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INTRODUCTION
heat gain. Anything that can prevent your home from holding and retaining heat
will be needed and efficient for the Filipinos. Extra ventilation may be required,
maintain a warm temperature. Noise pollution is a also a big problem since some
reduce heat and sound, and also is durable. In this study, we can find a way to
mat.
Cellulose is a long chain of linked sugar molecules that gives wood its
remarkable strength. It is the main component of plant cell walls, and the basic
building block for many textiles and for paper. Cotton is the purest natural form of
cellulose. In the laboratory, ash less filter paper is a source of nearly pure
alang in Asia, and cogon grass in America, occurs in a wide range of habitats,
which include degraded forests, grasslands, arable land, and young plantations.
Cogon grass shows wide genetic variability that allows it to adapt to wide range
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stress such as burning, over gazing, drought and repeated slashing. It can
produce as many as 3 000 seeds, which have little, or no dormancy period and
which can remain viable for over a year. The aggressive and invasive nature of
cogon grass is attributed to its rhizomes. These are normally concentrated in the
upper 15-20 cm of soil where they can remain dormant but viable for a long time.
Cogon grass can grow on soils with a wide range of nutrients, moisture
and pH. Although sometimes reported to be a weed of poor soils, cogon grass
probably dominates these areas because of lack of competition from other plant
species that cannot survive on marginal land. It is a poor competitor and is easily
is a strong competitor for growth factors such as water, nutrients, and light
because it sprouts and grows more rapidly than most crops (C3 plants).
cellulose insulation for their next home improvement project. Not only is cellulose
insulation a sustainable material, but it can save up to one fifth of the energy
install, cellulose insulation offers several advantages that make it worth a look.
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flammable, cellulose insulation is treated with borax and must pass stringent fire
safety tests. Some manufacturers claim the cellulose insulation, once installed, is
even less flammable than fiberglass because it prevents fire from having access
to oxygen.
Fiberglass insulation isnt flammable, but the formaldehyde glues that are
used to create it can pose a significant hazard. Not only is off-gassing a problem,
but the formaldehyde glues can create noxious fumes if your home ever catches
amount of water is added for increased bonding to the sheathing. The moisture
content at or below wood framing members. Any trace moisture in the insulation
will pass through the drywall after it is installed, similar to moisture in wood wall
strength and flexibility to absorb movements in the pavement structure and can
One of the problems in the country is noise pollution. In our everyday life
we encounter noises that we are used to hear like loud music, the traffic, the
television, even pets barking in the middle of the night. Sometimes, people tend
to get mad if it is too noisy for them to hear what is being said or what is
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happening. Why? Because the excessive amount of noise may cause temporary
disruption. Also one problem is our warm temperature that causes irritation to
many. Earth has been experiencing the unstoppable increase of our global
temperature every day. Global warming, together with the climate change bring
an impeccable amount of heat. That is when people get out the house fresh and
relaxed, when they reached their destination; they look dry and haggard because
Cellulose insulation is one solution to reduce building heat loss and gain
barrier for walls that do not have insulation. Cellulose is treated with boric acid,
which increases fire resistance, resists mold and makes it unpalatable to insects.
The table below shows what characteristics a cellulose insulation should have.
the outside. Finally, cellulose has the ability to absorb and release water vapor,
Cellulose wall cavity spray has been available since the 1970s, but costs
and the small number of qualified contractors limited this product to luxury
homes. Today cellulose wall spray is a viable option for any home, and its
superior energy-saving performance will pay back the slightly higher cost.
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CELLULOSE
CHARACTERISTIC
INSULATION
Fire Block & Ignition Yes Cellulose approved as both. Can reduce cost
Barrier considerably.
weed. It infests over 1.2 million acre worldwide. It frequently spreads in large
conditions. This highly invasive pest permanently alters plant and animal
control it.
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This study aimed to make cellulose insulation as fiber mat using cogon
1. How effective the cellulose insulation made from cogon grass (Imperata
a. Sound Control;
d. Thermal Conductivity;
e. Fire resistance?
subjected to how fine the cogon grass (Imperata Cylindrica) leaves is grinded?
