Earth-Based Building Incorporating Sargassum muticum Seaweed: Mechanical and Hygrothermal Performances

Abstract

Once the tide recedes and leaves a significant amount of stranded seaweed on the coast, marine macroalgae pose a serious threat to the surrounding area. Through this work, we considered a large-scale application of stranded macroalgae in building construction. For the first time we studied the impact of incorporating Sargassum mitucum seaweed fiber in replacement of flax fiber used for a standard structural cob. Thus, cob specimens were elaborated and analyzed to evaluate their compressive and hygrothermal performances. It was found that the compressive strength and water vapor resistance factors of cob decreased with the algae content. Additionally, the obtained results showed that a cob made with Sargassum muticum algae presented better thermal (insulation and inertia) and hygroscopic properties than those of a cob made with a flax fiber. Indeed, the replacement of flax straw by algae lead to a reduction in the thermal conductivity by 38% when compared to the standard cob with 2.5% of flax straw fiber. Consequently, numerical simulation showed a reduction in the energy needs in buildings made with an algae-based cob when compared to those made with a flax-based cob. This study can contribute to a global environmental and economic issue, i.e., the valorization of brown algae on a large scale. Indeed, the worldwide knows the largest sea of sargassum algae extent measures over 8850 km2. This huge mass of brownish algae is expanding every year, which now covers an area from Africa to the Caribbean. It weighs more than 20 million tons and extends from the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Africa. We show that stranded algae, which are considered as wastes, have the ability to improve the mechanical and hygrothermal performance of cob-based material.