Low-Carbon Wood Fiber Insulation
Created By RISC | 11 months ago
Last modified date : 11 months ago
Building is a key sector for the world to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
Construction emits a lot of greenhouse emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions include embodied carbon and operation carbon. Embodied carbon is critical to attaining this goal, particularly in newly constructed structures, whose emissions depend on design and construction methods.
Embodied carbon is carbon derived from construction materials. We must start building with low-carbon materials. Many entrepreneurs have attempted to develop new production techniques and creative construction materials to reduce carbon emissions. These low-carbon material include wood fiber insulation.
Low-carbon wood fiber insulation is a single-layer board with a maximum thickness of 240 mm created from only 2 ingredients: pine wood fibers from sustainably planted forests (Forest Stewardship Council, FSC) and ammonium salts as a fire retardant. These are biodegradable and derived from natural resources. Natureplus© has validated this low carbon wood fiber insulation as a European biologically safe insulating solution. It also satisfies low-carbon material criteria and has received Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) certification. This wood fiber insulation product can be used in any part of the structure.
What makes wood fiber insulation so environment friendly?
Because this insulation is entirely made of wood fiber or biodegradable natural material from sustainably grown forests, it produces very low carbon emissions when calculating embodied carbon value from the first raw material production process to the end of the life cycle, when compared to non-biodegraded common petroleum insulation such as polyurethane foam, polystyrene foam, or even fiberglass insulation.
Construction is shifting from concrete structures to wooden structures (timber construction), and the trend of using natural materials such as wood will encourage innovative material development to be used in various parts of buildings as much as possible to achieve net zero carbon emissions in 2050. MQDC aims for "Nature Positive & Carbon Negative 2050” to create a positive impact on nature and net negative carbon emissions."
Find out more about low-carbon wood fiber insulation at https://gutex.co.uk/product-range/product-properties/recyclability/
Story by Tiptaptim Sunpaechudasil, Senior Sustainable Designer, RISC
References:
https://www.carboncure.com/concrete-corner/what-is-embodied-carbon/