Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Construction and Building Materials

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/conbuildmat

Application of rice husk in the development of new composite boards

Julieta António a,⇑, António Tadeu a,b, Beatriz Marques b, João A.S. Almeida b,c, Vasco Pinto d
a
ADAI – LAETA, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Coimbra, Pólo II, Rua Luís Reis Santos, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
b
ITeCons – Institute for Research and Technological Development in Construction, Energy, Environment and Sustainability, Rua Pedro Hispano s/ n., 3030-289 Coimbra, Portugal
c
Chemistry Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Coimbra, Portugal, Rua Larga, 3004-535 Coimbra, Portugal
d
LogAcústica, Consultores Associados, Lda, Largo da UTIC, 100 – F5, 4430-246 Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal

h i g h l i g h t s

 Rice husk waste is an abundantly accumulated agro-industrial waste product.

 Composites made from rice husks, expanded cork and recycled rubber granules.
 Weighted reduction in impact sound pressure level ranging from 20 dB to 27 dB.
 Thermal conductivity varying from 0.060 to 0.074 W/(m.°C).

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The main objective of the paper is to propose a new composite material incorporating rice husk. This
Received 30 August 2017 paper reports an experimental study on the mechanical, thermal and acoustic performance of new com-
Received in revised form 12 April 2018 posite boards made of rice husk waste intended for construction applications. In this study, rice husk was
Accepted 4 May 2018
mixed with expanded cork granules or recycled rubber granules in 50/50 and 75/25 (weight percent) pro-
portions. A TDI-based polyurethane pre-polymer was used as binder in 20% of the mass of the fillers. A
sufficient number of small boards were produced to perform small-scale tests and assess properties such
Keywords:
as compressive strength, thermal conductivity, dynamic stiffness, improvement in impact sound insula-
Recovery of rice husk
Rice husk composite
tion, sound absorption and transmission loss.
Thermal and acoustic properties The results are very interesting, in particular: the thermal conductivity, at 10 °C, varies from k10 = 60.0
mW/(m.K) to k10 = 74.3 mW/(m.K); the weighted reduction of the impact sound pressure level, DLw,
ranges from 20 dB to 27 dB; the noise reduction coefficient (NRC) ranges from 0.15 to 0.45, with maxi-
mum sound absorption coefficient of 0.96 for composite B1. These results suggest that optimized con-
struction solutions based on these composite materials could improve the thermal and acoustic
performance of buildings.
Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction design of more sustainable materials and buildings. Furthermore,

several authors have suggested that one of the most effective
In general, a large amount of resources is consumed over the approaches to reducing resource consumption in buildings would
life-cycle of a building, including the exploitation of raw materials be to incorporate recycled materials, materials made from waste
and manufacture of construction products in the design, construc- and renewable materials [2–4].
tion, use, renovation and demolition stages. This is responsible for Safiuddin et al. [5] presented a comprehensive review of the
significant negative impacts on the environment and people. major solid waste products (e.g. agro-industrial, industrial, min-
According to a Communication from the European Commission ing/mineral) and the potential for their use as alternative construc-
[1], about half of all extracted materials and energy consumption tion materials, which would help to improve environmental
in the EU are accounted for by the construction and use of build- performance and to reduce construction costs. Agrawal et al. [6]
ings. The sector also generates about one third of all waste. This presented a more specific review of using industrial waste in con-
is why authorities and researchers have been advocating the crete and mortars by partially replacing cement and fine aggre-
gates, and the impact of this on the mechanical properties.
⇑ Corresponding author. Examples of analysed waste materials include rice husk ash, fly
E-mail address: [email protected] (J. António).
ash, sewage sludge ash, paper mill sludge ash, quarry powder, rub-

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.05.028
0950-0618/Ó 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439 433

