Grantee Research Project Results
2020 Progress Report: Husk-to-Home: A Sustainable Building Material for the Philippines
EPA Grant Number: SV836952Title: Husk-to-Home: A Sustainable Building Material for the Philippines
Investigators: Tam, Kawai , Rust, Michael , Mathaudhu, Suveen
Current Investigators: Tam, Kawai , Rust, Michael , Siahon, Jannette , Truong, Katherine , Sakaguchi, Keila , Martinez, Dianna-Kristina , Fischer, Isabelle , Sharma, Aneesh , Lamas, Jacqueline
Institution: University of California - Riverside
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: II
Project Period: February 1, 2017 through January 31, 2019 (Extended to January 31, 2023)
Project Period Covered by this Report: February 1, 2020 through January 31,2021
Project Amount: $74,838
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet - Phase 2 (2016) Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , Sustainable and Healthy Communities , P3 Challenge Area - Sustainable and Healthy Communities
Objective:
Husk-to-Home's goal of creating an environmentally friendly material for house siding remains unchanged. The COVID-19 pandemic has limited the team’s lab accessibility to only one member to carry out board synthesis and experimentation. Thus, the focus of research has shifted to board expansion, characterization, and ultimately large-scale manufacture in the U.S.
Progress Summary:
Due to campus regulations in response to COVID-19, access to campus labs and facilities was restricted, and only Husk-to-Home’s one graduate student member was able to continue experimentation. The remaining members of the team focused on identifying and contacting companies for large-scale manufacture and characterization, designing molds, creating standard operating procedures (SOP) for material testing, and planning for future projects.
During this project period, the team performed research on the recyclability of the Husk-to-Home (H2H) board material. The focus is to find the optimum ratio of recycled H2H board material to new board material that would result in the smallest decrease in mechanical strength in reference to a board that is made of completely new material. The team found and purchased a more powerful grinder to aid in the processing of the recycled material.
Various ideas of scaling up the H2H board have been explored. The current available hot press is limited to making 9” × 9” boards. Outsourcing to companies has been difficult due to the research-nature of the requests to put the H2H powder material into the companies’ larger presses or extrusion machines. The best progress lies in the experimentation with a jigsaw puzzle shaped mold for the H2H boards to be created and mended together. Expanding upon the idea from the year prior, which only contained the interlocking shape on two ends, a new mold was designed with the interlocking shape on all four sides to allow expansion in all directions. The mold has been machined and is ready for experimentation. In addition, preliminary results from hot pressing H2H material with less rigid framing has implied that a clean expansion of the board is possible when using an industrial-sized hot press.
UV testing was outsourced to a certified lab due to the difficulty in obtaining equipment required for protocols in ASTM G154. The testing will evaluate the board’s ability to withstand UV exposure. A visual analysis, adhesion test results, and digital imaging will be provided by the lab.
Susceptibility and effect of mold growth on the board was also performed. Husk-to-Home developed a standard operating procedure (SOP) for growing mold. A MATLAB program was used to quantify the mold coverage area. One set of boards was moistened and exposed to mold while another set was left dry with no mold exposure. The moistened and inoculated H2H board saw notable mold coverage compared to the moistened and inoculated cedar board. The dry H2H control boards saw no mold growth, while small amounts of mold were seen growing on all dry control cedar boards. Strength tests and other evaluations are currently being conducted on these boards. Varnished or coated H2H boards will also be tested for mold growth.
The H2H board is also being evaluated for effects due to thermal oxidation. The test would examine the effects of prolonged heat exposure on the H2H board, which is significant with the intention of making house siding. Once the exposure time has elapsed, an Instron machine will be used to test the board’s material strength to assess if the prolonged heat alters any of the board’s strength qualities.
Future Activities:
Husk-to-Home’s shift to characterization of the board includes fire testing outsourced to a certified fire-testing company. Fire testing requires larger board samples, hence the focus on the scaling up of the board. With the limited size of the currently available hot press, the team will optimize and implement the interlocking method to increase the size of the boards. Thermal oxidation and UV testing will be completed in the coming months. Additionally, testing will be performed to search for the optimum ratio of recycled H2H material to fresh material that will provide the smallest reduction in material strength. By confirming the validity of the board in these aspects, the team will have a solid example of the potential of reusing plant waste material, thereby striving for the ultimate goal of environmental conservation by combatting resource waste.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
sustainable materials, recyclable materials,Relevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractP3 Phase I:
Rice Husk: A Sustainable Building Material for the Philippines | Final ReportThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
Project Research Results
- Final Report
- 2021 Progress Report
- 2019 Progress Report
- 2018 Progress Report
- 2017 Progress Report
- Original Abstract
- P3 Phase I | Final Report