Evaluation of Thermal and Acoustic Properties of Oil Palm Empty Fruit Bunch/Sugarcane Bagasse Fibres Based Hybrid Composites for Wall Buildings Thermal Insulation

In the past decades, insulated material in building had been widely used and presently thermal insulation materials from agricultural biomass seen as an alternative materials to develop environmental comfort inside and outside of the building. The aim of this present study is to evaluate the thermal properties and acoustic behaviour of oil palm empty fruit bunch (OPEFB)/sugarcane bagasse (SCB) fibre reinforced biophenolic resin hybrid composites. Three different formulation ratio 70:30 (7OPEFB:3SCB), 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB) and 30:70 (3OPEFB:7SCB) of hybrid composite were fabricated by using hand lay-up method. The thermal conductivity testing was evaluated by means of a Quickline-TM30 apparatus and the acoustic absorption coefficient were measured by impedance tube. OPEFB:SCB fiber and phenolic resin were fabricated with target density range of 0.5 g/cm3. It’s clear from obtained result that 50:50 (5OPEFB:5SCB) hybrid composites can display better thermal stability with residue 45.04% and low thermal conductivity, 0.0863 W/mK. In acoustic test, this research found hybridization of 70:30 (7OPEFB:3SCB) fibre composite is slightly higher sound absorption coefficient followed by 5OPEFB:5SCB hybrid composite. The effect of different air gaps thickness (0 mm, 10 mm, 20 mm and 30 mm) also investigated. Overall, composites made with equal ratio combination fibre (5OPEFB:5SCB) presented better thermal performance and improve the sound absorption coefficient. In contrast in this research found that natural fibre have a unique properties and hybrid composites of OPEFB:SCB fibre had a huge potential as a eco-friendly thermal insulator and sound absorber in order to enhance a comfort temperature and reduce excessive sound to occupied in commercial wall building.