ber granulate, and granulated blast furnace slag. A review of the and concrete, in resilient mats used to attenuate the impact sound
use of various agro-industrial residues in the development of dif- in buildings, and in rubber-modified asphalt concrete [23–27].
ferent sustainable construction materials can be found in Madur- The present work presents an initial investigation aimed at
war et al. [7]. More recently, a review of the use of various evaluating the potential of composite materials made from rice
recycled and natural materials for building insulation has been husks, expanded cork granules and recycled rubber granules for
presented by Asdrubali et al. [8], where the most relevant thermal, use in building construction. Two different composites were
acoustic and environmental properties were identified. These recy- designed, one using rice husk and expanded cork granules and
cled and natural materials include reeds, corncobs, cotton stalks, the other using rice husk and recycled rubber granules. Two com-
pineapple leaves, straw and rice husk, and bales of straw. Different positions were studied for each composite, one with 50% rice husk
types of waste biomass for use in building material have also been and 50% of the other filler (cork or rubber granules), and the second
studied, including recycling poppy husk biomass and pine wood to with 75% rice husk and 25% of the other filler (percentages in
produce particleboards [9], and using coffee chaff as sound insula- mass). Non-industrial mixes were made to produce boards mea-
tion and absorption material for the building industry [10]. suring 1 m  1 m, from which small samples were cut for testing
All these research works show that the development of build- purposes. Properties such as thermal conductivity, compressive
ing materials based on agro-industrial wastes has been gaining strength, dynamic stiffness, impact sound insulation improvement,
attention in recent years, possibly driven by the environmental sound absorption and transmission loss were determined. The next
concern with the massive production of these kind of waste section describes the materials and compositions used and the test
materials. set-ups for the different experiments. Section 3 presents and dis-
In this context, it should be noted that rice husk is one of the cusses the results of all the tests, and the final section indicates
agro-industrial waste products that is most abundantly accumu- some conclusions.
lated. Annual rice production worldwide is over 700 million tonnes
and Portugal produces over 160 thousand tonnes per year [11]. 2. Materials and methods
Rice husk accounts for 20% of paddy weight and it takes up a lot
2.1. Materials and composites
of space. It is usually burnt or transported to landfill, with relevant
environmental impacts. The recovery of this waste material would Rice husk was obtained from the rice cultivation in Baixo Mondego (Portugal).
improve the sustainability of this agricultural activity and help The loose rice husk has a bulk density around 105 kg/m3. The expanded cork gran-
reduce the environmental impact of other means of disposing of ules, with a granulometry of 3/8 mm and a bulk density of 65 kg/m3, were provided
it. So far rice husk has been recycled only for low-value applica- by Amorim Isolamentos, a business unit belonging to the Portuguese holding com-
pany Corticeira Amorim SGPS, SA. The recycled tyre granules, with a granulometry
tions, although some studies have described the incorporation of
of 0/0.8 mm and a bulk density of around 350 kg/m3 were from Biosafe. Two differ-
rice husk in materials, particularly in thermal insulation [12,13], ent composites were produced, one with rice husk and expanded cork granules (see
plastic composites [14] and lightweight concrete [15]. Regarding Fig. 1) and the other with rice husk and recycled rubber granules (see Fig. 2). Two
the potential environmental performance of this type of material, mixes were made with each composite (Table 1): the first with 50% rice husk and
50% of the additional filler, and the second with 75% rice husk and 25% of the addi-
note should be taken of a previous life-cycle assessment (LCA) car-
tional filler (in weight). The fillers were agglomerated with a TDI-based polyur-
ried out by some of the authors of this article on the product stage ethane pre-polymer in a proportion of 20% of the solid mass of the fillers. Boards
(A1–A3, according to EN 15804:2012) of wall panels made from of 1 m  1 m were moulded in a thermal press such that those made from the first
rice husk [13]. That study suggested that rice husk provides a bet- composite were 17 mm thick and those made from the second composite were 25
ter environmental performance for almost all the impact categories mm thick.

(CML – IA v4.1) than conventional insulation materials, such as the

2.2. Thermal conductivity
rock wool. One exception to this conclusion is the impact on the
category ‘‘depletion of abiotic resources – elements” caused by A Lambda-Messtechnik GmbH Dresden apparatus, single-specimen Lambda-
the exploitation of the soil in rice farming. However, this impact meter EP-500 model, was used to measure the thermal conductivity as per EN
may be neglected given that rice husk corresponds to a waste prod- 12667:2001 [28] and ISO 8302:1991 [29] (see Fig. 3). This apparatus provides a
uct. Low values of incorporated energy (128–145 MJ) were also one-dimensional heat transfer in a metering area of 150  150 mm2 at the centre
by means of a ‘‘hot ring”. The equipment ensured null heat flows across the lateral
obtained for the rice husk panels studied. boundaries.
This work aims to add value to rice husk by developing a sus- The sample size used for measurement was 500 mm  500 mm  (specimen
tainable material with improved thermal and acoustic features. thickness). Before testing, the specimens were conditioned at a temperature of
The rice husk was combined with expanded cork granules and (23 ± 2) °C and relative humidity of (50 ± 5)%. Then the test specimen was placed
between the Lambda-meter plates, the test was repeated for three different average
recycled tyre rubber granules to enhance the performance of the
temperature levels, 10 °C, 25 °C and 40 °C and keeping a temperature difference of
material without compromising the environmental goal. 15 °C between the Lambda-meter plates. The thermal conductivity at 10 °C was cal-
Expanded cork granules are a by-product of the manufacture of culated by a linear regression applied to the three measured values. Three test spec-
expanded cork agglomerate. Cork is a raw material obtained from imens were tested for each composite.
the bark of the oak tree, Quercus suber, which mainly grows in the
Mediterranean basin, particularly in the southern regions of the 2.3. Compressive strength

