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. 2019 Feb 13;12(4):560.
doi: 10.3390/ma12040560.

Microstructural and Thermo-Physical Characterization of a Water Hyacinth Petiole for Thermal Insulation Particle Board Manufacture

Adela Salas-Ruiz  1 , María Del Mar Barbero-Barrera  2 , Trinidad Ruiz-Téllez  3
Affiliations

Microstructural and Thermo-Physical Characterization of a Water Hyacinth Petiole for Thermal Insulation Particle Board Manufacture

Adela Salas-Ruiz et al. Materials (Basel). .

Abstract

Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a dangerous and invasive aquatic species, of which global concern has sharply risen due to its rapid growth. Despite ample research on its possible applications in the construction field, there are no clear references on the optimal use of the plant in finding the most efficient-use building material. In this paper, a microstructural and chemical characterization of the Water Hyacinth petiole was performed, in order to find the most efficient use as a construction material. Subsequently, two types of binder-less insulation panels were developed, with two types of particle size (pulp and staple). A physical, mechanical, and thermal characterization of the boards was performed. These results demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture self-supporting Water Hyacinth petiole panels without an artificial polymer matrix for thermal insulation. The boards showed good thermal conductivity values, ranging from 0.047⁻0.065 W/mK. In addition, clear differences were found in the properties of the boards, depending on the type of Water Hyacinth petiole particle size, due to the differences in the microstructure.

Keywords: Water Hyacinth; anatomy characterization; binder-less; bio-based thermal insulation; cellulose fibres; chemical characterization; invasive Plant; mechanical characterization; thermal conductivity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Final Water Hyacinth Petiole (WHP) appearance after the crushing process: pulp (a) and staple (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Manufactured Binder-Less WHP panels: (a) pulp WHP: Panel made with pulp (WHP passing through #2 sieve, R20); (b) staple WHP: Panel made with staple (WHP retained on #2 sieve, R20).
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) General internal structure of the petiole section, SEM view: epidermal cells (1), “fibre unit” (2) and aerenchyma tissue (3); (b) General scheme of the petiole section: epidermal cells (1), “fibre unit” (2) and aerenchyma tissue (3).
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Internal structure of the “fibre unit” of the petiole section, SEM view. “Fibre unit” composed of Vascular bundle (Phloem (1); Xylem (2); Companion cell (3)), surrounded by parenchymatous cells (4) and aerenchyma tissue (5); (b) Vascular bundle sketch (Phloem (1); Xylem (2); Companion cell (3)).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Internal structure of the petiole section, SEM view. Parenchymatous cells (a) and aerenchyma tissue (b), measured in four air chambers.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Aerenchyma tissue SEM image, showing sclereid cells projecting into air space (a). Needle-like crystals of oxalate calcium (b).
Figure 7
Figure 7
Internal structure of the WHP board, SEM view: pulp WHP panel (a) and staple WHP panel (b).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Flexural test: Stress–strain (mm/mm) curve of WH boards.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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