Water Hyacinth Thermal Insulation 1

A Qualitative Study On Utilizing Water Hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes) As An Alternative

Material For Making Thermal Insulation

Joshua S. Barquez

Steve G. Espiritu

Micoh Angelo S. Se

John Lawrence S. Seda

STEM - 1

Mrs. Maria Carmela G. Geromo

Research Teacher

Polangui General Comprehensive High School

February, 2019
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Chapter I : Background Of the Study

Introduction

On 2007, statistics concluded that the warming of the climate system is unequivocal, due

to the observed increase in greenhouse gas concentrations from human activities. The increase of

0.74°C in the global mean temperature is causing global concern, affecting poor developing

countries like the Philippines (IPCC-AR4,2007). According to the research conducted by the

Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global temperatures are expected to rise by

7 degrees Celsius by 2100 because of the contuining high emissions of carbon dioxide from

industrial factories. In which it will also affect climate change.

Invading local waters around the world is the Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). It

reproduces sexually by seeds or vegetatively by budding or stolen productions, causing rapid

reproduction of the invasive aquatic plant. It forms a thick and dense mat above the water

surface, often covering the whole body of water. It blocks sunlight and causes oxygen depletion

in the water.

According to Ron Kurtus (2014), thermal insulation is the method of inhibiting the

transfer of thermal energy from one area to another. In other words, thermal insulation can keep

an enclosed area such as a building warm, or it can keep the inside of a container cold. Heat is

transferred by from one material to another by conduction, convection and/or radiation.

Insulators are used to minimize that transfer of heat energy. It is mostly used on buildings or

houses to reduce temperatures inside.

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a perennial aquatic plant native to South

America. It is a very popular ornamental plant on ponds. However, the water hyacinth has also
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been labelled as the world’s worst water weed and has garnered increasing international attention

as an invasive species (Zhang et al., 2010)

In the U.S., it is projected a fivefold rise in heat death expected by 2080. Higher rise is

expected in poor developing countries like the Philippines (Coelho et al.,2018). According to

Global Climate Risk Index 2018, Philippines was on the top 5 most affected countries by climate

change in the period 1998-2017; increasing the cases of heat strokes, and allergy and asthma

attacks.

The objective of this study is to determine the effectiveness of water hyacinth as heat

insulation board, specifically, to test the effectiveness of this product in reducing heat

temperature.

This study aims to reduce the large amount of water hyacinth in lake, ponds, and other

waterways through making the fibers of water hyacinth into heat insulation board.

Statement Of The Problem

The general objective of this experimental study is to test the appropriateness of water

hyacinth stems as alternative material for making thermal insulation boards. At this stage in the

research, the water hyacinth stem will be generally defined as an effective alternative material

for making thermal insulation boards.

The aim of this study is to test the suitability of water hyacinth stems as an alternative

material for making thermal insulation boards. Specifically, this study seeks to answer the

following questions:
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How effective will the utilization of water hyacinth stem be as an alternative material for making

thermal insulation board in terms of:

1. Compressive strength

2. Flammability

3. Vapor-permeability

4. Thermal conductivity

How suitable will the water hyacinth thermal insulation be when compared to a standard foam

insulation in terms of:

1. Compressive strength

2. Flammability

3. Vapor-permeability

4. Thermal conductivity

Assumptions Of The Study

During the conduct of the study, the researchers assume that:

1. There is an abundant supply of water hyacinths.

2. The stems will undergo mechanical processes (trimming, drying) before utilizing it as an

alternative material.

3. The researchers will consider the water hyacinth stems as the only material in making the

insulation board excluding the casein adhesive.

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Significance Of The Study

The findings of this research will contribute to the community by reducing the population
of the water hyacinth in its respective waterways. By lessening the population of the water
hyacinth, we also reduce its negative impacts to the environment.

