Super adsorbent bio-polymer additive to improve hygroscopic and acoustic properties of a conventional lime plaster

Abstract

Abstract The paper introduces a new lime plaster composition, with a Super Bio-Polymeric Adsorbent (SABP), for interior applications to improve hygrothermal and acoustic comfort. Alginate SABP is added to a conventional lime plaster to improve hygroscopic and acoustic performance. The hygrothermal and acoustic properties of the modified plaster are compared with the ones of the original plaster with a preliminary moisture uptake test, the evaluation of the sorption isotherm, the moisture buffering value (MBV), and the acoustic absorption. The results show a significant increase in the equilibrium moisture contents and the MBV (from 0.7 to 6.2 g/(m2⋅%RH)). At the same time, the sound absorption coefficient is slightly improved, increasing 0.1-0.2 at frequencies higher than 500 Hz compared to the reference conventional lime plaster. The paper describes the material characterization: the sorption isotherm and the MBV are obtained using a dynamic vapor sorption (DVS) analyzer. The acoustic absorption is measured using the impedance tube method.