Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

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Materials Today: Proceedings

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Development of areca husk fiber/low melt PET needle punched

nonwovens for building insulation applications
N. Muthukumar ⇑, G. Thilagavathi
Department of Textile Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India

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

Article history: Thermal insulation plays an important role in contributing to energy savings in the building by heat gains
Available online xxxx and losses through the building envelope. The widely used insulation material in the construction indus-
try is glass fiber based which is derived from silica sources and other synthetic fibers used are derived
Keywords: from petroleum-based resources. The development of insulation materials from natural and recycled
Areca fiber resources will contribute to the cost-benefit as well as the green building initiative. In this research,
Bio-degradation the needle punched nonwovens were developed from 100% areca fibres and also blended with low melt
Sound absorption
polyester fibers in three different blend ratios (90% areca fiber/10% low melt PET, 80% areca fiber/20% low
Thermal insulation
Nonwovens
melt PET and 70% areca fiber /30% low melt PET). The developed nonwovens were characterized by ther-
mal and sound insulation properties. The developed nonwovens had thermal resistance values in the
range of 0.062 m2K/W to 0.100 m2K/W. The developed areca fibers/ low melt PET nonwovens had a sound
absorption coefficient of 0.35 dB at a high frequency (6300 Hz) range. Since the developed areca fiber/ low
melt PET nonwovens have good sound insulation along with thermal insulation, they can be used in
building insulation applications. The bio-degradation behavior of the developed nonwovens was also
studied and the results showed that developed nonwovens have better degradation properties.
Copyright Ó 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the National Conference on
Recent Advances in Construction Materials and Structures.

1. Introduction In recent years, the usage of natural fibres such as kenaf,

Due to heat transfer and loss through the building envelope,
thermal insulation is crucial in the building to save energy. Accord-
ing to a study, irrespective of the materials used, effective building
insulation alone can reduce carbon footprint impacts by more than
a hundred times. Since noise pollution is a major threat to health
and there is a growing demand for improved noise-insulating
materials, it is getting greater focus in the building industry. The
most commonly used insulation materials in the building sector
are made from glass fibre, which comes from silica sources.
Other synthetic fibre-based insulation materials are made from
petroleum-based resources. Materials made of glass fibre are
known to cause cancer. Developing materials that can provide both
thermal and acoustic insulation is becoming a sustainable practice
with new legislation and an increasing preference for alternative
materials [1,2].
⇑ Corresponding author.
E-mail address: nmk.textile@psgtech.ac.in (N. Muthukumar).
banana, pineapple, bagasse, etc. has increased. These natural fibres
are used in the form of short fibres or nonwovens. Because of their
excellent balanced properties and biodegradable nature, there is a
lot of research going on in the technical textiles area. Fibre from
areca nut husks is non-toxic and ecologically sustainable. When
compared to synthetic fibres, the density of areca fibre is less.
Depending on the percentage of cellulose contained in the fibre,
the durability and strength of areca fibre might differ. With an
increase in hemicellulose composition, areca fibre absorbs more
moisture, which decreases its performance. Areca fibre has a cellu-
lose content of 53.2%, a hemicellulose content of 32.98%, and a lig-
nin content of 7.2%. The raw areca fibres and alkali-treated areca
fibres have been investigated for their mechanical and physical
properties by Ashok et al. They indicated that surface treatment
will enhance the micro-fibrillation of the fibres in addition to its
mechanical properties [3]. According to findings by Makunza JK,
0.7% NaOH-treated areca fibres added to cement enhances the con-
crete’s durability against cracking and spalling [4].
N.H. Padmaraj et al. developed polyester resin composites rein-
forced with areca husk fibre and also coir fibre. They demonstrated

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.05.325
2214-7853/Copyright Ó 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the National Conference on Recent Advances in Construction Materials and Structures.