Iberian Peninsula [16]. Portugal is still the world’s main cork pro- The compressive strength was measured at 10% deformation, as is usual for
ducer. Cork granules, both expanded and non-expanded, have been thermal insulation materials. A universal testing machine, Instron 5884, with a load
used in the manufacture of cement based products, notable in con- cell of 30 kN equipped with a displacement sensor appropriate for the test was used
crete and light screeds [17–20]. (see Fig. 4). The compressive force was applied at a constant rate of displacement
[0.1 thickness (mm)/min]. The sample consists of three test specimens with dimen-
Council Directive on the Landfill of Waste 1999/31/EC banned
sions of 150 mm  150 mm  (specimen thickness). Prior to the test, the specimens
the disposal of tyres in landfills [21]. The Waste Framework Direc- were stabilized at a temperature (23 ± 2) °C and (50 ± 5) % relative humidity. The
tive (Directive 2008/98/EC) requires member states to take mea- test was performed according to the procedures recommended in EN 826: 2013
sures that lead to the reuse, recycling and recovery of materials [30] (used for thermal insulation).
[22]. The life of used tyres can be extended by retreading them
and when they reach the end of life they can be used as an energy 2.4. Dynamic stiffness

source or the material can be recovered. Several applications for The dynamic stiffness was evaluated according to ISO 9052-1:1989 [31]. The
the construction industry can be found in the literature, such as procedure determines the apparent dynamic stiffness per unit area using a reso-
in cementitious composites to produce lighter, flexible mortar nance method (see Fig. 5). The resonance frequency, fr, of the fundamental vertical
434 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439

Fig. 1. Composite A1 (left) and composite A2 (right).

Fig. 2. Composite B1 (left) and composite B2 (right).

Table 1
Mixture of the solid/granular components (%) in weight.

Composite A1 Composite A2 Composite B1 Composite B2

Rice husk 50 75 50 75
Expanded cork granules 50 25 – –
Recycled rubber granules – – 50 25

vibration of a spring-mass system is measured. In this model, the spring is the 10140-1:2010 [33], ISO 10140-3:2010 [34], ISO 10140-4:2010 [35], ISO 717-
material being tested and the mass is a load plate. The dynamic stiffness per unit 2:2013 [36]. The upper chamber a cube with sides measuring approximately
area of the test specimen, st’, in Newtons per cubic meter is given by 3.75 m and multi-layered 0.10 m thick Viroc walls. The lower chamber (receiving
room) is a parallelepiped measuring 3.92 m  3.92 m  4.72 m and with 0.20 m
2
s0t ¼ 4p2 m0t f r ð1Þ thick double layered reinforced concrete walls, separated by a mat of springs. The
two chambers are separated by a reinforced concrete slab (0.14 m thick). Due to
where m0t
is the total mass per unit area during the test, in kilograms per square the limited amount of material smaller samples measuring 1 m  1 m were tested.
meter. The system (composite plus floating concrete layer) was placed in the upper acous-
Four test specimens were tested for each mix. The vibration is produced by tic chamber and tested in four different positions. A B&K, type 3207, tapping
impact (ISO 7626-5:1994 [32]) using a Brüel & Kjaer (B&K) impact hammer type machine was placed on top of each system to be tested in the source room. The
8206 and the acceleration is measured using a B&K accelerometer type 4508 B impact sound pressure levels were measured in the receiving room by means of a
002. The data are processed and analysed using a B&K Pulse multianalyser system, microphone (B&K 4190) placed on a rotating microphone boom (B&K, type 3923).
model 3560-C. The reverberation time in the receiving room was measured by the microphone
using the interrupted noise method and an omnidirectional noise source (B&K, type
2.5. Improvement in impact sound insulation 4292).
EN 12354-2:2000 standard [37] provides an empirical relation between the
The improvement of impact sound insulation, DL, in decibels as a function of impact sound reduction level, DL, and the dynamic stiffness, st’ by frequency bands
frequency was calculated as the reduction in normalized impact sound pressure given by Eq. (2),
level resulting from installing a floating floor (the composite panel plus 4 cm thick
concrete layer) on a reference slab (concrete slab 14 mm thick). The test was per-
DL ¼ 30 logðf =f 0 Þ ðdBÞ ð2Þ
formed in vertical acoustic chambers, generally following the standards ISO
 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439 435

Fig. 5. Determination of dynamic stiffness according to ISO 9052-1:1989.

samples were used to determine the sound absorption between 500 Hz and 6300
Hz. Two test specimens of each diameter were tested for each mix. The noise reduc-
tion coefficient (NRC), a single number rating-index calculated as the average of the
mid-frequency sound absorption coefficients (250, 500, 1000 and 2000 Hz rounded
to the nearest 5%), has been calculated in order to readily compare the results
obtained with those found in the literature for other materials.

