Novel insulation panels development from multilayered coir short and long fiber reinforced phenol formaldehyde polymeric biocomposites

Abstract

AbstractThis study investigated about the developments of insulation panels from multilayered coir long and short fiber reinforced phenol formaldehyde polymeric (PF) resin. The lengths of coir long fibers (CLF) were within 3 mm, whereas the short fibers (CSF) ranged from 0.1 mm to 1.25 mm. Four composite panels of 360, 680, 800, and 1000 kg/m3 densities were developed by employing hot pressing technology. The thermal conductivity, microstructural, mechanical, and physical properties of the composite panels were investigated. Perceived thermal conductivity values ranged within 0.046280 (0.000494) to 0.062400 (0.001146) Wm‒1 k‒1of the composites demonstrating superior insulation properties. Moreover, the current study also found that mechanical and thermal properties showed improvement with the increase of density. Low-density fiberboards had the lowest performances compared to high-density composite panels, with the exception of the 1000 kg/m3 density, in which fiber agglomeration occurred. Furthermore, all the developed composite panels display superior potentiality for use as effective insulation materials. The FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy) analysis also shows an efficient bonding between the cellulosic coir materials and PF resin. The overall characteristics of the composite panels, especially medium fiberboard, show prominent potential for industrial production units by fulfilling the consumer requirements.