The result of the study would be beneficial especially to the following groups of

individuals or people:

To the homebuilders. The overall cost of building homes can be significantly reduced by

utilizing the water hyacinth insulation boards instead of the expensive, standard insulation boards

To the homeowners. Well-insulated rooms do not need the installation of additional air

climate control, cooling or heating, saving the owners extra costs and energy.

To the Filipino households. This study can provide them extra income by utilizing the

abundant supply of water hyacinth on waterways before it clogs the said waterways.

To the community. Prolonged or intense exposure to hot temperatures can cause heat-

related illnesses such as heat exhaustion, heat cramps, and heat stroke. With proper heat

insulation, we can effectively avoid these illnesses.

To the research community. The outcome of the study is beneficial to either the present

researchers or the future researchers. This study may be one of the basis that a new theory

inlearning will arise.

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Definition Of Terms

Water hyacinth - a free-floating perennial aquatic plant (or hydrophyte) native to tropical and

sub-tropical South America and a highly problematic invasive species outside its native range.

Thermal Insulation - the reduction of heat transfer between objects in thermal contact or in

range of radiative influence.

Compressive Strength - the resistance of a material to breaking under compression.

Flammability - the ability of a substance to burn or ignite, causing fire or combustion.

Vapor-permeability - describes a materials ability to allow water vapor to pass through it.

Thermal conductivity - refers to the amount of heat transmitted through a material.

Buri - is a type of fan palm and will only flower during the end of its matured life.

Abaca - is a species of banana native to the Philippines, grown as a commercial crop in the

Philippines, Ecuador, and Costa Rica.

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Chapter II : Research Framework

Relevant Theories

There are many types of thermal insulation materials for buildings, classified into three

categories (Mohammad, 2005). (1) inorganic materials such as fibrous (glass, rock, and slag

wool) and cellular (calcium, silicate, bonded perlite, vermiculite, and ceramic products); (2)

organic materials such as fibrous (cellulose, cotton, wood, pulp, cane, or synthetic fibers) and

cellular (cork, foamed rubber, polystyrene, polyurethane, polyisocyanurate, and other polymers);

(3) metallic or metalized reflective membranes. Among them, as environment-friendly and

renewable materials, natural materials have numerous advantages over other materials and thus

the most promising for building. Cellulose was given the most attention when considering

mechanical properties of elements commonly used in thermal insulation making.

Water hyacinth with scientific name Eichornia crassipes, has high lingo cellulosic fibers

(Methacanon et al., 2010) as shown in Table 1, consisting of three main constituents which are

cellulose, hemicelluloses, and lignin. Cellulose is the main structural component that provides

strength and stability to the plants’ cell walls. The amount of cellulose in fiber influences the

properties and determines the utility of the fiber for various applications. Hemicelluloses are

mainly responsible for moisture adsorption and biodegradation. Lignin acts as glue between

individual cells. The lignin content of the fibers influences the structure, properties, morphology,

flexibility, and rate of hydrolysis. This study would like to utilize the presence of cellulose fibers

in water hyacinth stems making it a valid substitute in thermal insulation making.

Composition Wt% on dry basis

Cellulose 52.20
Hemicellulose 16.78
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Lignin 9.42
Ash 12.14
Moisture 9.46

Review of Related Literature

According to Kiln Y., in their study entitled Ceramic Fiber board that the Ceramic

Fiber is manufactured and designed for the thermal applications requesting high demands on

rigidity, the thermal insulation properties and abrasion resistance of ceramic fiber board have

been further improved due to the higher density. Ceramic fiber board is a vacuum formed

product that resists higher gas velocities than ceramic fiber blanket. It is ideal for furnace, boiler

duct and stack lining thanks to its thermal conductivity and low heat storage, which makes the

shorter cycle times and quicker access for maintenance in the industrial furnaces possible.

