A research group from Germany discovered that algae have properties that function as temperature insulators for buildings and in collaboration with industrialists from that same country they managed to turn them into a viable material for applications.
In this way science has managed to find two solutions to two different problems; on the one hand in coastal areas stranded algae were a problem and on the other, the energy expenditure in heating work is significant in winter seasons.
Algae are considered an abundant and renewable natural matter, they are a waste that is usually discarded, but recently it has been discovered that they possess a number of interesting characteristics with applicability to the construction industry.
They are practically flame retardant and resistant to mold. According to the expert group, algae can be used as an insulating material without the need to add exogenous chemicals in the spaces between the beams of the ceilings and the interior of the walls and dampen the environmental conditions by absorbing and expelling water vapor without losing its insulating properties.
Likewise, they contain a low percentage of salt (between 0.5 and 2 points), which allows them to be used without having decomposition problems.
Some of the drawbacks found by the group of scientists is the process of conversion of algae, because it is wasteful and not simple, because algae tend to clump together and adhere to each other and to almost any object.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT), in collaboration with other industrial partners, are the initiators of this project.
