Material Study

PAPER AND
VEGETATION

19BAR058 – PRACHI JAIN

19BAR047 – VINESH AHIR

 September 06, 2021

Sub - Topics
1. Introduction

2. Case Study
3. Types/Sub-categories
4. Manufacturing Process
5. Properties

1
Introduction

PAPER
• Papercrete is a construction material made from re-pulped
paper fibers mixed with Portland cement, clay, and/or other
soil. It was first patented in 1928 and resurrected in the
1980s.
• Paper may be obtained from a multitude of sources,
including newspapers, junk mail, magazines, and books. The
mixture is pulped in a mixer. The paper may need to be
soaked in water first, depending on the type of mixer.
• The name "papercrete" comes from the fact that most
formulae combine water, cement, and cellulose fiber.
Recycled newspaper, lottery tickets, and phone books are
common sources of fiber. The mixture resembles oatmeal in
look and texture, and it is poured into molds and cured in
the sun, much like adobe.
• Walls made of papercrete are generally 250–300 mm (10–12
in) thick. Papercrete blocks, unlike concrete or adobe, are
lightweight, weighing less than a third of the weight of a
comparable-sized adobe brick. Papercrete is mold resistant
and may be used as a sound barrier.

2
PAPERCRETE

Papercrete is a new building material made from re-pulped

paper fiber mixed with cement or clay. It's an experimental
substance that replaces a portion of the cement in a typical
concrete mix with paper. Because of the significant recycled
component, it is regarded as an environmentally beneficial
material. For the experiment, four different types of mixtures
were created.
The following are the percentages for mixing proportions by
volume:

• 50 percent damp paper pulp, 30 percent moist earth,

10% dry sand, and 10% Portland cement
• 2) 60 percent wet paper pulp, 20 percent moist earth,
15% dry sand, and 15% Portland cement
• 3) Wet paper pulp (65%), damp earth (25%), and
Portland cement ( 10%).

3
PROPERTIES-

• Compressive Capacity-
• After 3 days of cube production, compressive strength tests
on 15 cm x 15 cm x 15 cm papercrete cubes indicated an
average compressive strength of 0.57 N/mm2. Similar
findings have been seen in other studies. Higher-grade
cement can be utilized for added strength.
• Density and Weight-
• The density of the material rose as the proportion of cement
in the mixture increased, whereas it decreased as the
amount of paper in the mixture increased. The average
weight of 8 cubes cast was 3.624 kg, implying a block
density of 1.07 gm/cc. In compared to typical concrete or
brick masonry units, this is consequently light.
• Shrinkage-
• In each block, shrinkage was measured to be between 8
and 9 percent.
• Absorption of water-
• In all situations, the blocks absorbed roughly 30% of the
water.

4
CASE STUDY-A RETAIL SHOP OF WALLPAPER

NAME: WALL PLANET

• What are the types of wallpaper available in the

market?
o 1:Paper. For paper-based wallpapers, a decorative design is printed over
a paper base.
o 2: Paper-backed vinyl.
o 3: Non-Woven.
o 4: Solid Vinyl.
o 5: PVC or coated vinyl.
o 6: Fabric.
• What paper is used for wallpaper?
A woven backing is more fabric-based, while non-woven is pure paper.
Typically, a non-woven backing is made using a variety of wood products.

5
 This can be wood pulp, ground wood, or a combination of pulp with
another material.

• What is the price ranging of wallpapers?

The price varies starting from Rs.2000 per role with fitting and also
depends on the square feet area and the highest can go to even lakhs as
per the customer wish and design material etc. And is also dependent on
which countries the material the wallpaper has.

• Countries like Italy,China,USA,Korea etc. exports us

wallpapers, India itself does not manufacture
wallpapers.
• Customized wallpaper can be of various materials like
canvas ,leather, printed etc. More aesthetic wallpaper
more the price.
• The most preferrable and demanded wallpaper is the
plain and traditional ones
• Wallpapers has designs ranging from
3D,bricks,stone,wooden,tile pattern, floral etc.

6
TYPES

Papercrete has three main derivatives which are:

Fibrous Concrete It is a mixture of paper, Portland cement and

water. It is an eco-friendly material as there are no harmful
effects produced and no by-products to the making of this
concrete. Cement is only being used in a small proportion to the
paper.

Padobe It is a mixture of paper, water and earth with clay. Hence

there is no cement being used in Padobe. Clay is used as the
binding material here.

Fidobe This is just like Padobe. The difference is that it may

contain other fibrous materials as well.

7
Advantages And Disadvantages

• Solar energy may be used to create papercrete. Only

enough force is required to combine the ingredients. Unlike
concrete, which is somewhat heavy, papercrete is much
lighter and has excellent insulating properties. When cured
and dried, it may be readily sculpted. The decrease of
cement in the mix is the most significant advantage of
papercrete. During manufacture, the carbon footprint is
decreased, as is the overall cost and weight, resulting in an
environmentally friendly and lightweight material. The heat
and sound insulation qualities of paper fibers are
outstanding. Papercrete encourages waste paper recycling,
especially in areas where there is no recycling services.

8
9
MANUFACTURING PROCESS

• Materials Required • Hand auto vat with following

specifications • (22’’x 16’’ inner) teak wood frame •
Aluminum handle 4’’x 2’’x 15’’ • Brass hook 5’’x2’’x15’’ •
Rubber beading • Nylon mesh • Mixer/Beater • Microbial
Culture. • Handmade vat • Iron box • Paper cutter •
Hammer • Plastic mug • Rope for handle • Clip • Eyelet •
Gum

• 2. The procedure

• 2.1. Selection of raw materials

• Plants that aren't woody are collected as follows:

• Silk cotton, cotton, bagasse, banana fibers, mat grass,

kenaf, agave, and jute waste are used to make the papers.
In addition to these alternative sources, waste paper, which
is abundant, may be recycled to make handcrafted papers.