Please cite this article as: N. Muthukumar and G. Thilagavathi, Development of areca husk fiber/low melt PET needle punched nonwovens for building
insulation applications, Materials Today: Proceedings, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2023.05.325
N. Muthukumar and G. Thilagavathi
that the performance of the former is superior in all respects com-
pared to the latter [5]. Muralidhar et al. developed areca fibre-
reinforced composite panels and studied the mechanical (impact,
flexural and tensile) characteristics of composite panels [6]. Sekhar
Das et al. created composites using an unsaturated polyester resin
matrix with areca fibres reinforcement and investigated the
mechanical characteristics as well as the void content of the com-
posites. They showed that 25% fibre reinforcement produced the
greatest results, and they hypothesised that the created compos-
ites would be helpful as building materials [7]. Unripe and ripened
areca husk fibres were used to reinforce polyester resin-based
composites developed by Chethan et al. They found that the unripe
areca husk fibre-reinforced composite exhibits lesser thermal con-
ductivity than the ripened areca husk fibre reinforced composite
[8]. Areca fibres have been used as a reinforcement material in con-
crete and composite applications, according to the literature cited
[9,10,11]. There is no information in the literature about the use of
areca fibres in nonwoven form.
In our previous study, the needle punched nonwovens have
been developed by blending flax fibres with low melt polyester
fibres for insulation application. The effect of needle punching
parameters and blend percentage on the insulation properties of
the flax/PET nonwovens has been studied [12]. In another study,
the needle punched nonwovens have been developed by blending
pineapple fibres with low melt polyester fibres. The sound and
thermal insulation performance of the developed nonwovens has
been studied [13]. We are working on natural fibres for their insu-
lation characteristics. Among the natural fibres, areca fibres have
low thermal conductivity due to the porous structure of fibres
and air entrapment and can be used as insulation material in build-
ings. However, areca fibres have poor inter-fibre cohesion and
hence the nonwovens developed from areca fibres will have poor
structural stability. In this study, low melt polyester fibre was
blended with the areca fibres to improve structural stability. Non-
woven fabrics were manufactured with 100% areca fibres and also
blended with low melt polyester at three blend ratios (10%, 20%,
and 30%). The effect of low melt PET blend percentage on the insu-
lation performance of the developed areca fibre/ low melt PET non-
wovens was studied.
2. Materials and methods
Areca fibres and low melt PET were obtained in and around
Coimbatore, India, to conduct this investigation. Areca fibres had
a diameter of 28 to 46 lm and a staple length of 40 mm; low melt
PET fibres had a linear density of 1.4 denier, a staple length of
38 mm and a thermal bonding temperature of 115 °C.
2.1. Manufacturing of nonwovens
Nonwovens were produced from 100% areca fibres and also
blended with low melt PET. Areca fibres and low melt PET fibres
were combined in three different blend ratios (10%, 20%, and
30%) to develop areca fiber/low melt PET nonwovens. The web
was then produced using a miniature carding machine. The non-
woven fabric was manufactured by needle punching this web
using needle Loom - DI-Loom OUG-II 6 with 200 punch density
and 10 mm needle penetration depth. To improve the mechanical
or adhesive bond between the fibres without inducing any chemi-
cal reaction between the areca fibres and low melt PET, the nonwo-
ven fabric was then fed through a hot calendaring machine at a
