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Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application in

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 Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

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Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application

in sustainable buildings
Shimol Philip ⇑, R. Rakendu
Department of Civil Engineering, Saintgits College of Engineering, Kottayam 686532, Kerala, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The constant increase in environmental pollution and consumption of energy has prompted the construc-
Received 24 May 2020 tion industry to focus on thermal insulation. Non-renewable resources are commonly used for the pro-
Accepted 12 June 2020 duction of thermal insulation materials. Therefore, a number of issues arise relating to the reuse or
Available online xxxx
recycle of such materials. Also, a huge amount of energy is required for their production. Yet, another
major issue of concern in India is the aquatic weed infestation in water bodies. Invasive weeds such as
Keywords: water hyacinth (WH) are posing severe environmental as well as economic issues. A potential remedy
Water hyacinth
for these waste disposal and high dependence on non-renewable materials are the conversions of these
Thermal insulation
Bulk density
aquatic weeds into sustainable construction material. The primary objective of this paper is to explore the
Thermal conductivity utilization of WH petioles as a raw material resource for the production of thermal insulation material.
Flexural strength The methodology to design the water hyacinth cement composite panel and its properties such as bulk
density, water absorption, thermal conductivity, and flexural strength are included in this paper. The WH
was collected; petioles were separated, sun-dried, milled into smaller particle sizes, and blend with a
homogenous paste of cement and water. The homogenous mixture was poured into a mould and was
compacted to produce the thermal insulation boards. The panel boards were made with water hyacinth
particles that pass through 2.36 mm sieve. Water to water hyacinth ratio (w: WH) and the water
hyacinth-cement ratio (WH: cement) used in the present work are 1.75 and 60: 40 respectively. In this
paper, a comparative study between the thermal insulation materials made from WH with agro-waste
based panel board and conventional thermal insulation materials are also included. This study indicates
that WH biomass resources are a very good candidate for developing thermal insulation material and the
correct combination of WH is absolutely comparable with conventional materials.
Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International
Conference on Nanotechnology: Ideas, Innovation and Industries.

1. Introduction cooling, and ventilation purposes. Nature-based thermal insulation

Unpredictable changes in environment and temperature rise to
prompt the requirement for thermal insulation panel boards for
buildings. Building insulation can reduce the heating expenses in
the winter and cooling costs in the summer [1]. Traditional thermal
insulation materials depend more on conventional energy
resources like petroleum products. But the petroleum product sup-
plies are draining day by day because of this enormous increment
in energy demand from various fields including the construction
industry [2]. Hence it is necessary to reduce this huge energy con-
sumption caused by building constructions, demolitions, heating,
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: shimolphilip16@gmail.com (S. Philip).
materials consume fewer fossil fuels than synthetic materials (e.g.,
polystyrene and mineral wool products) [3]. Moreover, the usage
of synthetic materials cannot be encouraged due to the suspicion
of health risks and increased demand for wood-based products
leads to the depletion of natural resources, deforestation, floods,
soil erosion, etc.
Kerala, God’s own country is blessed with a multitude of natural
and human-made water bodies such as reservoirs, streams, canals,
irrigation channels, paddy fields, ponds, etc. [4]. Now, aquatic
weeds, especially water hyacinth (WH), infest these water bodies.
WH is a perennial aquatic plant belongs to Liliaceae (Lily family)
family and the plant size varies from a few inches to a meter high.
Before each crop season, farmers in Kuttanad have to spend a
considerable amount of money to remove water hyacinth

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.219
2214-7853/Ó 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the International Conference on Nanotechnology: Ideas, Innovation and Industries.