Supreya Kumfu studies on the production and thermal property of thermal insulation

produced from water hyacinth fiber using natural rubber latex as a binder. Thermal insulation

boards, these were made by spray the pretreated natural rubber latex onto fiber to form a squared

thermal insulation with the size of 20 and 1.5 cm thickness. Thermal conductivity measured in

accordance with the American Society for Testing Materials standard. Test results showed that

the thermal insulation produced from water hyacinth fiber exhibited a considerably good thermal

insulation. The thermal conductivity of the thermal insulation was 0.029 W m-1 K-1 with density

of 258 kg m-3 which closed to the commercial insulator.

According to Dr. Sangeetha (2017), the properties of Water hyacinth fabric mainly depend

on the characteristics of the fiber and the method of manufacturing. Since Water hyacinth is a

hollow fiber the influence of its properties over the nonwoven fabric is analyzed by mixing with
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other stalk fiber called Sansevieria stuckyi fibers at different ratios varying from 25 % to 75 %.

The processing of 100% Water hyacinth fiber is not practically possible due to less cohesiveness,

breaking of fibers and falling of web during formation in carding and hence it is blended with

other fibers. The Water hyacinth fibers are blended with Sansevieria stuckyi fibers, an emerging

fiber with good physical properties in acceptable rate and to analyze the same by changing its

ratios within the sample. The Water hyacinth fibers were extracted from the matured stalks of

Water hyacinth plant which produces good number of fibers than the younger ones. The fibers

were extracted from the dried stalks of Water hyacinth plants us by scrapping the stalks using

needles.

Review of Related Studies

From the study conducted by Rahmawati et al. (2018) titled “Development of

Biodegradable Board using Water hyacinth(Eichornia crassipes)”, cellulose fibers of the water

hyacinth plant were used to create a bio-board. In this study, the mechanical properties of the

bio-board such as its density, average bending rupture stress, and tensile rupture stress.

In the study of Tumova et al. (2017) entitled “Development of organic and biodegradable

insulating material for ETICS”, it showed the best amount of adhesive binder and treatment of

the straws in creating a thermal insulation.

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Paradigm of the Study

Figure 1. Paradigm of the Study

INPUT
INPUT PROCESS
PROCESS OUTPUT
OUTPUT

 Construction  Analyzation
of the heat of gathered
 Collection
insulation data
and
preparation board
 Conclusion
of materials
 Gathering of Results
 Experimental
Set-up and recording
of Data
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Chapter III : Research Methodology

Research design

This study will use the two-group experimental design of research as the researchers will

utilize one experimental group and one control group. This experimental group will be the water

hyacinth insulation board and the control group will be the standard foam insulation board.

Specifically, the two-group experimental design will be used to compare the heat

insulation properties of the water hyacinth insulation board to the standard-market heat insulation

boards.

Water Hyacinth Heat Insulation Board Standard Heat Insulation Board

Compressive Strength Compressive Strength

Flammability VS Flammability

Vapor-permeability Vapor-permeability

Thermal Conductivity Thermal Conductivity

Materials and equipment

Table 1: List of materials and equipment needed for making insulation board

Materials Equipment
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Water Blender

hyacinth

fibers

Casein Compressor

adhesive

Dryer

Container

Procedure

Collection and Preparation of Materials. Water hyacinth plants will be harvested from

invested waterways. The stems of the water hyacinth plant will be then separated from the

leaves. It will be left to dry in the sun for at least 24 hours or until full dried.
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Processing of Thermal Insulation. The dried water hyacinth stems will be then

gathered and shredded into smaller pieces. The shredded water hyacinth will be mixed with

casein adhesive in a molder. It is then put into a compressor. After compressing, it will be left for

12 hours or more to dry up.

Procedural flowchart

A. Extraction of fiber from water hyacinth stem

Collection of water hyacinth

Cleaning and storage of water hyacinth stem

Drying

Fiber extraction

Chemical treatment
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Drying

Chemical absorbency

B. Procedure in making thermal insulator

Collection and preparation of materials

Experimental set-up

Construction of the heat insulation board

Gathering and recording of data

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Analyzation of gathered data

Conclusion of results