• Journal of the Korea institute for structural maintenance and inspection
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.203-212
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• 2005

Cellulose insulation is primarily manufactured from recycled newsprint and treated with fire retardants for the fire resistance. Thanks to the fire retardants, it is not combustible and flammable. In addition to that, Its thermal resistance is much better than that of fiberglass or rock wool. It is made from waste paper and easily decayed when it is demolished, and it has small embodied energy. So it is very environment-friendly building material. For broader use of cellulose insulation in buildings in Korea, it is necessary to test its physical performance to compare the results with the requirements on the Korean Building Code. To this end, apparent thermal conductivity (ka) measurements of Korean-made loose-fill cellulose insulations were recently completed using equipment that was built and operated in accordance with ASTM C 518 and the fire resistance was tested in accordance with ASTM C 1485. Korean loose-fill cellulose has thermal conductivity about 5% greater than the corresponding U.S. product at the same density. This is likely due to differences in the recycled material being used. Both spray-applied and loose-fill cellulose insulation lose about 1.5% of their thermal resistivity for $5.5^{\circ}C$ increase in temperature. The fire resistance of cellulose insulation is increased in linear proportion to the increase of the rate of fire retardant. Thanks to the high fire resistance, cellulose insulation can be used as a substitution of Styrofoam or Urethane foam which is combustible. The thermal conductivity of cellulose insulation was $0.037-0.043W/m{\cdot}K$ at the mean specimen temperature from $4-43^{\circ}C$. It corresponds to the thermal resistance of "Na Grade" according to the Korean Building Code. The effect of chemical content on thermal conductivity was negligible for all but the chemical-free specimen which had the highest value for the thermal conductivity over the temperature range tested. The thermal resistance of cellulose insulation is better than that of fiberglass or rock wool, and its fire resistance is higher than that of Styrofoam or Urethane foam. Therefore it can be substituted for those above considering its physical performance. Cellulose insulation is no more expensive than Styrofoam or rock wool, so it is recommended to use it more widely in Korea.

• Korean Architects
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• no.8 s.412
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• pp.57-59
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• 2003

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.49 no.1
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• pp.120-127
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• 2011

For the development of the environment-friendly insulating composite materials, natural cellulose (wood chip and sawdust) was used as a core material and activated Hwangtoh was used as a binder. Various specimens were prepared with the water/binder ratio and natural cellulose/binder ratio. The physical properties of these specimens were then investigated through compressive and flexural strength test, absorption test, hot water resistance test, thermal conductivity, measurement of pore distribution and observation of micro-structures using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Results showed that the absorption ratio increased with the increase of natural cellulose/binder ratio but decreased remarkably with the increase of polymer/binder ratio. The compressive and flexural strength development varied appreciably with the increase of water/binder ratio and natural cellulose/binder ratio. On the other hand, thermal conductivity decreased with the increase of natural cellulose/binder ratio and polymer/binder ratio. Through SEM, it was found that activated Hwangtoh that reacted with water formed a hydrate crystal leading to the compact structure and the total pore volume of the specimen using activated Hwangtoh was smaller than that of the non-activated Hwangtoh.

• Journal of the Korean Solar Energy Society
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.10-16
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• 2008

The fire resistance of thermal insulation and interior finishing materials is recently much emphasized after the fire accident at the Icheon Cold Store in January 2008. Three kinds of thermal insulation are used in buildings. They are Organic, Non-organic and cellulosic insulation. Organic insulation such as polystyrene foam board and urethane foam has high thermal resistance but it has no fire resistance. While non-organic insulation such as rockwool and glassfiber has high fire resistance, it has lower thermal resistance than organic insulation. Cellulose insulation is primarily manufactured from recycled newsprint or cardboard using shredders and fiberizers. Despite of its environmental friendliness and high thermal resistivity, its domestic use has not much increased because of the prejudice that paper can easily burn. However, the cellulose insulation as a product is about 80 wt.% cellulosic fiber and 20 wt.% chemicals, most of which are fire retardants such as boric acid and ammonium sulfate. It is required to secure its fire safety for more consumption as a building insulation in Korea. Therefore, this study investigates the fire resistance of Korean cellulose insulation according to the rate of fire retardant and finally presents the optimum rate of fire retardant in cellulose as building insulation. The fire safety test was conducted according to the ASTM C 1485-00. The test results indicate that above 18 wt% of fire retardant is necessary to secure the fire safety of cellulose insulation.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.501-507
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• 2011

To develop environmental-friendly insulating composite materials, natural cellulose and porous ceramic balls were used as core materials and activated Hwangtoh was used as a binder. Various specimens were prepared with different water/binder ratios and core material/binder ratios. The physical properties of these specimens were then investigated through compressive strengths, flexural strengths, absorption test, hot water resistance test, pore analysis, thermal conductivity, and observation of micro-structures using scanning electron microscope. Results showed that the maximum compressive strength varied appreciably with the water/binder ratios and core material/binder ratios, but the flexural strength increased with the core material/binder ratios regardless of water/binder ratios. The compressive strength and the flexural strength measured after the hot water resistance test decreased remarkably compared to those measured before test. The pore analysis measured after the hot water resistance test showed that total pore volume, porosity and average pore diameter decreased, while bulk density increased by the acceleration of hydration reaction of binder in the hot water. The thermal conductivity decreased gradually with an increase of core material/binder ratios. It can be evaluated that the composite insulation materials having good insulating properties and mechanical strengths can be used in the field.