Please cite this article as: S. Philip and R. Rakendu, Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application in sustainable buildings, Materials
Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.219
2 S. Philip, R. Rakendu / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
(Eichhorniacrassips) which is locally known as pola or kulavazha.
Also, farmers find it difficult to transport machinery and harvest
grains in boats through these weed-infested waterways. WH dis-
rupts the penetration of sunlight required for the survival of under-
water fauna and it is considered as a breeding place for
mosquitoes, insects, and many other disease pathogens. In Alap-
puzha, its excessive growth in Vembanad Lake has affected the
movement of passenger boats and houseboats and also causes
damage to the engine of the boat [5]. The fishing sector is another
field that is severely affected by this nuisance weed. Attempts to
remove these weeds from water bodies by various methods,
including physical, mechanical, chemical, and biological, have been
tried so far and most of these methods were not found to be much
effective. In the current situation, immediate efforts are to be made
to monitor the growth of water hyacinth.
The implementation of the concept of ‘‘sustainability” in the
construction sector has gradually led to the production of con-
struction products made of natural or recycled material. To miti-
gate the adverse impact of water hyacinth, the valorization of
water hyacinth petiole (WHP) was studied to develop WHP as a
sustainable building material. The key attribute of WHP is its
Fig. 1. Collection of water hyacinth from Karingaly Lake, Alappuzha, Kerala.
Fig. 2. Pre-treatment of collected water hyacinth.
Please cite this article as: S. Philip and R. Rakendu, Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application in sustainable buildings, Materials
Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.219
exceptionally low density, which is mainly due to its porous inter-
nal structure. The density of WHP is lower than plant fiber from
most of the agro wastes and which improves its thermal insulation
properties. Several research works have studied the utilization of
water hyacinth to analyze their efficiency in the production of sus-
tainable construction materials. Researchers used water hyacinth
in brick manufacturing [6], partial replacement for cement [7], fine
aggregate [8] as well as bio-admixture in concrete [9]. WHP can
also be used for the production of thermal insulation materials
for buildings. Indeed, earlier studies have analyzed the utilization
of WHP composites as thermal insulation material by combining
it with polyester resin [10], natural rubber latex [11], polypropy-
lene composite [12] and cement [13], in the absence of any addi-
tives. Even though the increase in WHP particles enhances the
thermal insulation properties of panel boards, none of the studies
has reported a WH-to-cement ratio of 60:40. Moreover, they uti-
lized a production methodology that obliterated the natural advan-
tages, for example, the thermal insulation potential, of WH.
Consequently, in the current study WH, up to 60% and low com-
paction techniques were utilized.
The current paper focuses on the initiation of water hyacinth
based insulation panels as a novel system for greater energy effi-
ciency in buildings. The panel so developed was evaluated in terms
of its physical, mechanical, and thermal performances. The proper-
ties were measured at the research Labs of Saintgits College of
Engineering, Kottayam. In lieu of the experimental results, a com-
parison of the developed panels with conventional thermal insula-
tion materials and thermal insulation materials based on agro
wastes were also done. The characteristics that were taken into
consideration were not limited to the thermal performance, but
also properties such as density, water performance, and flexural
strength.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Materials
The principal raw material is water hyacinth, as its effective uti-
lization as a thermal insulation panel board was considered in the
present work. The binder identified for compositing with water
 S. Philip, R. Rakendu / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
hyacinth was Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC). OPC was selected
as the binder agent since the previous studies indicated that it
has a superior binding property [14].
2.1.1. Sample collection and pretreatment
The water hyacinth, which is available in plenty on the majority
of water bodies in Kerala, was manually collected from Karingaly
Lake at Alappuzha, Kerala (Fig. 1). Ordinary Portland cement was
collected from the nearby cement manufacturing industry.
The pretreatment activities (Fig. 2) carried out in this work
were: chopping, drying, powering, and storing. Dried water hya-
cinth was used in the present work [14]. Petioles were separated
from their roots and washed to remove undesirable materials on
the surface. Afterwards, they were dried by sun radiation for
15 days to achieve a constant weight [14]. Dried water hyacinth
was milled into a smaller size and stored in plastic containers.
Water hyacinth particles that pass through a 2.36 mm sieve were
selected for the preparation of the thermal insulation panel board.
2.1.2. Compaction setup development
To carry out the thermal insulation panel board production for
the experimentation, a rectangular mould of dimensions
30 cm
25.5 cm
12.5 cm and compaction setup with weight
Fig. 3. Mould with compaction setup.
Fig. 4. Detailed block diagram illustrating methodology and experimental design.
Please cite this article as: S. Philip and R. Rakendu, Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application in sustainable buildings, Materials
Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.219
3
23.5 kg for compacting the samples was fabricated as shown in
Fig. 3.
2.1.3. Laboratory testing of OPC
Normal consistency, initial setting time, fineness and the speci-
fic gravity of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC), collected from a
nearby source, were carried out. Consistency and initial setting
time were done on 250g of OPC by using the Vicat apparatus. Ini-
tially, 28% of water was added and increased by 2% for the next
trial. A 90 mm sieve was used for testing the fineness of 100g of
cement and retained weight of cement on the sieve was taken
for further calculation. The specific gravity of the cement was
tested by using a specific gravity bottle and kerosene.
2.1.4. Thermal insulation panel board production
Water hyacinth-cement composite panel boards with a com-
paction pressure of 0.04 MPa was developed for the study. The
methodology adopted for the manufacturing process of water
hyacinth-cement panels is illustrated in Fig. 4. Water hyacinth par-
ticle that passes through 2.36 mm sieve was used to make the
panel. First water and cement were mixed (w: C ratio is 60:40)
thoroughly for 180 s to make a homogeneous paste. Afterwards,
WH particles (w: WH = 1.75) were added to this homogeneous
paste and blended using a mason trowel for 5 min. Then the mix-
ture was poured into the mould and was covered with a low-
density polyethylene sheet to avoid water loss. A compaction pres-
sure of 0.04 MPa was applied for 24 Hrs to compress the board.
Then the samples were stored at 21 °C for 7 days to enable hydra-
tion reactions [15,16]. After 7 days of curing time, the low-density
polyethylene sheet was removed and kept the samples under lab-
oratory conditions at 21 °C for up to 28 days of curing time. Tests
were conducted to determine flexural strength, water perfor-
mance, bulk density, and thermal conductivity of the developed
panel boards. Fig. 4 illustrates the detailed methodology adopted
in this study.
2.2. Experimental methods
In order to analyze the different properties of water hyacinth-
cement panels, the following tests were conducted
4 S. Philip, R. Rakendu / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