2.7. Transmission loss

The transmission loss was evaluated by a metal impedance tube by B&K, model
4206-T (see Fig. 6). The impedance tube contains a sample holder located between
Fig. 3. Lambda-meter apparatus used to determine thermal conductivity. two circular tubes with two microphones (model 4187, by B&K) each, and inte-
grates a loudspeaker at one end. The acquisition system includes a Pulse multianal-
yser (model C-3560) and a power amplifier (model C-2716), both from Brüel &
Kjær. The procedure used to calculate the insertion loss is known as the two-load
method in which each sample is tested under two different tube termination con-
ditions (two different absorptive materials). Test specimens with diameters of 100
mm and 29 mm were tested to provide accurate results over a wide range of fre-
quencies. Accurate results can be obtained in the frequency range of 100 to 1250
Hz using the 100 mm diameter tube, and in the frequency range of 500 to 5000
Hz using the 29 mm diameter tube.

3. Results and discussion

This section presents the results for thermal conductivity, com-

pressive strength, dynamic stiffness, improvement in impact sound
insulation, sound absorption and transmission loss.

3.1. Bulk density

Since most of these properties can be influenced by the density

of the material, the bulk density was determined for each compos-
ite based on the average values of three specimens (Table 2).
Fig. 4. Universal testing machine for the determination of compressive strength.

3.2. Thermal performance

where f is the central frequency of the band, f0 is the fundamental frequency of the
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
floating system, in Hz, f 0 ¼ 160 s0t =m0 , m0 is the mass per unit area of the rigid part
2
Table 3 shows the average value and the standard deviation of
of the floating floor, in kg/m .
The weighted reduction of impact sound pressure level, DLw, can also be esti-
the thermal conductivity of three test specimens, measured at
mated empirically from the measurement of stiffness s0t by using Eq. (3) [38] three different temperatures (10 °C, 25 °C and 40 °C) for each com-
posite. Also included is the average value of thermal conductivity
DLw ¼ 18 þ 15 logðm0 =s0t Þ ð3Þ
at 10 °C, k10, calculated by a linear regression applied to the three
0
where m , in this case, is the mass of the concrete screed per unit area (in kg/m ). 2
measured values. Composite A1 has lightly lower thermal conduc-

2.6. Sound absorption

The sound absorption was tested for the incidence of plane waves in an impe-
dance tube according EN ISO 10534-2:2001 [39] using a transfer-function method.
The impedance tube is a B&K Model 4206-T with two microphones (B&K type
4187). The tube has terminations that allow samples with diameters of 100 mm
and 29 mm to be tested. The 100 mm diameter samples were used to determine
the sound absorption in the frequency range 100 Hz to 1600 Hz and the 29 mm Fig. 6. Impedance tube configuration used to determine transmission loss.
436 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439

Table 2 3.4. Apparent dynamic stiffness

Average bulk density and standard deviation (kg/m3).

Composite A1 Composite A2 Composite B1 Composite B2 Average results for the apparent dynamic stiffness are displayed
410 ± 24 433 ± 13 362 ± 22 298 ± 21 in Table 5. Composite A2 with its higher percentage of rice husk
presents a lower dynamic stiffness than composite A1. Similarly,
in the group B composites, the lower stiffness is found for compos-
Table 3
ite B2 with its higher proportion of rice husk. Lower values of