10
PROCESS

11
PROCESS
• 2.2. Fiber Extraction and
Soaking from Plants-
• The Banana and Kenaf
plant is suitable for
harvesting 3-5 months after
seeding, although it can be
harvested at any stage of
growth for fiber needs.
• The pseudostems and
kenaf stem fibers are removed, and the bundles are soaked
for 2-3 days vertically in water to soften the thick basal
portions. After that, they're stepped horizontally. Retting
takes anywhere from 6 to 10 days, depending on the plant's
maturity at the time of harvest, the temperature of the
water, and the types of microorganisms present.
• 2.3 Bio-pulping and bio-bleaching-
• In a separate tank, the fiber is bleached using microbial
treatment. The therapy will last 3-5 days. Trichoderma sp.
and Pythium sp. are the fungi used in this process. The drab
hue of the fiber is caused by hemicellulose and lignin. These
fungi disrupt the connections between the lignocellulosic
complex structures, allowing lignin and hemicellulose to be
broken down and leached away. This contributes to the
paper's brightness. This is appropriately referred to as fiber
biobleaching.

12
PROCESS
• 2.3.1. Fiber loosening-

• The fungus attack the fiber

and break down the cellulose
as well as the linkages.

• Sets cellulosic-fiber clusters

free from the main
lignocellulosic complex at random.

• The fiber softens as a result of this. It facilitates the pulping

process.

• 2.4. (Primary) cleaning-

• The banana fiber must be washed after the fungal

treatment, which takes 3-5 days, to eliminate undesired
elements and microbial strains.

• Trichoderma sp. and Pythium sp. are both safe to handle,

and protective gloves can be worn to prevent infection from
other microorganisms found in the environment or produced
during the increased fermentation.

13
PROCESS
• 2.5. Blending and mashing-
• In this procedure, the fiber is
transformed to pulp. In the
procedure, the beater is quite
important. The beater used is a
Hollander beater. It's made out
of an oval tank with hefty rollers
that spins around on a bedplate.
The pulp may be changed using
the roll. Water is usually added to around two-thirds of the
capacity of the beater. An electric motor propels the roll.
Compression and ripping action result in the formation of the
pulp. The wet pulp is moved by the roll, which functions as a
paddle wheel.
• The beater's divider creates a continuous channel. During
the beating process, the appropriate amount of additives is
applied.
• 2.6 Binding Materials-
• To improve or change the bonding and coherence between
the fibers, several chemicals are applied to paper stock.
Starch, polysaccharide resins, and natural gums like locus
bean gum and guar gum are often added to improve the dry
strength of paper

14
PROCESS
• 2.7 Sheet formation on cloth
• Take a large enough piece of
Gada cloth to cover the whole
outer surface of the vat. Place
a tidy & wrinkle-free Gada
cloth over the mesh (that
now holds the pulp) in such a
manner that the pulp created
on the fabric has no gaps,
folds, or water bubbles. Use various layers of clothing for
each sheet of pulp and layer them one on top of the other.
• 2.8.Drying
• Remove the supplied pulp cloths from the screw press and
peel off the labels from each one. Once the pulp has stuck
to the cloth, retain it for drying. For drying, drape the pulp
cloth over the parallel ropes. It might take up to six hours
for it to dry at room temperature. Only when the material
has completely dry can the sheets be removed. The sheet
can be let to dry completely to obtain a rough paper.
Remove the paper from the fabric by carefully peeling it
away

15
WHY VEGETATION AS A MATERIAL?

• Conventional buildings can have a

massive carbon footprint because
of the emissions that come from
manufacturing building
materials. But buildings can
also act as carbon storage.
• The concept is
straightforward: plant-based
materials such as straw and
wood absorb carbon dioxide
from the atmosphere through
photosynthesis. When utilized in
construction, they safely store
CO2 within the building's structure.
• Plant-based construction materials are already widely
accessible. Loft insulation, for example, can be composed of
hemp, sheeps wool, seaweed, cork, cereal straw,
mushrooms, and wood

16
Where does the water go?
• Understanding how
buildings are designed to
function in terms of water
vapour is critical to prevent
degradation of the building
fabric. There is a significant
problem with damp and
mould in much of the
existing housing stock. We
need to increase living temperatures, and that means
insulation, but we also need to ensure that we have a plan
for how we are going to manage internal air and ventilation.
A key risk with the use of synthetic insulation materials for
solid walls is that they rely on the idea that it is possible to
create a perfect vapour barrier to prevent any moisture from
getting into the walls. This may work in theory, but if not
properly installed there is a significant risk of creating
condensation within walls that then rots timbers or harbours
mould that will negatively affect indoor air quality. Materials
that are vapour permeable may reduce this risk, but since air
holds very different amounts of water at different
temperatures, the underlying building physics is not simple.
Managing moisture and developing a ventilation strategy is a
critical part of any insulation retrofit project.

17
REFERENCES

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papercrete

https://ecococon.eu/blog/2020/plant-based-building-materials-a-solution-
to-clim ate-crisis

https://lowcarbonbuildings.wordpress.com/2018/08/28/plants-as-building-
materi als-five-key-questions/

https://www.uwsp.edu/cnr-ap/leaf/SiteAssets/Pages/Wisconsin%27s-
MilleniumTree/Act12paper.pdf

18