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Hypothesis
grinding property.
Theoretical/Conceptual Framework
Binding Process
Cellulose
Cogon Grass Insulation
Leaves as Fiber
Mat using
Cogon
Grass
Drying Process
reducing heat gain through the roof. It evaluates the different types of commonly
glycerin and cassava starch which all have different roles for the insulation
material. Collected data were used to calculate the thermal resistance, fire
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retardant, pest and insect resistant, sound control and the tensile strength
transfer. Heat transfer and mass transfer are critical aspects in drying processes.
a vapour into the surrounding gas. The drying rate is determined by the set of
factors that affect heat and mass transfer. Solids drying is generally understood
to follow two distinct drying zones, known as the constant-rate period and the
falling-rate period. The two zones are demarcated by a break point called the
The term cellulose refers to the base fiber for all plant life. Wood, paper
and other plant-based products all are cellulose materials. Todays cellulose
insulation is made from recycled paper products and treated with boron-based
chemicals to make it fire retardant. At the turn of the century, the available
material was wood, so insulation was balsa wool or balsa batt sawdust
But early cellulose insulation didnt benefit from todays fiber technology and
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This study aimed to produce cellulose insulation fiber mats using cogon
grass (Imperata cylindrica). This study only included Imperata Cylindrica as the
Sosa) and boric acid as secondary ingredients for the cellulose insulation. The
quality tests included the following: fire resistance, insect and rodent resistance,
sound resistance and thermal conductivity. This study does not include
Cogon grass was considered as the seventh worst weed in the world, so a
step on decreasing its population is needed. The product can help reduce the
population of the grass. The world is at its peak to noise and thermal pollution,
producing something heat and sound resistant can help reduce the harmful
effects of this two. Building materials (fiber mats, hollow blocks, etc.) nowadays
radiates heat excessively that it combines with the air temperature and makes
our thermal pollution worse. Aside from that, it also reduces sound waves in the
air. Thus, it helps in preventing noise pollution. This research study aimed to
produce a cheaper product of cellulose insulation fiber mat. Filipinos mostly tend
to buy expensive products even if they do not afford it instead of the cheaper
ones which also have good quality. Cellulose insulation products commonly
found in the market are on spray-type and are more expensive. Cellulose
insulation fiber mats using cogon grass produce less expensive heat and thermal
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METHODS
Gathering of Materials
scale, 1 kilo of Cassava Starch from a local grocery store, a cheese cloth
The leaves of cogon grass (Imperata Cylindrica) were dried for 4 days
inside a sealable plastic bag that will keep the leaves dry without being affected
by other variables such as sunlight. (Palada M.C and L.C. Chang, 2008)
Boric Acid was used as the fire retardant and the insect or rodent resistant
in the production of cellulose insulation. Glycerin and the cassava starch were
used to make the product compact. Sodium hydroxide was used to soften the
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(Cassava Starch)
(Liquid Sosa)
After gathering all the materials, the researchers then brought the dried
and Development to help them grind the cogon grass (Imperata Cylindrica) into
three different characteristics finely grind, medium grind and coarsely grind.
After the cogon grass (Imperata Cylindrica) was grinded, it was then boiled with
10mL of sodium hydroxide into three different boiling pans for 10 minutes. After
10 minutes, the boiled samples was filtered with cheese cloth. While the 3
samples are cooling to room temperature, the researchers started to dissolve the
cassava starch into 3 different boiling pans, each containing 30 grams of cassava
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starch, it was dissolved with enough water until the texture becomes a semiliquid
Fig. 2.3: Cogon Grass (Imperata Cylindrica) grinded into three different
Characteristics
Binding Process
After preparing all the materials needed, the researchers started mixing
30g of finely grind cogon grass (Imperata Cylindrica) leaves, 10g of boric acid,
5mL of glycerin and 30 grams of cassava starch which will serve as the first set-
up. Two more set-ups were prepared varying how fine the cogon grass (Imperata
Cylindrica) was grind. The second set up was composed of 30g of medium-
coarse grind cogon grass (Imperata Cylindrica) leaves while the third set-up was
The materials were mixed thoroughly in an 8.5 inches (length), 5.5 inches (width)
and 1.5 inches (height) rectangular shaped molder. These set ups were prepared
to test the difference of the effect of how fine the cogon grass (Imperata
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Drying
After all the materials were combined, the researchers let the set ups dry
for 24 hours and placed it in an oven with a 103 C (217 F) temperature until the
structure is firm.
