Bio-nanofoam insulation panels from marine biomass

Overview

Bio-nanofoam insulation panels are an advanced solution for sustainable building materials, leveraging marine biomass as a primary feedstock. These panels are developed through a process of ball-milling marine biomass, followed by freeze-casting to create open-cell foams with excellent thermal resistance. The resulting insulation panels are environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and offer significant benefits in fire safety without the need for additional chemical additives.

Technical specifications

• Material Composition: Derived primarily from marine polysaccharides sourced from seaweeds such as Ulva, sugar kelp, and sargassum.
• Manufacturing Process: Involves ball-milling, aqueous dispersion, freeze-casting, and lyophilisation to achieve open-cell foam structures with densities less than 100 kg/m³ and pore sizes below 50 µm.
• Thermal Performance: Initial prototypes show a thermal conductivity (λ) of 0.050 W/m·K, with potential improvements to λ ≤ 0.025 W/m·K, achieving an R-value of 7.
• Fire Safety: Self-extinguishing properties achieved via mineral-phosphorus intumescence, meeting UL-94 V-0 standards without additives.
• Scalability: Utilizes off-the-shelf food and pharmaceutical equipment, facilitating rapid scale-up without major technological shifts.

Technology readiness level

Currently at TRL 3, the bio-nanofoam insulation panels have undergone initial prototype development and preliminary testing. Future efforts will focus on further validation and optimization of formulations, fire and mechanical testing, and scaling production to larger panel sizes while maintaining high performance and environmental standards.