Thermal conductivity [mW/(m.K)] at different temperatures and average value of k10. dynamic stiffness were found for composites B2 and B1 with lower
bulk density, and lower values of compressive strength at 10%
Composite A1 Composite A2 Composite B1 Composite B2
deformation. Low values of dynamic stiffness indicate better insu-
T = 10 °C 63.0 ± 2.8 68.6 ± 1.5 74.2 ± 2.3 60.1 ± 1.1 lation against impact sounds in floors.
T = 25 °C 65.2 ± 3.0 70.8 ± 1.3 78.7 ± 2.6 62.4 ± 1.1
The dynamic stiffness of a material depends on several param-
T = 40 °C 68.0 ± 3.1 73.9 ± 1.5 82.7 ± 3.0 65.4 ± 0.8
k10 62.9 ± 2.9 68.5 ± 1.4 74.3 ± 2.3 60.0 ± 1.2 eters including the thickness and the compressibility of the sam-
ple. Examples of dynamic stiffness for other insulating layers
found in the literature are: 61–145 MN/m3 for 13 mm thick sam-
tivity than composite A2. This is due to the thermal conductivity of
ples of recycled tyre granules of different densities [23]; 10–200
the cork granules. It should be noted that the declared thermal
MN/m3 for 15 mm thick polystyrene rigid foam boards [48]; 200
conductivity coefficient of insulation cork boards is 40 mW/(m.
MN/m3 for wood wool lightweight building boards 25 mm thick
K). Meanwhile, a test specimen made only of rice husk and binder
[48]; 500 MN/m3 for cork boards 10 mm thick [48]; 300 MN/m3
(produced as part of this work) had a thermal conductivity coeffi-
for sand filling of 25 mm thickness [48]; 3.29–15.81 MN/m3 for
cient of k10 = 95.44 [mW/(m. K)]. Group B composites have higher
insulation mats based on sheep’s wool for loaded thicknesses vary-
thermal conductivity when there is higher proportion of rubber
ing from 9.8 to 53.9 mm [49].
granules. The commercial materials using recycling rubber are
characterized by thermal conductivity between 100 and 140
[mW/mK] [40]. It can also be seen in each group of composites that 3.5. Reduction of impact sound pressure level
the lower thermal conductivity coefficient corresponds to the com-
posite with the lower bulk density. The reduction of impact sound pressure level, DL, for group A
Those composites have higher thermal conductivity values than composites is displayed in Fig. 7 and for group B composites in
conventional insulating materials such as expanded polystyrene Fig. 8. Table 6 shows the weighted reduction of impact sound pres-
[EPS, 25–45 mW/(m.K)], mineral wool [33–50 mW/(m.K)] and cork sure level, DLw.
[36–55 mW/(m.K)] [41,42]. The results can also be compared with
other materials that incorporate natural fibres or waste such as
sheep’s wool [35–46 mW/(m.K)], flax [37–45 mW/(m.K)], hemp Table 5
Average apparent dynamic stiffness (MN/m3).
[40–46 mW/(m.K)] [41,42], wood fibre insulating board [WF, 40–
70 mW/(m.K)] [42], cotton stalk fibre board [58.5–81.5 mW/(m. Composite A1 Composite A2 Composite B1 Composite B2
K)] [43], pine needles with potato starch [49.5–55.1 mW/(m.K)] 100 ± 26 71 ± 12 60 ± 5 39 ± 9
[44], loose rice hulls [46.4–56.61 mW/(m.K)] [12] and waste paper
and textile fibres [30–39 mW/(m.K)] [44]. It can be seen that the
thermal conductivity of the composites developed in the present
work is in some cases close to that of some unconventional com-
posites. Although the thermal conductivity values are not as low
as those for conventional insulating materials, they are lower than
100 mW/(m.K) (classified as moderate thermal conductivity,
according to [46]). However, the results are good when compared
with those obtained for other building materials for instance ply-
wood, ca. 138 mW/(m.K) and MDF, 101–110 mW/(m.K) [47].

