The incorporation of lignin into rigid polyurethane foam (RPUF) has been explored for the last two decades for replacing petrochemical polyols and producing sustainable highperformance insulation materials. However, to date, the issues associated with the dispersion of technical lignin in the commonly used polyols for RPUF have highly limited the improvement in mechanical and thermal insulation performance. This study reports the enhanced dispersion of kraft lignin (KL) up to 75 wt % in the glycerol-substituted aromatic polyester polyol blend. The influence of significantly well-dispersed KL on RPUF in terms of loading levels, the viscosity of the polyol, the microstructure, and the thermal and mechanical properties of RPUF is discussed. The KL incorporated (0.5−6.0 wt %) in polyol afforded a remarkable reduction in thermal conductivity (32%−34%) of the resultant RPUF with minimal variation in density and insignificant change in compressive strength. The scale of this improvement, to the best of our knowledge, has not been reported to date in ligninincorporated RPUF systems. Furthermore, the presence of the KL in the RPUF also resulted in a mild improvement in the flame retardance performance. This study provides insights into producing KL-incorporated RPUF for thermal insulation application.

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The flammability of materials is a key component of modern cladding fires. Vertical flame spread is a complex phenomenon which is, amongst others, a function of thermal inertia, ignition temperature, and heat release. The recently published Cladding Materials Library contains the needed flammability data to help engineers perform fire risk assessments on buildings. Cladding fire research has previously generally focused on expensive and time consuming full-scale testing, or on the chemical composition, with little regard to the flammability or other performance metrics. Here we show common trends in the ignition and burning behaviour for cladding materials in a systematic bench-scale study using the Cladding Material Library. The organic content is shown to be a poor indicator of the fire performance, as represented by the heat release rate. A simple and highly conservative model indicates the relative behaviour of a diverse range of cladding materials. This analysis supports competent engineers to select which specific buildings require further investigation based on performance, and to aid development of remediation solutions. The differences within categories of materials, e.g. high-pressure laminates, are large and thus the performance should be tailored for the specific building material. This work complements but does not replace full-scale system testing.

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Abstract. Four sandwich panel rooms were constructed as prescribed in the ISO 13784-1 test. However, the construction followed normal industry practice, and the panels were also subjected to the kinds of damage typically found in commercial premises, although such damage may not typically be concentrated in such a small room. The fire load was increased to simulate fires actually occurring in commercial premises by stepping up the propane burner output from the usual maximum of 300-600 kW, and by placing a substantial wooden crib in two of the rooms. The results