2.2.1. Bulk density Q k1 AðT1  T2 Þ k2 AðT2  T3 Þ

The bulk density is an important parameter for predicting the
thermal performance of insulation materials. Bulk density was cal-
culated based on the relationship between the mass and volume of
boards in accordance with European Standard 1602[17]. Test to
determine bulk density was conducted after 28-days of curing time
under laboratory conditions of 21 °C and 50% relative humidity. An
electronic balance with 0.01 g accuracy and a digital micrometer
was used. Tests were conducted on 6 samples and the results were
calculated as the average of these measurements.
2.2.2. Water absorption
The water absorption coefficient by total immersion (WA) was
determined in accordance with the European Standard 12087
[18]. The sample boards were immersed into the water and a small
weight was placed on the top of the board to prevent the board
from floating. The water was removed after 24 Hrs and the samples
were placed on a slanted plane (450) for 10 min, and then the
weight of samples was measured using an electronic balance
(Msat). The samples were then placed in an electric oven at
103 °C until the mass of the sample was steady, and the dry weight
(Md) was measured.
Msat  Md
WAð%Þ ¼
100
Md
2.2.3. Thermal conductivity
The thermal conductivity of the samples was calculated using a
thermal conductivity measurement apparatus (Fig. 5), which is
available in the thermal engineering laboratory, Department of
mechanical engineering, Saintgits College of Engineering, Kot-
tayam. Kerala, India. The test consists of a direct examination with
a known thermal conductivity insulating material. Standard
expanded polystyrene board (EPS) was used as the reference insu-
lating material to compare the thermal conductivity values of sam-
ples. Fig. 5 shows the schematic diagram of the thermal
conductivity measurement apparatus. The apparatus consists of
an electric heat source, guard plates, and thermocouples kept in
an insulating enclosure. The sample was kept between two EPS
boards and thermocouples were provided at each surface of the
board to measure the surface temperature. The heat is allowed to
pass in a direction perpendicular to the compaction. The thermo-
couple readings should be taken under steady-state conditions.
Based on Fourier’s law of heat conduction, thermal conductivity
can be calculated using
¼ ¼ ð2Þ
t x1 x2
Therefore;
x2 k1 AðT1  T2 Þ
k2 ¼
x1 AðT2  T3 Þ
where x1 and x2 are the thickness (m) of the reference board and
test specimen respectively; k1 is the known thermal conductivity
of the reference insulating material (EPS); k2 is the thermal conduc-
tivity of the test specimen; A is the area of the test specimen normal
to the direction of heat flow and T1, T2, T3 and T4 are the surface
temperatures (K) measured by the thermocouples. The results were
taken as the average of three measurement values.
2.2.4. Flexural strength
According to European Standard 12,089 [14], a three-point
bending strength test was carried out on the samples at 28th
day. A steady displacement rate of 10 mm/min and span of
100 mm were used. The load cell used was 5 kN and the displace-
ment was limited to 14.6 mm because this is the maximum value
that can be recorded. Flexural strength value can be determined
using the following equation.
ð1Þ
3FL
FlexuralstressðN=mm2 Þ ¼ 2
ð3Þ
2bd
where F is the load (N), L is the span (mm), b the width of the test
piece (mm), and d is the thickness of the test piece (mm).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Properties of ordinary Portland cement
Fineness, normal consistency, specific gravity and the initial set-
ting time of the Ordinary Portland cement used for compositing
with water hyacinth was determined. The tests results (Table 1)
satisfied the IS code requirements on various cement properties.
3.2. Properties of thermal insulation panel board
The results of experiments performed to determine bulk den-
sity, water absorption, thermal conductivity, and flexural strength
are presented in this section. The resulting measurements of phys-
ical, mechanical and thermal properties of test specimen sets are
presented in Table 2.

