As energy use in the building sector is increasing worldwide, building materials with characteristics that save energy are becoming increasingly important; in addition, there is an emerging need for high-performance insulation materials with low thermal conductivity. However, thermal insulation should consider thermal conductivity, which is the main performance parameter, in addition to the water adsorption rate, acidity, and deformation and expansion due to drying conditions. This study evaluated the main performance of 21 insulation materials used at construction sites to objectively and clearly evaluate their overall performance, including their thermal conductivity. Thermal conductivity was measured by the heat flow meter method according to ASTM C518 and ISO 8301 standards; it was also evaluated according to the drying conditions. The water absorption rate was evaluated by ISO 2896 to ensure the sustainability and long-term thermal conductivity performance of the material. Acidity was evaluated with ASTM E861 to reduce the environmental load of the buildings and soil. The results of this study reviewed an appropriate method to measure the main performance according to the type of insulation.

Insulation materials are essential components in construction, and their main objective is to increase the efficiency of thermal energy by minimizing internal and external thermal exchange. Accordingly, research and development studies are being actively conducted to increase the thermal resistance of insulation materials, and high-performance insulation materials that use organic chemicals have been developed after industrialization. However, thermal insulation comprising chemicals poses a potential risk of pollutant emissions and can cause health problems. In this study, five types of insulation materials and the contaminants generated from the building materials used in insulation construction were quantitatively analyzed. In addition, an empirical study on the discharge of pollutants was conducted using a test bed, and the effects of the pollutants discharged from the insulation material on the indoor environment were examined by analyzing the pollutant concentration for 90 days. In addition, we analyzed the effect of an insulation material on an indoor environment through the standard specifications. Moreover, the necessity of legal management of the emission of contaminants from insulation materials was proposed based on the empirical research results.

Epilithic mosses are characterized by insulation from substratum N and hence meet their N demand only by deposited N. This study investigated tissue C, total Chl and δ13C of epilithic mosses along 2 transects across Guiyang urban (SW China), aiming at testing their responses to N deposition. Tissue C and total Chl decreased from the urban to rural, but δ13Cmoss became less negative. With measurements of atmospheric CO2 and δ13CO2, elevated N deposition was inferred as a primary factor for changes in moss C and isotopic signatures. Correlations between total Chl, tissue C and N signals indicated a nutritional effect on C fixation of epilithic mosses, but the response of δ13Cmoss to N deposition could not be clearly differentiated from effects of other factors. Collective evidences suggest that C signals of epilithic mosses are useful proxies for N deposition but further works on physiological mechanisms are still needed.

According to fire accident statistics, fires in buildings are increasing. The flame-retardant performance of insulation materials is considered an important factor for preventing the spread of fire and ensuring evacuation. This study evaluated the flame-retardant performance and combustion characteristics of four types of organic thermal insulation used as core materials in sandwich panels. The flame-retardant performance evaluation based on total heat release and heat release rate revealed that phenolic foam (PF) satisfied the criteria for non-combustible grade insulation. An analysis of the hazardous gases released while combustion of the four insulation materials indicated that a significant amount of CO was released—an average of 19,000 ppm or higher—in the rigid urethan foam (PIR) and spray-type polyurethane foam (SPU). The fractional effective dose (FED) value was derived from the gas analysis results according to ISO 13344. PIR and SPU had an average FED value of 2.0 or higher and were identified as very dangerous in the case of fire accidents. Moreover, the evacuation time in the case of a fire in a warehouse-type building was comprehensively analyzed considering the material, size, and height for the four types of insulation. PIR was the most vulnerable to fire, and for PF, the danger limit was not reached until the end of the simulation.

Radon is a natural radioactive gas present in the environment, which is considered as the second most important lung cancer cause worldwide. Currently, radon gas is under focus and was classified as contaminant of emerging concern, which is responsible for serious biological/health effects in human. In presented work we propose the numerical model and analysis method for radon diffusion rate measurements and radon transport parameters determination. The experimental setup for radon diffusion was built in a classical, two chamber configuration, in which the radon source and outlet reservoirs are separated by the sample being tested. The main difference with previously known systems is utilization of only one radon detector, what was achieved by a careful characterization of the Rn-222 source and development of a numerical model, which allows for exact determination of radon transport parameters by fitting simulated radon concentration profile in the outlet reservoir to experimental data. For verification of the developed system, several insulation materials commonly used in building industry and civil engineering, as well as, common building materials (gypsum, hardened cement paste, concrete) were tested for radon diffusion rate through these barriers. The results of radon transmittance, permeability and diffusion coefficients for investigated materials are in compliance with values known previously from the literature. The analysis method is fast and efficient, and requires measurement period varying from a dozen or so hours up to 2–3 days depending on material properties. The described method is entirely based on a numerical analysis of the proposed differential equation model using freely available SCILAB software and experimental data obtained during sample measurements.

