Development of bio-based, low carbon and low cost building materials with improved thermal and acoustic properties

在《欧洲2020年智能、可持续和包容性增长战略》框架下，成员国承诺到2020年将温室气体排放量减少20%，并在2011年提高这一承诺，到2050年将温室气体排放量减少80-95%（与1990年的水平相比）。欧盟建筑环境占能源消耗的40%，二氧化碳排放量的36%。芒草是一种高产作物（15吨/公顷）。它是一种可持续、快速生长、非侵入性的多年生能源作物。它可以生长在退化的土地上，并具有植物稳定特性。它有一系列的应用，从土地恢复到碳封存，利用纤维，能源生产，以及以完全循环的方式利用灰烬。芒草纤维是开发新型、低成本、低碳生物基建筑材料的一个非常有前途的来源，具有更好的绝缘性能，符合清洁增长大挑战和GW4社区提交给发起者基金第10轮的“可负担的低碳二次原材料的循环经济”。该项目的目的是开发充分利用芒草纤维潜力的建筑材料。虽然已经确定了一些应用，但该项目将研究芒草产品的每种成分的特性，列出可能的最终产品，并优先考虑那些在中短期内具有较高商业应用潜力的产品。基于“大麻混凝土”的现有经验，将研究纤维尺寸、粘合剂含量、养护条件和混合比例优化等参数，开发类似混凝土的材料。为了改善产品的生态特性，将考虑使用不同于硅酸盐水泥的粘结剂，如石灰和一种称为地聚合物的新型粘结剂。CASE合作伙伴在生产芒草纤维板方面进行的初步工作将得到进一步发展，并将研究单独纤维板和复合三明治状结构的潜力。该项目将确定生产参数，并评估开发材料的技术性能（例如可实现的机械强度、导热性），以及首选的应用领域。深入的LCA和LCC分析将允许确定已开发产品的生态概况及其在建筑材料市场上的吸引力，使用现有的现货产品作为有针对性比较的基准。

In the framework of the Europe 2020 Strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth, Member States committed themselves to reducing GHG by 20% by 2020, raising this commitment in 2011 and targeting a reduction of GHG by 80-95% by 2050 (compared to 1990 level). The EU built environment is responsible for 40% of energy consumption and 36% of CO2 emissions.Miscanthus x Giganteus is a crop with a high yield (15 t/ha). It is a sustainable, fast growing, non-invasive, perennial energy crop. It can grow in degraded land and has phytostabilisation properties. It has a range of applications from land restoration to carbon sequestration, utilisation of fibres, energy production, and potential utilisation of ashes in a fully circular approach. Miscanthus fibres are a very promising source for developing novel, low cost, low carbon bio-based building materials with improved insulation properties, in line with the Clean Growth Grand Challenge and the GW4 community "Circular economy for affordable, low-carbon secondary raw materials" submitted to the Initiator Fund Round 10.The project aims at the development of building materials harvesting the full potential of miscanthus fibres. Although some applications have already been identified, the project will investigate the properties of each component of miscanthus product, listing possible end-products and prioritizing thosewith higher potential for commercial deployment in short to medium term. Building on available experience on "hempcrete", concrete-like materials will be developed investigating parameters such as fibre dimensions, binder content, curing conditions, and optimization of mix proportions. In order to improve the eco-profile of the product, binders different from Portland cement will be considered, such as lime and a new class of binders called geopolymers. Preliminary work carried out by CASE partners on the production of miscanthus fibreboards will be further developed and the potential of fibreboard alone and composite sandwich-like structures will be investigated. The project will determine production parameters and will assess technical properties of developed materials (e.g. achievable mechanical strength, thermal conductivity), along with preferred fields of application. In-depth LCA and and LCC analysis will allow to determine the eco-profile of the developed products and their appeal on the building material market, using existing off-shelf products as benchmark for targeted comparison.