Eco-friendly foam insulates buildings without warming the globe
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed an eco-friendly foam insulation for improved building efficiency.
Credit: Chad Malone/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
Greener insulation reduces environmental impact of foam products.
Rigid foam boards used to insulate buildings can prevent energy loss, making homes more efficient at keeping warm or cool. The advantages in energy efficiency, however, are undercut by environmental concerns over polystyrene products. Blowing agents used in foam production, such as hydrocarbons and hydrofluoroolefins, end up in the atmosphere and contribute to global warming.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a competitive, eco-friendly alternative made without harmful blowing agents. The nontoxic thermoplastic foam is made using hollow glass spheres and expandable polymer microspheres.
“The combination of these two sources allows us to tailor formulations to maintain the material’s thermal performance across a limited range of densities” said ORNL’s Meghan Lamm. “We are also working with thermoset materials, which offer high-temperature stability, for improved flame resistance.”
“The technology is readily adoptable by industry and opens avenues to develop safer composite foams for a variety of insulation systems,” said ORNL’s Tolga Aytug.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, please visit energy.gov.
Journal: Polymer
DOI: 10.1016/j.polymer.2022.125652
Media Contact
Karen Dunlap
DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
dunlapkk@ornl.gov
Office: 865-696-5910
All latest news from the category: Ecology, The Environment and Conservation
This complex theme deals primarily with interactions between organisms and the environmental factors that impact them, but to a greater extent between individual inanimate environmental factors.
innovations-report offers informative reports and articles on topics such as climate protection, landscape conservation, ecological systems, wildlife and nature parks and ecosystem efficiency and balance.
Newest articles
Red light therapy for repairing spinal cord injury passes milestone
Patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) could benefit from a future treatment to repair nerve connections using red and near-infrared light. The method, invented by scientists at the University of…
Insect research is revolutionized by technology
New technologies can revolutionise insect research and environmental monitoring. By using DNA, images, sounds and flight patterns analysed by AI, it’s possible to gain new insights into the world of…
X-ray satellite XMM-newton sees ‘space clover’ in a new light
Astronomers have discovered enormous circular radio features of unknown origin around some galaxies. Now, new observations of one dubbed the Cloverleaf suggest it was created by clashing groups of galaxies….