temperature of 120 °C. In this study, a total of four nonwovens
were developed. Fig. 1 shows the photograph of the developed
nonwovens .
2
Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
2.2. Characterization methods
According to the ASTM D-1777 standard, the thickness of the
nonwovens was measured under a load of 2 kPa using a fabric
thickness gauge with a capacity of 0.01 mm. The areal density of
the nonwovens was measured using an electronic balance accord-
ing to the ASTM D-1910 standard. The air permeability of the non-
wovens was evaluated using the Textest FX 3300 Air Permeability
Tester according to the ASTM D 737 standard. According to ISO
8301:1991 standards, the heat flow meter was used to measure
the thermal conductivity of the nonwovens. A heat flux sensor
was used to detect the heat flow as it passed through the nonwo-
ven sample that was positioned between the heat flow meter’s hot
and cold plates. The impedance tube technique was employed for
evaluating the nonwovens’ sound absorption coefficient following
ASTM E 1050.
2.3. Bio-degradation study
According to ISO 11721:2003 guidelines, the biodegradation of
the produced nonwovens was investigated. The nonwovens were
prepared into 5x5 cm2 samples. The prepared samples were buried
in the soil at a depth of 8.5 cm and left to decompose. To maintain
the soil’s moisture content during the various deterioration stages,
distilled water was applied. Nonwoven samples buried in the soil
were taken after seven days. After rinsing with distilled water for
about 10 min, the samples were dried in a standard atmosphere.
The dried samples were subjected to quantitative analysis. The
quantitative analysis involved weighing the samples before and
after degradation to determine weight loss. All of these samples
are then weighed and placed back into the soil [14]. Eq. (1) is
applied to estimate the weight loss of the nonwoven sample due
to the degradation process;
Mb  Ma
Weight loss % ¼  100 ð1Þ
Mb
where Ma is the sample’s weight following decomposition and
Mb is the sample’s weight prior degradation.
3. Results and discussion
Table 1 displays the properties of the produced nonwovens. The
areal density of the areca fibre /low melt PET nonwovens ranged
from 490 to 585(g/m2). It was observed that as the blending pro-
portion of low melt PET in the nonwoven increases from 10% to
30%, the areal density of the samples reduces. The thickness of
the areca fibre/ low melt PET nonwovens ranged from 2.20 to
2.97 mm. The fluctuation in nonwoven thickness may be the result
of random fibre distribution that happened while the nonwoven
was being made. The produced nonwovens exhibited a density
between 0.173 and 0.246 (g/cm3).
The air permeability of the areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens
was between 70.56 and 37.74 cm3/cm2/sec. Fig. 2 illustrates the
impact of low melt PET blend percentage on the air permeability
of the produced areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens. A decrease
in the air permeability value was noticed when the low melt PET
blend proportion in areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens increased.
This might be caused by nonwovens becoming denser as the low
melt PET percentage rises. Thermal conductivity for the produced
nonwovens ranged from 0.029 to 0.036 W/mK. A material shall
be considered to be a ‘‘thermal insulator” if its thermal conductiv-
ity is less than 0.06 kcal/m h°C (0.06966w/m°C = 0.07 W/mK),
according to Institute of German Standards DIN 4108 and Turkish
Specifications TS 825 [15]. The developed nonwoven fabrics
showed thermal conductivity values of less than 0.07 W/m K.
N. Muthukumar and G. Thilagavathi Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Fig. 1. Images of the areca fibre/ low melt PET nonwovens.

