Binder‐free, non‐carcinogenic surfactant‐based cellulose‐rich bagasse foams as acoustic panels

Abstract

Toward identifying environmentally friendly sound‐absorbing materials, the fabrication of biodegradable bagasse foams and their acoustic absorption and transmission loss were investigated. 10‐mm‐thick bagasse foams were fabricated using different concentrations of four non‐carcinogenic surfactants: sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), sodium bicarbonate (SB), potassium oleate (PO), and polyoxyethylene sorbitol ester (T20). Electron microscopy revealed that the foams comprised microfibers with a 10%–25% porosity. The foams were found to be thermally stable up to 300 °C. While foams fabricated using SDS were found to have a maximum increment in acoustic absorption (by 200%), those made of T20 had a mild decrease in absorption. The increment in absorption was attributed to the decrease in crystallinity and increase in porosity of microstructure, and the decrement to the decrease in viscous nature. Minimal changes were observed in the transmission loss of the foams. The results presented here demonstrate a simple, scalable green method to fabricate porous biodegradable foams of bagasse, without using any binder or filler, suitable for acoustic insulation that fits sustainable development objectives.