3.3. Compressive strength at 10% deformation

The average compressive strength for each composite at 10%

deformation is presented in Table 4. Composite A1 reaches 10%
deformation at a stress of 366 kPa while composite A2 reaches it
at a stress of 427 kPa. This is probably because composite A2 has
a more rigid structure conferred by the higher percentage of rice
husk. Composite B1, meanwhile, is more rigid than composite B2
and needs higher stress to reach the same deformation as B2. Com-
posite B2 is very soft and tends to disaggregate more easily than
composite B1.
For instance, the strength at 10% deformation for insulation cork
board is 100–200 kPa, for wood fibres (WF) is 40–200 kPa and for
wood-wool board (WW) it is 150–200 kPa [46].

Table 4
Average compressive strength at 10% deformation (kPa).

Composite A1 Composite A2 Composite B1 Composite B2

366 ± 70 427 ± 20 109 ± 17 47 ± 12
Fig. 7. Reduction of impact sound pressure level for composites A1 and A2.
 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439 437

Fig. 8. Reduction of impact sound pressure level for composites B1 and B2.
Fig. 9. Sound absorption coefficient for composites A1 and A2.

3.6. Sound absorption coefficient

Table 6
Weighted reduction of impact sound pressure level, DLw (dB).
The 100 mm and 29 mm diameter test samples were tested to
Composite A1 Composite A2 Composite B1 Composite B2
obtain the sound absorption coefficient. Figs. 9 and 10 show the
20 20 23 27 sound absorption coefficient curves calculated experimentally for
composites A and B respectively.
It was found that composite B with the higher percentage of rice
In general, composite A2 has a greater reduction of impact
husk has a higher sound absorption coefficient. The sound absorp-
sound pressure level than composite A1, except for very low fre-
tion values for composite A are not significant (below 0.6) having
quencies. This result is in agreement with the results obtained in
NRC values of 0.15 and 0.25, with maximum sound absorption
the dynamic stiffness test, since lower dynamic stiffness leads to
coefficients of 0.20 at 1000 Hz and 0.51 at 1600 Hz for A1 and A2
a greater reduction of impact sound pressure level.
respectively.
The weighted reduction of impact sound pressure level, DLw, is
For composite B the results are more promising, especially for
equal to 20 dB for both samples, because it results from the adjust-
frequencies above 1000 Hz, when the maximum values are 0.96
ment of a reference curve to the sound pressure level curves. Com-
for B1 at 1250 Hz and 0.91 for B2 at 2000 Hz, with NRC equal to
posite B2, however, has a greater reduction of impact noise than
45 and 0.35 respectively. The NRC values of composite A are close
composite B1. The values of DLw are 23 dB for B1 and 27 dB for
to those for mineralized wood 30 mm thick (0.20) and shredded
B2. The group B composites present higher impact sound insula-
cane wood 40 mm thick (0.25) without any binder [50]. For com-
tion than the group A composites. However, they are not compara-
posite B the NRC values approach those of shredded cane bark
ble since they have different thicknesses. Nevertheless, the range
40 mm thick (0.45), hemp 30 mm thick (0.40) and cork 30 mm
of values obtained from 20 dB to 27 dB fits with the range of values
thick (0.30) [50]. Higher values of NRC are found for greater thick-
for commercial materials. Those values are higher than that found
nesses and more fibrous materials such as coconut fibre 100 mm
for corrugated cardboard under a cement floating floor (thickness
thick (0.75) and sheep’s wool 60 mm thick (0.70) [50]. Different
n.a.) with DLw = 18 dB [48] or for expanded cork board 15 mm
waste paper and textile fibre boards have a sound absorption coef-
thick below a 5 cm floating concrete slab (DLw = 19 dB, measured
ficient at 500 Hz ranging from 0.23 to 0.40, which is higher than
in the acoustic laboratory of ITeCons). The higher value of 27 dB
those of the composites A and B for this specific frequency (0.11
(for composite B2) is close to the one obtained for a sample of recy-
for A1, 0.16 for A2, 0.19 for B1 and 0.13 for B2) [45].
cled tyre granules 13 mm thick over a 6 cm floating concrete slab
which shows a DLw of 26 dB [23]. A higher value than those
obtained in the present work is achieved, for instance, for a speci- 3.7. Sound transmission loss
men of coconut fibre 15 mm thick below a 5 cm floating concrete
slab, DLw = 29 dB (measured in the acoustic laboratory of ITeCons). Fig. 11 shows the transmission loss curves obtained in an impe-
The predicted values using Eq. (3) are 18 dB for composite A1, dance tube for composites A1 and A2.
20 dB for composite A2, 21 dB for composite B1 and 24 for compos- The results for the two composites are very close in the low fre-
ite B2. Although the predicted values do not match those obtained quency range. However, composite A1 has higher transmission loss
experimentally they nonetheless provide a close conservative values. It should be noted that although the thickness of the sam-
estimation. ple is very small, the transmission loss values in the frequency
438 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439

Fig. 10. Sound absorption coefficient for composites B1 and B2. Fig. 11. Transmission loss for composites A1 and A2.

domain vary from about 8 to 30 dB. Using a similar procedure to

the one used to determine the sound reduction indexes (ISO 717-
1:2013 [51]), a global sound reduction of 20 dB for composite A1
and 17 dB for composite A2 is obtained. Transmission loss results
for composites B1 and B2 are displayed in Fig. 12 The values are
very low and those composites in the present form are not ade-
quate for airborne sound insulation standing alone. The group B
composites are not as compact as those of group A and have a
higher porosity.
At 5000 Hz, composites A1 and A2 have higher transmission
loss values than those obtained with panels composed of waste
paper and textile fibres (around 21 dB and 26 dB, for total thick-
ness of 12 mm and 20 mm respectively) [45].

4. Conclusions

A crop residue, rice husk, was used without any burning or

grinding to develop composites that also incorporate expanded
cork granules and recycled rubber, both of which are by-products
or residues of other industries. A series of tests were defined to
check the potential of the composites for use in construction
applications.
The results allow us to draw the following conclusions:

– the composites can be considered to be lightweight materials

(bulk density from 298 ± 21 kg/m3 to 433 ± 13 kg/m3);
– the compressive strength at 10% deformation was found to be
adequate for floor and wall applications (47 ± 12 kPa to 427 ± Fig. 12. Transmission loss for composites B1 and B2.
20 kPa);
– although the composites could not be considered thermal insu-
lators, they have low thermal conductivity (ranging from k10 =
– the composites can be used in floating floors to reduce impact
60.0 mW/(m.K) to k10 = 74.3 mW/(m.K)), lower than 100 mW/
sound transmission (overall sound reduction from 20 dB to
(m.K), and much lower than for other building materials such
27 dB);
as plywood or MDF;
 J. António et al. / Construction and Building Materials 176 (2018) 432–439 439

