Developing eco-friendly construction materials A multidisciplinary group of engineers and researchers have developed eco-friendly polymer composites to be used in the construction of eco-buildings. Climate Change and Environment © Thinkstock Climate change has triggered a worldwide movement by the environmentally conscious towards eco-friendly buildings that use recycled and sustainable materials for their construction and appropriate technologies for their energy needs. In support of this, the EU-funded project ‘Eco-houses based on eco-friendly polymer composite construction materials’ (ECO-PCCM) aimed to develop cost-effective, eco-friendly construction materials made from renewable natural fibre. The general idea was to combine innovative component design with ease of assembly, integrated energy generation systems and waste recycling procedures to create housing systems with a much reduced environmental cost. For this purpose, project partners used annually grown plants such as rice and cotton, wood fibres and renewable polymers suitable for structural applications. The optimised materials had integral thermal and acoustic insulation properties for improvement of energy efficiency in eco-buildings and could be developed into panellised composite structural components that were easily assembled. Additionally, project partners looked into appropriate manufacturing techniques suitable for rapid industrial application, and low-production costs. Finally, methods and guidelines for the easy deconstruction and recycling of these materials were devised. The ECO-PCCM project developed a new class of eco-friendly composite materials with improved engineering properties that can be recycled. The application of this environmentally friendly technology for building construction will have obvious benefits for the environment.
