Researchers at the Swedish Royal Institute of Technology have developed a building material from
To create a biocomposite, the researchers removedfrom wood lignin, a complex polymeric compound found in the cells of vascular plants. After this procedure, open pores form in the walls of wood cells, and the material loses its color. The resulting structure was filled with citrus-derived limonene acrylate and coconut-based molecules.
When heated, the limonene acrylate moleculeare converted into a biopolymer that restores the strength of the treated wood and allows light to penetrate. When this happens, the coconut molecules are trapped in the material, allowing energy to be stored and released.
Illustration of the biocomposite production process. Image: Celine Montanari et al., Small
The secret of the material lies in the fact that the molecules,obtained from coconut, pass from a solid state of aggregation to a liquid state and vice versa at a temperature of 24 ° C. The phase transition is accompanied by the absorption or release of heat. Therefore, a coating of such a material accumulates heat at temperatures above the “borderline” and releases it when it gets colder.
The researchers considered that when used inin housing construction, 100 kg of material can save about 2.5 kWh per day in heating or cooling a room to maintain an internal temperature of 24 ° C. The current technology is suitable for indoor use, and the researchers plan to also adapt the material for outdoor use, such as greenhouse cladding.
When the sun shines, the wood becomestransparent and accumulates more energy, and at night it becomes cloudy and releases the heat accumulated during the day. This would help to reduce energy consumption for heating and at the same time ensure accelerated plant growth.
Peter Olsen, study co-author
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