3.2.1. Bulk density

The bulk densities of six samples prepared with water hyacinth
were calculated based on the relationship between mass and vol-
ume as described in section 2.21. The average value of the bulk
density of the individual test specimen was obtained as 470 kg/m3.
Similar bulk density values were achieved in the case of med-
ium density insulation materials made from bagasse (300 kg/m3)

Table 1
Test results on ordinary Portland cement.

SI Test conducted Experimented Suggested Values as per IS

No. results Specification
1 Fineness of 2% Should not be more than 10%
cement
2 Normal 34% Should not be greater than 36%
consistency
3 Specific gravity 3.12 3.1–3.6 g/cc
4 Initial setting 40 min Not less than 30 min
Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of apparatus used to determinate thermal conductivity time
of samples.

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 S. Philip, R. Rakendu / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx 5

Table 2
Property values of WH boards, others bio-insulation materials and commercial insulation materials.

Source material Type of binder Bulk density (Kg/ Thermal Conductivity Water absorption MOR Ref.
m3) (W/mK) (%) (MPa)
Water Hyacinth Cement 470 0.0765 98.01 0.35 Present
work
Bagasse No Binder 300 0.052 – 0.43 [19]
Coconut husk No Binder 300 0.057 – 0.40 [19]
Date palm EPS Wastes 683 0.135 – 0.88 [20]
Corn stalks Epoxy/Cement 280 0.075 28.12 0.13 [21]
Corn stalks Gypsum/Cement 540 0.11 21.15 0.11 [21]
Cotton stalk No Binder 300 0.07 – 0.5 [22]
Coconut fiber Ordinary Portland Cement 1955 – 2.33 15.23 [23]
Rice husk Biodegradable poly PBAT/PLA blend binder 378 0.08 43 1.2 [24]
Wheat husk Biodegradable poly PBAT/PLA blend binder 448 0.1 55.5 0.76 [24]
Rice straw Methylene diphenyl di-isocyanate(MDI) resin 250 0.0517 – 0.56 [25]
(100% solid)
Rye straw Casein adhesive 83.125 0.0486 – 1.00 [26]
Sunflowerstalk Gypsum 720 0.1642 71 0.075 [27]
Coconut and Cement 611 0.1083 – – [28]
durian
Bamboo powder No binder 628 0.1010 – 2.27 [29]
MDF – 1045 0.19 – 1.35–2.5 [20]
Plywood – 490 0.083 – – [20]
Particleboard – 690 0.097 – – [20]
Hardboard – 890 0.126 – – [20]

