Textile waste as an alternative thermal insulation building material solution

Abstract

The adoption of more sustainable behaviors, particularly in what concerns to the reduction of energy consumption and the emissions of greenhouse gases, is nowadays a priority. The construction sector is one of the key areas of intervention, which carries a high consumption of resources such as materials, energy, and water. Thus, it is essential to adopt more efficient actions during all stages of the construction process, including the use of more sustainable materials. The reuse of different types of waste in the construction or rehabilitation of buildings can contribute significantly to sustainability. In this research work, the potential applicability of woven fabric waste (WFW) and a waste of this residue, named woven fabric subwaste (WFS), as thermal insulation building material was studied. Experimental work was conducted using an external double wall, with the air-box filled with these two types of waste, to determine their thermal characteristics. Two heat flowmeters and four surface temperatures sensors were placed on the wall surface to determine the thermal conductivity of the wastes. The obtained results show that the application of the WFW and WFS in the external double wall increases its thermal behavior in 56% and 30%, respectively. The thermal conductivity value of the WFW is similar to the values obtain for expanded polystyrene (EPS), extruded polystyrene (XPS) and mineral wool (MW). The value of this parameter for the WFS is approximately equal to the values for granules of clay, vermiculite or expanded perlite. Therefore, applying these wastes as a possible thermal insulation material seems to be an adequate solution. Environmental, sustainable and economical advantages may result from this practice.