– the application of the uncoated composites exhibited promising [20] A. Moreira, J. António, A. Tadeu, Lightweight screed containing cork granules:
mechanical and hygrothermal characterization, Cement. Concrete. Comp. 49
sound absorption properties, especially for composites B1 and
(2014) 1–8.
B2 which had maximum sound absorption coefficients of 0.96 [21] Directive 1999/31/EC on the Landfill of Waste. Official Journal of the European
and 0.91 respectively; noise reduction coefficients (NRC) of all Union, L 182/1, 16.7.1999.
composites ranged from 0.15 to 0.45; [22] Directive 2008/98/EC on waste. Official Journal of the European Union, L 312,
22.11.2008.
– although the dynamic stiffness varied over a wide range (from [23] F. Asdrubali, F. D’Alessandro, Impact sound insulation and viscoelastic
39 ± 9 MN/m3 to 100 ± 26 MN/m3), the impact sound insulation properties of resilient materials made from recycled tyre granules, Int. J.
improvement (DLw from 20 dB to 27 dB) achieved for all the Acoust. Vib. 16 (2011) 119–125.
[24] A. Benazzouk, O. Douzane, K. Mezreb, B. Laidoudi, M. Queneudec, Thermal
composites is very promising and comparable with some com- conductivity of cement composites containing rubber waste particles.
mercial materials. Experimental study and modeling, Constr. Build. Mater. 22 (2008) 573–579.
[25] R. Maderuelo-Sanz, M. Martín-Castizo, R. Vílchez-Gómez, The performance of
resilient layers made from recycled rubber fluff for impact noise reduction,
Conflicts of interest Appl. Acoust. 72 (2011) 823–828.
[26] K.B. Najim, M.R. Hall, Mechanical and dynamic properties of self-compacting
None. crumb rubber modified concrete, Constr. Build. Mater. 27 (2012) 521–530.
[27] D. Lo, Presti, Recycled tyre rubber modified bitumens for road asphalt
mixtures: a literature review, Constr. Build. Mater. 49 (2013) 863–881.
Acknowledgements [28] EN 12667:2001, Thermal performance of building materials and products –
Determination of thermal resistance by means of guarded hot plate and heat
flow meter methods – Products of high and medium thermal resistance.
The research work presented herein was supported by the pro-
[29] ISO 8302:1991. Thermal insulation – determination of steady-state thermal
ject POCI-01-0247-FEDER-017710 (mcRICE), funded by Portugal resistance and related properties – guarded hot plate apparatus.
2020 through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness [30] EN 826: 2013. Thermal insulating products for building applications –
Factors (COMPETE2020). determination of compression behaviour.
[31] ISO 9052-1:1989, Acoustics – Determination of dynamic stiffness – Part 1:
Materials used under floating floors in dwellings.
References [32] ISO 7626-5:1994, Vibration and shock – Experimental determination of
mechanical mobility – Part 5: Measurements using impact excitation with
[1] Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the an exciter which is not attached to the structure.
Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of [33] ISO 10140-1:2010, Acoustics – Laboratory measurement of sound insulation of
the Regions ‘‘Resource efficiency opportunities in the building sector”, [COM building elements – Part 1: Application rules for specific products.
(2014) 445]. [34] ISO 10140-3:2010, Acoustics – Laboratory measurement of sound insulation of
[2] P.O. Akadiri, E.A. Chinyio, P.O. Olomolaiye, Design of a sustainable building: a building elements – Part 3: measurement of impact sound insulation.
conceptual framework for implementing sustainability in the building sector, [35] ISO 10140-4:2010. Acoustics – laboratory measurement of sound insulation of
Buildings 2 (2012) 126–152, https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings2020126. building elements – Part 4: measurement procedures and requirements.
[3] A. Sev, How can the construction industry contribute to sustainable [36] ISO 717-2:2013. Acoustics – rating of sound insulation in buildings and of
development? A conceptual framework, Sust. Dev. 17 (2009) 161–173, building elements – Part 2: impact sound insulation.
https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.373. [37] EN 12354-2:2000, Building acoustics – Estimation of acoustic performance of
[4] B. Marques, A. Tadeu, J. de Brito, J. Almeida, A perspective on the development buildings from the performance of elements – Part 2: impact sound insulation
of sustainable construction products: an Eco-design approach, Int. J. Sus. Dev. between rooms.
Plann. 12 (2017) 304–314. [38] A.P. Belli F. Russo A. Schiavi Measurement of dynamic stiffness to estimate the
[5] M. Safiuddin, M.Z. Jumaat, M.A. Salam, M.S. Islam, R. Hashim, Utilization of reduction in impact sound pressure level, Euronoise, 19-21 May, Naples 2003.
