article
Thermal and Acoustic Performance of Gypsum Plasters Mixed with Different Additives: Influence of Bio-Based, Synthetic, and Mineral Fillers
by Francesca Merli, Said Bouzit, Mohamed Taha and Cinzia Buratti
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(18), 10480; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app131810480 - 20 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 884
Abstract
Due to the high impact of the building sector on the environment, a growing interest focuses on insulating materials able to ensure good thermo-acoustic performance for the building envelope from a sustainable and circular economy perspective. In this context, Moroccan natural gypsum was [...] Read more.
Due to the high impact of the building sector on the environment, a growing interest focuses on insulating materials able to ensure good thermo-acoustic performance for the building envelope from a sustainable and circular economy perspective. In this context, Moroccan natural gypsum was mixed with local natural waste materials. The thermal and acoustic properties of the samples were measured; they were compared to those of synthetic- and mineral-based gypsum plasters manufactured with the same technique. A Small Hot Box apparatus was used for thermal characterization, whereas acoustic performance was investigated by means of a Kundt’s Tube. Natural and synthetic additives result in a reduction in density and an improvement in thermal performance. Conductivity values in the 0.181–0.238 W/mK range were obtained, depending on the type of natural additive, with respect to 0.275–0.323 W/mK of mineral-based gypsum plasters. The acoustic measurements showed that all the composites have similar performance in terms of acoustic absorption, whereas high transmission loss values were obtained for the natural additives (TL = 35–59 dB). Petiol of Palm and Stipa Tenacissima were found to be materials able to improve both thermal and acoustic properties. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass-Based Materials for Building Applications)
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20 pages, 10247 KiB  
Article
Sustainable Materials from Waste Paper: Thermal and Acoustical Characterization
by Stefania Liuzzi, Chiara Rubino, Francesco Martellotta and Pietro Stefanizzi
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(8), 4710; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app13084710 - 08 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2204
Abstract
A growing research interest currently exists in the use of paper as a building material. This work aims to present the results of a measurement campaign developed on innovative waste paper-based building components. The research was carried out in Southern Italy and used [...] Read more.
A growing research interest currently exists in the use of paper as a building material. This work aims to present the results of a measurement campaign developed on innovative waste paper-based building components. The research was carried out in Southern Italy and used some local by-product aggregates. Three different mixture designs were developed in the laboratory by adding three kinds of biomass to a pulp paper blend: fava bean residues (FB), sawdust powder (SP) and coffee grains (CG) extracted from exhausted chaffs. A physical characterization was carried out measuring the bulk density and bulk porosity. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis of the single aggregates was followed by a microstructure analysis of the final components. Bulk density evaluation showed a range between 200 and 348 kg·m−3. Furthermore, thermal performances were measured; the thermal conductivity of the experimented samples ranged from 0.071 to 0.093 W·m−1·K−1, thus it is possible to classify the tested materials as thermal insulators. Moreover, the acoustic properties were evaluated and tested. The normal incidence sound absorption coefficient was measured by the impedance tube on cylindrical specimens. In general, a different behavior was observed between the upper and lower base of each specimen due to the manufacturing process and the shrinkage caused by the different interactions occurring between the aggregates and the pulp paper waste; for example, the presence of sawdust reduced shrinkage in the final specimens, with consequent smaller physical variations among the two faces. The correlation existing between the manufacturing process and the microstructural properties was also investigated by the estimation of the non-acoustical parameters using the inverse method and taking into account the JCA (Johnson, Champoux and Allard) model as a reference. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass-Based Materials for Building Applications)
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13 pages, 4191 KiB  
Article
Acoustical Characterization and Modeling of Sustainable Posidonia Fibers
by Francesco Pompoli
Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(7), 4562; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/app13074562 - 04 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1286
Abstract
This article presents the results of an acoustic characterization of fibers obtained from Posidonia Balls (scientific name: Aegagropiles), produced by a marine plant (Posidonia oceanica) that is widespread in the Mediterranean Sea and can be found on beaches in large quantities, [...] Read more.
This article presents the results of an acoustic characterization of fibers obtained from Posidonia Balls (scientific name: Aegagropiles), produced by a marine plant (Posidonia oceanica) that is widespread in the Mediterranean Sea and can be found on beaches in large quantities, particularly following storm surges. The aim of this research is to evaluate the possible use of these fibers as eco-sustainable sound-absorbing materials and to define an acoustic model for the optimization of sound-absorbing panels made from these fibers. Experimental tests were conducted to measure airflow resistivity and sound absorption for different densities of loose fiber samples. From these experimental tests, the five physical parameters of the Johnson-Champoux-Allard model were calculated to obtain an analytical formulation of the acoustic behavior of the fibers depending on their density. To the author’s knowledge, this is the first time that an article has been published on acoustic data relating to the sound-absorbing performance of loose Posidonia oceanica fibers and that an analytical model has been presented that allows for the acoustical design of panels of different thicknesses and densities made with this material. An interesting aspect of this material is that the lignin fibers are ready for acoustic application due to the natural cleaning process of the waves and salt water. Furthermore, the methodology consists of a hybrid method between the experimental characterization of some parameters (i.e., different densities) and the numerical inversion of the acoustic data for other parameters. This is an effective solution that has rarely been adopted in other studies on sustainable materials. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Biomass-Based Materials for Building Applications)
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