EU project develops biocomposites for greener buildings

The European Union (EU)-funded researchers developed innovative biocomposites made of flax or jute fibers, combined with plastics derived entirely from sugar cane waste or partly from vegetable oils, and demonstrated their potential in constructions, said the press release of the European Commission on Tuesday.

"The aim of the BioBuild project was to reduce the amount of energy needed to produce construction elements, the so-called embodied energy," said Anthony Stevenson of Netcomposites in the UK, the project coordinator.

Biocomposites are fiber-reinforced polymers, for example, plastics strengthened with woven or non-woven textile materials, where at least one of the components is made from agricultural products.

Biobuild selected biocomposites that show promise as building materials and improved key characteristics such fire retardance, moisture resistance, and the bonding between the fibers and the plastic.

The partners then used these substances to produce and test various types of building component. The applications included external wall panels and cladding, and an internal partition system.

In the case of the cladding, the embodied energy is nearly halved compared to a reference product, whereas the other two offer savings of 10 to 15 percent, said Stevenson.

Moreover, he noted a fourth test application, lamellae for suspended ceilings, also offered a number of advantages, even though the embodied energy was not actually reduced. Endit