Reduction of wood thermal conductivity by delignification

Overview & Synopsis

Wood, commonly used in construction, stores carbon dioxide absorbed during its life cycle as carbon in the material. This study aims to use French wood species as a bio-sourced thermal insulation material with a preserved natural hierarchical structure. Chemical delignification methods create nanopores, increasing wood's porosity and further reducing its thermal conductivity. Despite challenges such as drying shrinkage, effective delignification can yield wood with superior insulating properties. Poplar, with its fast growth rate and low density, is particularly promising for large-scale sustainable thermal insulation applications after delignification.