Production of Thermal Insulator from Water Hyacinth Fiber and Natural Rubber Latex

Abstract

Aquatic weeds as raw materials for thermal insulator are considered as great advantages of the utilization of the weeds to conserve energy and environment as well as economic benefits. In this work, an environmental-friendly thermal insulator made from water hyacinth fiber (aquatic weed) with natural rubber latex as binder was developed. The objective is to monitor and compare the physical properties of different compositions between water hyacinth fiber and natural rubber latex as well as to compare with commercial insulators as fiberglass and rockwool. The results showed that the insulator with a density of 465-646 kg/m³ had the thermal conductivity values ranging from 0.0246-0.0305 W/m K, which was close to that of the commercial ones. Thus, this friendly insulation material is a good candidate for insulation in building. However, moisture content and water absorption capacity of the material must be taken into account due its higher moisture content and water absorption than that of testing standard, TISI 876-2532.