WASTE PAPER CONSTITUTES 30% OF THE OVERALL AMOUNT OF WASTE IN OUR FLOW OF HOUSEHOLD WASTE. HOWEVER, IT CAN BE RECYCLED AND USED IN CONSTRUCTION AS A THERMAL INSULATION MATERIAL.
Reuse of materials is particularly important due to the limited resources of our planet, and it also meets the environmental policy sustainability principles in order to preserve environmental diversity for the future generations.
Recycling of waste paper is going relatively well in Europe. On average, 71% of waste paper is recycled annually. According to the data of CEPI (European Paper Recycling Council) the consumption of paper products in Europe in 2021 was 80 million tonnes. Out of this amount, 57.1 million tonnes were collected and recycled. However, 22 million tonnes of waste paper remained under the open sky, indicating that there is room for improvement in the field of waste paper recycling.
THERMAL INSULATION MATERIALS MADE OF RECYCLED WASTE PAPER
The paper we usually see in sheets can be also turned into thermal insulation materials by using modern technology.
As a result of waste paper recycling, high-value cellulose fibre is obtained which is used for production of natural and efficient thermal insulation material. This thermal insulation material is known in the construction industry as ecowool. It is loose, light, dry mass, which consists of 86% of recycled cellulose fibre and 14% of natural salts admixture.
Thinking about house insulation, ecowool is not the first thermal insulation material that comes to mind; however, this material is used for house insulation already for a very long time. The first plant for production of cellulose insulation materials was opened in 1928 in Germany, and this material was widely used in construction of private houses in particular. So far, mineral wool has positioned itself most vividly on the market of thermal insulation materials, as it is efficient and relatively cheap thermal insulation material. However, in the recent years, ecowool becomes increasingly more demanded. It is mostly chosen by people who care about the future of our planet and wish to insulate their house using as natural materials as possible.
A NEW THERMAL INSULATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN DEVELOPED
One of the companies dealing with waste paper recycling and production of ecowool using waste paper is the Latvian company “Balticfloc”.
“Balticfloc” is among the largest ecowool producers in Latvia. The company uses only qualitative waste paper for production of ecowool. However, also a large amount of low-class waste paper is delivered to the company, which cannot be used in production, for example, waste paper which is wet, dirty and containing various impurities. For this type of raw material not have to be taken to a landfill, the company started looking for solutions to use it in the production process.
In 2017, “Balticfloc” submitted a co-funding application to LIFE Programme for implementation of LIFE_PHIPP “Alternative recycling of waste paper and hemp fibre into innovative thermal insulation materials” project. In 2018, the project was recognised as one of the most valuable projects submitted, and the European Commission granted co-funding of 1,761,135 € for implementation of the project. The total expected investment for implementation of LIFE_PHIPP project is 2,943,225 €.
The main objective of the project is to create an innovative building insulation material and show the economic and environmental advantages of production and use of this material.
The composition of the new product includes low class waste paper and high-value hemp fibre. The material is produced in slabs and it will be easy to integrate in buildings without using special equipment, which is required for installation of ecowool. The test slabs of the material are produced with dimensions 1,200 x 575 x 50 mm. But it is already clear how the production line will be capable of producing slabs of various dimensions with thickness from 50 – 100 mm.
One of the most significant technical specifications of thermal insulation material is thermal conductivity. A precise thermal conductivity coefficient is unknown yet, but test materials composed of 80% of low class waste paper and 20% of hemp fibre currently shows thermal conductivity ranging from λ = 0.038 – 0.040 W/mK.
By the end of the project, it is planned to send samples of the thermal insulation material to a laboratory in the Czech Republic where 12 different measurements of technical specifications will be made, which will allow certification of the product in order to be able to sell it all around Europe.
A PILOT PRODUCTION LINE HAS BEEN CONSTRUCTED
For the purpose of production of the new thermal insulation material, a pilot production line was constructed, which will ensure stable production process, producing up to 250 m3 of the thermal insulation material daily. During the production process, it is planned to use 750 t of low-class waste paper annually.
The production line was developed by “Elektro Vilks”, taking into consideration the long-standing experience of “Balticfloc” in waste paper recycling. The equipment of the production line was acquired in 2020, whereas the installation and testing were fully completed in 2022. The installed production line is a prototype developed specifically for the needs of “Balticfloc” and is adapted to recycling of low-class waste paper.
Within the framework of the project, works are carried out for development of Licence Agreements of the production line, which will allow to distribute the production line to other European countries.
In general, the project will continue until the end of June 2023, and it is planned that the new thermal insulation material will go on sale in autumn of this year.
Article is published in issue “Building, Design &Construction” ( BDC 305 )
