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Foam alternative

23.02.2021

Thermoboxes for food, cooler bags for soft drinks, isothermal containers for transporting medicines - all these and similar containers are made of materials that do not allow the products placed in them to change their initial temperature. And most often, polymers such as polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene (styrofoam) are used as insulation.

A lot speaks in their favor: they have good thermal insulation properties, weigh very little, are highly durable, and withstand heavy loads. But all these advantages are covered by a significant drawback: expanded polystyrene and polystyrene are not biodegradable, and their waste, which can decompose into thousands of small particles, greatly pollutes the environment. Scientists at the Institute for Natural Materials Processing Technology at the Technical University of Dresden have come up with an alternative to them by creating a biodegradable insulation material from ... waste paper.

Scientists subjected scrap paper to special drying. This process resulted in the formation of fibrous-based insulating elements. The task of the researchers was to regulate the process of preparatory processing of raw materials and develop special formulations of fibrous materials - so that, as a result, the fibrous mats that form the basis of the insulating material had a very low density with a fairly close distribution of pores in size.

In this way, an optimum quality level of the insulating material was achieved. In general, a lot speaks in favor of cellulose, on the basis of which paper is made. In particular, it is durable and has a very low thermal conductivity. This means that the environmentally friendly fiber mats developed by Dresden scientists are superior in their properties to many other insulating materials - including polymers such as polystyrene foam and expanded polystyrene.

The quality of the insulating material made from recycled materials is so high that the containers in which it is integrated can be used even for transporting food. In addition, according to the Dresden scientists, the packaging they have developed is a completely recyclable product. Yes, the new insulation material is not entirely recycled paper. It also has a layer of polyethylene film. However, since its share is negligible - it is only 7 percent - the packaging can be disposed of as waste paper after use.

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