[19], corn stalk (540 kg/m3) [21], cotton stalk (300 kg/m3) [22],
coconut husk (300 kg/m3) [23], rice husk (378 kg/m3) [25] and
wheat husk (448 kg/m3 [25]. Also insulation materials made from
WH shows very low density when comparing with that of bio-
based materials such as date palm (683 kg/m3) [20], coconut fiber
(1955 kg/m3) [23], sunflower stalk (720 kg/m3) [27], coconut and
durian (611 kg/m3) [28] and bamboo powder (628 kg/m3) [29]. In
the case of commercial insulation materials, WH panels were sim-
ilar in bulk density value to panels made from plywood (490 kg/
m3) [20]. However, WH based thermal insulation materials are less
dense than commercially available materials such as MDF
(1045 kg/m3) [20], particle board (690 kg/m3) [20] and hard board
(890 kg/m3).
3.2.2. Water absorption (WA)
According to the literature, WA of natural fiber composite relies
upon fiber size and surface area, fiber chemical compositions (e.g.
Cellulose and hemicelluloses content), the intra and inter porosity
and density of the composites. In this study, the experimental sam-
ples showed WA of 98.01% after 24 Hrs of immersion in water. It is
relatively higher than that of other bio-based insulation materials.
It is specifically attributed because of the hygroscopic nature of
water hyacinth. The WH is an aquatic floating weed with plenty
of air-filled voids and pores [30]. It is composed mainly of cellulose
and hemicelluloses, which are hydrophilic molecules. As a result,
WH has a high potential to trap water within its internal structure.
The high WA of WH-cement composite panel boards can be
explained by the fact that the panels absorb water through the
chemical hydration of cellulose and hemicelluloses [31].
The high WA nature of the composite is inconvenient because it
leads to high shrinkage and swelling after long time exposure to
water. Such phenomena are known to cause damages which can
impact the durability of construction materials. From the literature
it has been reported that bio insulation materials are generally,
hygroscopic materials with high WA values (Table 2). This is due
to the low-density and the hygroscopic nature of the plant fibers.
Hygroscopic substances contribute to a healthy indoor environ-
ment by controlling the humidity in buildings. Dimensional varia-
tion of these materials, however, can trigger problems that are
incompatible with other building components.
3.2.3. Thermal conductivity
Thermal conductivity (k) is defined as the amount of steady-
state heat flux (W) that passes through a unit thickness homoge-
neous material having unit area (area normal to the direction of
heat flex) induced by a unit (1 K) temperature difference across
the sample. The thermal conductivity of a material is a measure
of its effectiveness to conduct heat. The low value of thermal con-
ductivity indicates a high thermal insulating property of the mate-
rial. Therefore, knowledge of thermal conductivity values allows a
quantitative comparison between the effectiveness of different
thermal insulation materials.
The thermal conductivity of the sample is obtained as
0.0765 W/mK. Table 2 compares the thermal conductivity of the
WH based thermal insulation materials with other bio insulating
materials and commercial thermal insulation materials. From
Table 2, It is evident that the thermal conductivity of WH cement
composite is in the same range of bagasse (0.052 W/mK) [19],
coconut husk (0.057 W/mK) [19], corn stalk (0.075 W/mK) [21],
cotton stalk (0.07 W/mK) [22], rice husk (0.08 W/mK) [24], rice
straw (0.0517 W/mK) [25], and rye straw (0.0486 W/mK) [26]. Also
WH based thermal insulation materials have more insulating
capacity than bio-based materials such as date palm (0.135 W/
mK) [20], corn stalk (0.11 W/mK) [21], wheat husk (0.1 W/mK)
[24], sunflower stalk (0.1642 W/mK) [27], coconut and durian
(0.1083 W/mK) [28] and bamboo powder (0.1010 W/mK) [29]. It
is observed that commercially available thermal insulation materi-
als such as plywood (0.083 W/mK) [20] and particle board
(0.097 W/mK) [20] shows somewhat similar value of thermal con-
ductivity with that of WH based materials. However, MDF (0.19 W/
mK) [20] and hard board (0.126 W/mK) [20] have higher thermal
conductivity and hence lower insulating characteristics than WH
based materials. Materials with thermal conductivity below
0.1 W /m K are generally found to be thermal insulations [22].
Therefore, it can be concluded that WH cement composites can
be used as an excellent thermal insulating material for building
construction.
3.2.4. Flexural strength
As a result of the flexural strength test, the flexural stress value
of the test specimen was obtained as 0.35 MPa. As per JIS A 5905–
2003, the minimum requirement of Modulus of rupture (MOR) for

