Bio-based building products

Grow2Build is an InterregIVB project that seeks to promote the use of bio-based building products such as wheat straw, hemp, and flax as raw materials for construction products such as bio-composites and compressed agricultural fibreboard. Grow2Build has worked towards the transition of the North-West European economy from an oil-based economy towards a bio-based economy. 

The project has 11 partners spanning five countries; Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, and the UK. Grow2Build takes a holistic approach to increase the efficiency of the entire value chain of bio-based construction products by facilitating the collaboration between farmers, producers, distributors, and end-users. With the exception of wood, the use of natural (biobased) materials (based on hemp, flax, straw, or other natural resources) is still limited. Nevertheless, many benefits are attributed to these materials in terms of a healthier and more comfortable indoor climate. Other potential benefits of natural insulation materials that are often mentioned are energy savings and reduced environmental impact.

Publications

• 1) Ghaffar, S. * (2019). Wheat straw bio-refinery for agricultural waste valorisation. Green Materials, doi: https://doi.org/10.1680/jgrma.19.00048
• 2) Ghaffar, S.*, Fan, M., Abo Madyan, O., Zhou, Y. (2017). Detailed Analysis of Wheat Straw Node and Internode for their Prospective Efficient Utilisation. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. doi: 10.1021/acs.jafc.7b03304
• 3) Ghaffar, S.*, Abo Madyan, O., Fan, M., Corker, J. (2018). The Influence of Additives on the Interfacial Bonding Mechanisms between Natural Fibre and Biopolymer Composites. Macromolecular Research, 17(158), 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s13233-018-6119-8
• 4) Ghaffar, S., Fan, M.*, & McVicar, B. (2017). Interfacial properties with bonding and failure mechanisms of wheat straw node and internode. Composites part A: applied science and manufacturing, 99, 102-112. doi: 10.1016/j.compositesa.2017.04.005
• 5) Ghaffar, S., & Fan, M.* (2017). An aggregated understanding of physicochemical properties and surface functionalities of wheat straw node and internode. Industrial Crops and Products, 95, 207-215. doi: 10.1016/j.indcrop.2016.10.045