At a time when economic and environmental weaknesses pose new challenges to the productive sector, this project has a main objective that focuses on the development of new cement-based composite materials with high thermal and acoustic performance, produced from the integration of rice husk.
Rice husk has unique characteristics that encourage its use in construction materials, such as low density and high porosity. On the other hand, the low commercial value and poor nutritional properties, with a view to animal feed, make it difficult to dispose of this residue.
Landfilling and burning can cause significant environmental impacts due to the high silica content. Its potential for the project lies in the fact that this material has good insulation properties, due to its morphological structure.
We can then list the following objectives for the project:
- To develop cement-based composite materials, with high functional value in terms of thermal, acoustic and durability behavior;
- Developing cement-based composite materials with a high rate of incorporation of by-products from the agro-industrial sector;
- To design and develop prefabricated products, with lower volume mass and optimized design, in order to facilitate transport and handling, and with high thermal, acoustic, and environmental performance from new cement-based composite materials.
Although there are several studies on composite materials with the incorporation of waste, including by-products of natural origin, there is still a huge technological opportunity in the development and optimization of new materials, so that they are able to respond effectively and with high levels of performance to the requirements of modern architecture and sustainable construction.
The incorporation of rice culture by-products will allow, in this sense, not only to develop more environmentally friendly products, but also to improve the functional performance of the final solutions in order to develop acoustic barriers and multi-layer panels for vertical compartmentation elements. The goal will be to combine the benefits conferred by the introduction of rice husk in cementitious mixtures with the development of prefabricated elements with high thermal, acoustic and environmental performance.
The products to be developed must also comply with all applicable standards, demonstrating physical, mechanical, and durability properties compatible with the intended applications, as well as being submitted to a careful sustainability analysis, through life cycle assessment.
It is intended that the new products, developed from the cement-based composite materials incorporating rice husk, meet several requirements, namely that:
- Respect the requirements imposed by applicable product specification standards;
- Have a functional performance at least equivalent to that of competing (less sustainable) products;
- Constitute economically competitive solutions, allowing them to present measurable advantages in terms of thermal and acoustic characteristics, ease of production and application, which make them viable alternatives to the solutions currently on the market;
- They present durability levels adequate for the foreseen applications, guaranteeing the maintenance of their properties throughout the product's lifetime.
The development of these materials / products will thus contribute to strengthening regional and national competitiveness. It is also intended that this project has an enhancing effect on sustainable growth through the incorporation of by-products from other industries, the development of solutions with high thermal and acoustic performance and the revitalization of the construction sector. At a time when economic and environmental weaknesses pose new challenges to the productive sector, this project's main objective is focused on the development of new cement-based composite materials with high thermal and acoustic performance, produced from the integration of rice husk.
Rice husk has unique characteristics that encourage its use in construction materials, such as low density and high porosity. Por outro lado, o reduzido valor comercial e fracas propriedades nutritivas, tendo em vista a alimentação animal, tornam difícil o escoamento deste resíduo. Landfilling and burning can cause significant environmental impacts due to the high silica content. Its potential for the project lies in the fact that this material has good insulation properties, due to its morphological structure.
We can then list the following objectives for the project:
- To develop cement-based composite materials, with high functional value in terms of thermal, acoustic and durability behavior;
- Developing cement-based composite materials with a high rate of incorporation of by-products from the agro-industrial sector;
- Design and develop prefabricated products, with lower volume mass and optimized design, in order to facilitate transport and handling, and with high thermal, acoustic and environmental performance from new cement-based composite materials.
Although there are several studies on composite materials with the incorporation of waste, including by-products of natural origin, there is still a huge technological opportunity in the development and optimization of new materials, so that they are able to respond effectively and with high levels of performance to the requirements of modern architecture and sustainable construction.
The incorporation of rice culture by-products will allow, in this sense, not only to develop more environmentally friendly products, but also to improve the functional performance of the final solutions in order to develop acoustic barriers and multi-layer panels for vertical compartmentation elements. The goal will be to combine the benefits conferred by the introduction of rice husk in cementitious mixtures with the development of prefabricated elements with high thermal, acoustic and environmental performance.
The products to be developed must also comply with all applicable standards, demonstrating physical, mechanical, and durability properties compatible with the intended applications, as well as being submitted to a careful sustainability analysis, through life cycle assessment.
It is intended that the new products, developed from the cement-based composite materials incorporating rice husk, meet several requirements, namely that:
- Respect the requirements imposed by applicable product specification standards;
- Have a functional performance at least equivalent to that of competing (less sustainable) products;
- Constitute economically competitive solutions, allowing them to present measurable advantages in terms of thermal and acoustic characteristics, ease of production and application, which make them viable alternatives to the solutions currently on the market;
- They present durability levels adequate for the foreseen applications, guaranteeing the maintenance of their properties throughout the product's lifetime.
The development of these materials/products will thus contribute to the strengthening of regional and national competitiveness.
It is also intended that this project will have an enhancing effect on sustainable growth by incorporating by-products from other industries, by developing solutions with high thermal and acoustic performance, and by revitalizing the construction sector.