In order for the researchers to know whether the product made was fire
resistant, the researchers started the test by lighting up a match and a paper and
placed it a box container with a height of 12 inches, width of 6 inches and depth
of 3 inches tall. The sample that was tested required the basic parameters of fire
rating tests such as, the material resisted the maximum fire resistance time which
is 120 min.
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of the sound waves using decibels (dB) to test the sound proofing insulation. The
decibels (dB), and shows a reference. The researchers used a monotone audio
produced. The test was done to determine the level of the sound absorbed by the
with the cellulose insulation, the product was tested if the rodent or insect
resisted coming near to the product. The researchers assured that no insect or
stress a material can withstand before or failing. The product cellulose insulation
as fiber mat from Cogon Grass was tested at the Adamson University
with a machined specimen placed in a testing machine and load will be applied. A
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describes the extent to which the sample stretched before fracture. Variations of
this test include; room temperature, low temperature, elevated temperature and
humidity.
This test was conducted to determine which of the three set-ups of the
Cellulose Insulation was best in absorbing heat. The researchers boiled three
sets of 300mL water which were placed in a beaker that has a total volume of 1L.
Each of the fiber mats were placed on top of each beaker. They recorded the
temperature of the water every two minutes and express it in Kelvin (K) to
RESULTS
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The first test was the Sound Control Test. This test was conducted to
determine how much sound was absorbed by the produced Cellulose Insulation.
According to table 2.1, Set up A that had the fine grind cogon grass
(Imperata cylindrica) obtained a mean score of 59.5, the second set up had a
mean score of 58 and lastly the final set up that obtained the best result among
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This test was conducted to determine the rodent and insect resistance of
the produced Cellulose Insulation Fiber Mat. The rodent was left with the product
for at least 24 hours, as well as the insect in separate containers. None of the
three set-ups were approached, bitten, eaten by the rodent. Likewise with the
insect, the product was not destroyed nor approached by the insect. The data are
shown below.
Thermal Conductivity
through a material. The lower the value that the product gave the researchers,
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the better the cellulose insulation product as fiber mat from cogon grass the
researchers has made. The results were shown in the table above.
The results showed that Set up A obtained a mean score of 304.9 K, while
set up B obtained a very high mean score of 470.2 K and lastly set up C obtained
Tensile Strength
The second to the last test is the tensile strength. This was conducted to
test the products strength. The results were presented in the table below.
From table 2.4, it can be seen that the set up that had fine grind cogon
grass (Imperata cylindrica) can resist a tension of 10.42 newton of force, the next
set up that had medium grind resisted a 15.42 newton of force and the last and
Fire Resistance
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The final test was the Fire Resistance test, this test was conducted to help
the researchers know whether the product can resist an extensive amount of
heat. Due to the presence of the boric acid, the final result showed that the three
Sum of Mean
df F Sig. Interpretation
Squares Square
Between
6.000 3 2.000
Groups
No Significant
Within 1.500 .287
10.667 8 1.333 Difference
Groups
Total 16.667 11
Table 2.6 shows the ANOVA results for comparing means of sound
absorption of the three set ups in every 15 seconds. The computed value of f-
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Sum of Mean
df F Sig. Interpretation
Squares Square
Between No Significant
5.500 8 .688 .825 .634
Groups Difference
Within
2.500 3 .833
Groups
Total 8.000 11
Table 2.7 shows the ANOVA results for comparing means of thermal
conductivity of the three set ups in every 2 minutes. The computed value of f-
DISCUSSION
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The variation of how the Cogon Grass (Imperata cylindrica) was grinded
indicates the different qualities of each of the samples made. The equal amounts
of boric acid, glycerin, cassava starch and liquid sosa (sodium hydroxide) also
presents the potential of the three samples by varying the grinding level of the
main material used. The researchers conducted five different tests in order to
know the effectiveness of the Cellulose Insulation as fiber mat from cogon grass
done to determine which of the set ups have the best qualities of being a
cellulose insulation.