solid wastes in construction materials, Int. J. Phys. Sci. 5 (2010) 1952–1963. [39] EN ISO 10534-2:2001, Acoustics – Determination of sound absorption
[6] D. Agrawal, P. Hinge, U.P. Waghe, S.P. Raut, Utilization of industrial waste in coefficient and impedance in impedances tubes – Part 2: transfer-function
construction material – a review, Int. J. Innov. Res. Sci. Eng. Technol. 3 (2014) method (ISO 10534-2:1998).
8390–8397. [40] S. Schiavoni, F. D’Alessandro, F. Bianchi, F. Asdrubali, Insulation materials for
[7] M.V. Madurwar, R.V. Ralegaonkar, S.A. Mandavgane, Application of agro-waste the building sector: a review and comparative analysis, Renew. Sustain. Energy
for sustainable construction materials: a review, Constr. Build. Mater. 38 Rev. 62 (2016) 988–1011.
(2013) 872–878. [41] G. Giebeler, H. Krause, R. Fisch, F. Musso, B. Lenz, A. Rudolphi, in: J. Liese (Ed.),
[8] F. Asdrubali, F. D’Alessandro, S. Schiavoni, A review of unconventional Refurbishment Manual: Maintenance, Conversions, Extensions, Birkhäuser
sustainable building insulation materials, Sustain. Mater. Technol. 4 (2015) Verlag AG, Basel, Boston, Berlin, 2009.
1–17. [42] M. Hegger, V. Auch-Schwelk, M. Fuchs, T. Rosenkranz, in: J. Liese, S. Lenzen
[9] P. Ricciardi, F. Torchia, E. Belloni, E. Lascaro, C. Buratti, Environmental (Eds.), Construction Materials Manual, Birkhäuser – Publishers for
characterisation of coffee chaff, a new recycled material for building Architecture, Basel, Boston, Berlin, 2006.
applications, Constr. Build. Mater. 147 (2017) 185–193. [43] X.-Y. Zhou, F. Zheng, H.-G. Li, C.-long Lu, An environment-friendly thermal
[10] H. Keskin, M. Kucuktuvek, M. Guru, The potential of poppy (Papaver insulation material from cotton stalk fibers, Energy Build. 42 (2010) 1070–
somniferum Linnaeus) husk for manufacturing wood-based particleboards, 1074.
Constr. Build. Mater. 95 (2015) 224–231. [44] I. Muizniece, D. Blumberga, Thermal conductivity of heat insulation material
[11] FAO data, http://faostat3.fao.org, 2017 (accessed 8.08.2017). made from coniferous needles with potato starch binder, Energy Procedia 95
[12] D.W. Yarbrough, K.E. Wikes, P.A. Olivier, R.S. Graves, A. Vohra, Apparent (2016) 324–329.
thermal conductivity data and related information for rice hulls and crushed [45] P. Ricciardi, E. Belloni, F. Cotana, Innovative panels with recycled materials:
pecan shells, Therm. Cond. 27 (2005) 222–230. thermal and acoustic performance and life cycle assessment, Appl. Energy 134
[13] J.A.S. Almeida, M.I.V. Santos, A.J.B. Tadeu, N.A.V. Simões, J.P.F. Rama, (2014) 150–162.
Development of innovative sustainable walls composed of wood and by- [46] M. Pfundstein, R. Gellert, M. Spitzner, Alexander Rudolphi, Insulating
products from rice cultivation, in: F.A.R. Lahr, H.S. Junior, J. Fiorelli (Eds.), Materials: Principles, Materials, Applications, Basel, Birkhäuser Edition
Nonconventional Building Materials Based on Agroindustrial Wastes, Tiliform, Detail, 2008.
Bauru, SP, 2015, pp. 75–102. [47] W. Sonderegger, P. Niemz, H. Bader, A. Weber, Comparative study on the
[14] N.-W. Choi, I. Mori, Y. Ohama, Development of rice husks–plastics composites thermal conductivity of wood and wood-based materials, in: S. Kurjatko, J.
for building materials, Waste Manage. 26 (2006) 189–194. Kúdela, R. Lagaňa (Eds.), Wood Structure and Properties ’06, Proceedings of the
[15] M. Chabannes, J.-C. Bénézet, L. Clerc, E. Garcia-Diaz, Use of raw rice husk as 5th IUFRO Symposium ‘‘Wood Structure and Properties ’06”, 2006.
natural aggregate in a lightweight insulating concrete: an innovative [48] G. Müller, M. Möser (Eds.), Handbook of Engineering Acoustics, Springer-
application, Constr. Build. Mater. 70 (2014) 428–438. Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg, 2013.
[16] L. Gil, New cork-based materials and applications, Materials 8 (2015) 625–637. [49] J. Zach, A. Korjenic, V. Petránek, J. Hroudová, T. Bednar, Performance evaluation
[17] R. Carvalho, F. Teixeira-Dias, H. Varum, Cyclic behavior of a lightweight mortar and research of alternative thermal insulations based on sheep wool, Energy
with cork granulate composite, Compos. Struct. 95 (2013) 748–755. Build. 49 (2012) 246–253.
[18] M.A. Azziz, C.K. Murphy, S.D. Ramaswamy, Lightweight concrete using cork [50] U. Berardi, G. Iannace, Acoustic characterization of natural fibers for sound
granules, Int. J. Lightweight Concr. 2 (1979) 29–33. absorption applications, Build. Environ. 94 (2015) 840–852.
[19] S.R. Karade, M. Irle, K. Maher, Influence of granule properties and [51] ISO 717-1:2013 Acoustics – Rating of sound insulation in buildings and of
concentration on cork cement compatibility, Holz. Roh. Werkst. 64 (2006) building elements – Part 1: Airborne sound insulation.
281–286.