It is well known, that in case of oil spill, seabirds are among the groups of animals most vulnerable. Even small amounts of oil can have lethal effects by destroying the waterproofing of their plumage, leading to loss of insulation and buoyancy. In the Arctic these impacts are intensified. To protect seabirds, a rapid removal of oil is crucial and in situ burning could be an efficient method. In the present work exposure effects of oil and burn residue in different doses was studied on seabird feathers from legally hunted Common eider (Somateria mollissima) by examining changes in total weight of the feather and damages on the microstructure (Amalgamation Index) of the feathers before and after exposure. The results of the experiments indicate that burn residues from in situ burning of an oil spill have similar or larger fouling and damaging effects on seabird feathers, as compared to fresh oil.

Because of global environmental problems, low-carbon agriculture has gained increasing importance both in developed and developing countries. Hence, there is a need to find ways to develop more efficient agricultural systems. The purpose of this article is to identify the drivers of low-carbon agriculture on farms in the Wielkopolska region (in Poland). We aimed to take an original approach to investigate low-carbon agriculture with a unique set of different economic and environmental variables and contribute to the literature, which is not very extensive in terms of microeconomic research, including research on farmers in the Wielkopolska region. Therefore, we employed a multiple-factor measurement model for structural equation modeling (SEM) of data collected individually from 120 farms in 2020. As a result, we formulated the following conclusions: the increasing productivity of factors (land, labor, and capital) have a positive effect on low-carbon farming, just as increasing fertilizer and energy efficiency. Moreover, thermal insulation is also important for low-carbon agriculture, with efficiency of fertilizer use being the most important factor. We believe that the issues of farm use of fertilizers and thermal insulation of buildings should be more broadly included in energy policy, both at the national and the European Union (EU) levels. Some of these factors however are already present in the common agricultural policy (CAP) for 2021–2027.

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of using expanded vermiculite and its impact on the production of concrete roof tiles. The control treatment and replacement of 12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50% sand by vermiculite were evaluated. The concrete roof tiles were moulded by the simultaneous pressing and extrusion mechanical process. The control trace was comprised by 21.95% CPV-ARI cement, 65.85% sand, and 12.20% limestone. After production, the concrete roof tiles were cured for 28 days. The physical (roof tiles classification, samples dry weight, water absorption, and porosity), mechanical (splitting tensile strength), and microstructural properties were evaluated. All treatments were assessed before and after accelerated ageing. The thermal properties of the modification in the concrete roof tiles’ composition were also analysed. The evaluated amounts of vermiculite significantly affected the physical, mechanical, and thermal properties of concrete roof tiles. The use of vermiculite in concrete roof tiles reduced their dry weight and thermal conductivity, not impairing their durability. The use of 31.0% vermiculite in concrete roof tiles was suggested for better thermal insulation optimization (20.29% reduction) and weight reduction (7.92% and 7.94% at 28 days of curing and after accelerated ageing, respectively), along with adequate physical, mechanical, and durability properties.

There is profound interest in knowing the degree to which the effectiveness of China’s nature reserves, and whether leakage is common around the reserves, in the face of the most drastic conflicts between conservation and development in the world. To answer these questions, we employed the Landsat-derived Global Forest Change Dataset with 30-m resolution to examine forest change patterns during 2001 and 2017 both inside and outside of 13 typically national nature reserves in China. The average forest loss rates inside the reserves were significantly lower than those of outside the reserves (i.e., both in buffer and landscape zones), suggesting the success in protecting forest of these reserves in China. We found that the protection practice reduced approximately 10% of deforestation. Protection efficiency may be substantially overestimated (about 13–43%) if failing to control the related variables, such as altitude, climate, and human interference. The forest loss rates in the buffer zones were not significantly higher than those in the broader landscape zones, suggesting that leakage is not a frequent occurrence in the buffer zones of the reserves. However, the forest loss rates showed a slightly increasing tendency from 2001 to 2017, the loss rates increased gradually from inside to their outside buffer zones, and leakage was observed in certain zones of some years for most of the reserves. The conversions of forest to grassland and cultivated land were the primary trajectories of forest loss both inside and outside of the reserves. Though the leakage is not universal in the reserves across the country, forest loss rates are much higher in the buffer zones than those inside the reserves, resulting in increased insulation of the reserves that could undermine the provisioning of ecosystem services and the biodiversity conservation efficiency.

Due to the high increase in the consumption of building energy in the world, it is urgent to develop and use thermal insulation materials to limit the demand of energy. In this article, the possibility of producing thermal insulation plasters from common cementitious materials such as fly ash (FA), metakaolin (MK), and silica fume (SF) without employing any foaming agent or lightweight aggregate was investigated. Either cement or gypsum was used as a binder material. Eight different types of plaster based on different pozzolanic materials were investigated and compared with the traditional cement mortar plaster (TC). The compressive strength, bulk density, total porosity, thermal conductivity, and thermal resistance were measured. The results showed that it is possible to produce thermal insulation plasters based on pozzolanic materials without including foaming agent or lightweight aggregate. The obtained insulating plasters exhibited low density (888.75-1575.63 kg/m³), high porosity (39.5-57.75%), low thermal conductivity (0.30-0.48 W/mK) and suitable compressive strength. Using gypsum as a binder material was better than cement for insulation purposes. SF showed the highest insulation efficiency followed by FA and MK.