Table 1
Characteristics of the Areca fibre /low melt PET nonwovens.

Sample Thickness Areal density Density Thermal Thermal

description (mm) (g/m2) (g/cm3) Conductivity Resistance
(W/mK) (m2 K/W)
100% Areca 2.90 585 0.173 0.029 0.100
90% Areca / 10% low melt-PET 2.37 512 0.222 0.032 0.072
80% Areca / 20% low melt-PET 2.23 504 0.223 0.033 0.069
70% Areca / 30% low melt-PET 2.20 490 0.246 0.036 0.062

Fig. 2. Air permeability of the developed areca fibre/ low melt PET nonwovens.

3.1. Thermal insulation performance of the nonwovens
A material’s ability to prevent the flow of heat through its thick-
ness over a given surface area is called thermal resistance [16]. It
was observed from Table 1 that the thermal resistance of the
developed nonwovens increases with the increase in nonwoven
areal density. This is because an increase in areal density causes
an increase in fibre-to-fibre contact and packing density as well
as tortuosity, so less heat flows through the channels in the non-
woven and thermal resistance, therefore, increases correspond-
ingly. It was also observed that there is an increase in thermal
resistance with the increase in nonwoven thickness [17]. Fig. 3
3
illustrates the impact of low melt PET blend percentage on the pro-
duced areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens’ thermal resistance
value. The thermal resistance of nonwovens produced from 100%
areca fibres was 0.100 m2 K/W. In areca fibre/low melt PET nonwo-
vens; it was found that as the percentage of low melt PET increases
in the nonwoven from 10% to 30%, the thermal resistance value of
the nonwoven decreases. As compared to areca fibres, polyester
fibres generally have a higher thermal conductivity. Because of
this, the areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens thermal conductivity
increases as the low melt PET blend percentage increases. When
compared to other blend ratios, the nonwovens made by blending
N. Muthukumar and G. Thilagavathi
Fig. 3. Thermal resistance values of developed areca fibre/ low melt PET nonwovens.
10% low melt PET with areca fibres perform well in terms of ther-
mal insulation.
3.2. Sound insulation performance of the nonwovens
The 100% areca fibre nonwoven has low structural stability.
Thereby, for the sound insulation measurement, areca fibre/low
melt PET nonwovens were chosen. Fig. 4 displays the sound
absorption coefficient of areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens for
the third octave which ranges from 100 to 6300 Hz. The graph
shows that all the samples had a similar pattern, and values that
are near to one another indicate that low melt PET has a negligible
effect on sound absorption properties of nonwovens. According to
the findings, the produced areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens
have average sound absorption coefficients that are equivalent to
or less than 0.1 at low frequencies (100–400 Hz). This is because
the wavelength of sound is longer and the sound wave’s travel
Fig. 4. Sound insulation performance of developed areca fibre/ low melt PET nonwovens.
4
Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx
route is shorter at lower frequencies. As a result, sound energy will
dissipate more at higher frequencies and less at lower frequencies.
At a frequency of 6300 Hz, the produced areca fibre/low melt PET
nonwovens had a sound absorption coefficient value of 0.35 dB.
The produced areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens are thus appro-
priate for uses involving high- frequency sound absorption.
3.3. Bio-degradation of nonwovens
Using the soil burial method, the bio-degradation characteris-
tics of the produced areca fibre/low melt PET nonwovens were
investigated. The results are displayed in Table 2. The deterioration
of areca fibres in the nonwoven was visible through visual inspec-
tion and loss of weight after four weeks. After 4 weeks, the nonwo-
ven made of 100% areca fibres demonstrated a 20% weight
reduction. It was noticed that as the blend ratio of low melt PET
in the nonwoven increases from 10 to 30%, the bio-degradation
N. Muthukumar and G. Thilagavathi Materials Today: Proceedings xxx (xxxx) xxx

Table 2 Data availability

Weight loss % of the areca fibre/ low melt PET
nonwovens.
Sample
100% Areca
90% Areca / 10% low melt-PET
80% Areca /20% low melt-PET
70% Areca /30% low melt-PET
Data will be made available on request.
Weight loss %
after 4 weeks
Declaration of Competing Interest
20
12
The authors declare that they have no known competing finan-
9
9 cial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared
to influence the work reported in this paper.

of the nonwovens reduces. It may be due to the non-biodegradable
nature of low melt PET. Among the areca fibre/low melt PET non-
wovens; the nonwovens made from 90% areca fibre and 10% low
melt PET had a 12% weight reduction after 4 weeks. Based on the
findings, it can be said that the areca fibres in the developed non-
wovens will deteriorate within 4 months of being used. The low
melt PET fibres that are left over can be recycled.
4. Conclusion
Materials for thermal insulation and acoustic absorption are key
components of today’s energy-efficient and comfortable buildings.
These two kinds of materials, however, are often produced sepa-
rately. This study shows the potential of areca fiber nonwovens
for use in sound and thermal insulation applications. To serve as
building insulation, nonwovens were made from 100% areca fibres
and also by blending areca fibres with low melt PET. The effect of
low melt PET blend percentage on the sound and thermal insula-
tion characteristics of the nonwovens was investigated. The non-
wovens made from areca husk fibres alone perform better in
terms of insulation but are structurally less stable. At high fre-
quency (6300 Hz), the produced areca fiber/low melt PET nonwo-
vens had a sound absorption coefficient of 0.35 dB. In
comparison to nonwovens made with different blend ratios, those
made with 10% low melt PET and areca husk fibres have good
sound and thermal insulation performance along with structural
stability. The areca fibres in the nonwovens prepared for this study
will deteriorate in 4 months, and the low melt PET fibres which
remain can be recycled. In terms of environmental protection
and internal humidity control in buildings, the proposed nonwo-
vens could be a replacement for commercially available insulation
materials. The produced nonwovens can be used in music concert
halls, auditoriums, and home theatres.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
N. Muthukumar: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investiga-
tion, Writing – original draft. G. Thilagavathi: Writing – review &
editing, Supervision.
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