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6 S. Philip, R. Rakendu / Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
insulation fiber board is about 1 MPa and the test results didn’t sat-
isfy the standard requirement. The developed panel boards exhib-
ited poor mechanical performance due to high WH content and
low compaction pressure used during the compaction process. In
addition, the compaction pressure has a significant influence on
the mechanical properties of the panel boards. However, a high
compaction load has an adverse effect on the thermal properties
as it destroys the naturally porous structure of WH fibers.
The WH panel boards had poor mechanical properties when
compared to other insulation boards with comparable bulk den-
sity. In this study a higher amount of WH (60%) was incorporated
to boost the thermal properties of the panel boards. However the
developed panel board had better MOR than panel board based
on corn stalk using epoxy/ cement as binder (0.13 MPa) [21], corn
stalk using gypsum/ cement as binder (0.13 MPa) [21] and sun-
flower stalk (0.075 MPa) [27]. Also, the MOR value WH-cement
panel board is in the same range of bagasse (0.43 MPa) [19] and
coconut husk (0.40 MPa) [19].
4. Conclusion
Current thermal insulation materials utilized in the building
sector are commonly inorganic based materials, for example,
expanded polystyrene, extruded polystyrene and polyurethane
form. Even though these materials have high performance con-
cerning the protection from conduction heat transfer, their envi-
ronmental effects during the structure life cycle period, and
particularly in the manufacturing process, are commonly high.
Consequently, the utilization of bio-based materials rather than
inorganic based materials has become a significant role as far as
decreasing environmental impacts and improving building entire
life cycle performance especially in terms of reducing embodied
energy.
Water hyacinth is an invasive aquatic weed with substantial
and fast growth. The tremendous quantity of WH biomass pro-
duced is a challenge in waste management for the aquatic bodies
of Kerala. A novel thermal insulation material made primarily of
water hyacinth mixed with cement was evaluated in terms of its
availability as a thermal insulation board. Physical and mechanical
tests were conducted to characterize the panels. As per the results,
it can be summarized that:
 The results of the density measurements showed that the devel-
oped WH-cement composite thermal insulation panel boards
have a slightly lower density than wood, indicating the possibil-
ity of using it as a substitute material, especially for less
forested countries. It is also less dense compared to commer-
cially available materials such as MDF, particleboard, plywood,
and hardboard.
 The results of the flexural strength test measurements showed
that the flexural strength of the WH- cement composite panel
board is lower than MDF and some bio-based composites
obtained from the literature.
 The thermal conductivity measurements of the WH- cement
composite panel board showed a value lower than that of con-
ventional woods and other conventional materials such as MDF,
particleboard, plywood, and hardboard.
 The experimental results for the water absorption of the panel
board showed a relatively high value when compared to con-
ventional materials and other bio-based materials. This is due
to the hygroscopic capacity of the aquatic weed WH.
To summarize, it can be asserted that WH–cement boards can
be substituted for conventional thermal insulation materials. In
places where WH is a persistent issue, this material intensifies
Please cite this article as: S. Philip and R. Rakendu, Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application in sustainable buildings, Materials
Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.219
the energy efficiency of the building. By utilizing WH as thermal
insulation material, the sustainability in construction industries
can be enhanced, and at the same time, it can eliminate the prob-
lems caused by WH in the water bodies of Kerala
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.
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Please cite this article as: S. Philip and R. Rakendu, Thermal insulation materials based on water hyacinth for application in sustainable buildings, Materials
Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2020.06.219
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