Based on the results, as Table 2.1 presented, Set up C got the lowest
mean of 57.5 among the three set ups. This means that this sample absorbed
Insulation is being rodent and pest resistant. Based on the test conducted by the
because none of the pests came near to the product. One quality of the product
is that it should be able to reduce the heat coming from variables such as the
sunlight. As the results show from Table 4.1, set up A was able to absorb the
greatest amount of heat comparing it to the other set ups that was tested. Set up
C ranked second, and the results showed that set up B was the mat that
absorbed the least amount of heat. This indicates potential of the samples that
it. From table 5.1, it could be seen that, set up C has the greatest amount of
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strength when exerted by force 28.50 N (newton) per 25mm. Therefore, set up
This showed that set up C is the most reliable fiber mat of the three
samples. Lastly, the flammability test was done to know if the product can resist
intensive amount of heat. The results from the Adamson University Technology
Research Development Center (AUTRDC) shows that the products were fire
sound absorption, computed f-ratio as set by the p-value which is higher than the
thermal conductivity, computed f-ratio as set by the p-value which is higher than
Conclusion
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composed of; 30g coarse grind leaves of cogon grass, 30g of cassava
product to be pest and rodent resistant that would let the product to
last longer.
3. Thermal Conductivity
- The conclusion in this test by the researchers was that the Set up C,
which is mostly made up of coarse grind cogon grass, was the sample
that can mostly absorb heat compared to the other two samples.
4. Tensile Strength
- The researchers concluded that the most durable fiber mat among the
three set ups was set up C, which needed the highest value of force
exerted.
5. Flammability
- In conclusion, boric acid affected the length of time consumed to burn
property. The coarse - grinded cogon grass has the highest potential to
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produce the best quality of cellulose insulation as fiber mat from cogon
Recommendation
were considered:
stems, leaves are hairy, many sharp points on the roots, and the
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Reference
Related Literature
Bynum, R.T. 2006. Insulation Handbook. USA: McGraw Hill Companies, Inc.
https://homebuilding.thefuntimesguide.com/cellulose_fiberglassinsulation/
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from http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5031e/y5031e08.htm
Chiras, D. D. 2002. The Solar House- Passive Eating and Cooling. Canada:
http://www.cchrc.org/sites/default/files/docs/CelluloseSnapshotFinal.pdf
https://bct.eco.umass.edu/publications/articles/cellulose-insulation-a-
smart-choice/
Giannini, A. 2011. The Energy Smart House. USA: The Taunton Press
Oxford.
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http://www.cellulose.org/HomeOwners/DispellingMyths.php
Miller, C. 2006. Building Tips and Techniques. USA: The Taunton Press
https://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/plants/cogongrass.shtml
http://www.energyauditingblog.com/what-is-cellulose-insulation/
http://www.chemengonline.com/solids-drying-basics-and-applications/?
printmode=1
https://books.google.com.ph/books?
id=YWcrAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA297&dq#v=onepage&q&f=false
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http://www.ecia.eu.com/about-ecia/content/who-we-are
http://www.fibermat.us/fibermat-processes/
Wilson, A. 2008. Green Building Products 3rd Edition: The Green Spec Guide to
Related Studies
Palada, M.C., Chang L.C. 2008. Methods in Drying Weeds & Grass. Philippines.
Appendix
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Documentation
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