Project BRIMEE - Bio-renewable indoor materials

06/09/2016

• Challenge
• Methods
• Objectives
• Partners

The challenge of today lies in the accomplishment of sustainable and low-energy buildings, which can combine at the same time the thermal insulation properties with healthy, comfortable, accessible and safe indoor environment.

In the project, BAM's division Materials and Air Pollutants operates the tests for material emissions into the environment.
Materials and Air Pollutants

The PRIMEE project aims to develop a new material that can combine the different benefits of the current state of art of insulation materials, the insulation (thermal and noise barrier effects) with a whole bio-based origin, leading to the final material and product that is healthy and effective.

BRIMEE is a cooperation of 14 European partners. The project ist funded through the EC 7th Framework Programme (FP7-EeB.NMP.2013-2)
Total budget: 5.7 mill. €, BAM budget: 342 k€

Project background

Reduction of the energy demand through the use of insulating materials still remains a challenge for European architects and building designers as well as materials producers. Beside good and consistent thermal and acoustic performance overtime, a good and marketable insulation material should in fact be self-extinguishing, not degradable, unshrinkable or not-settling, safe during handling and installation, low cost and should not pollute the indoor building environment, while having a low embodied energy, proven through LCA assessment.

A single insulation material combining all the above properties would represent a real breakthrough in the resolution of the above issues. The ones currently available suffer from various technological and environmental drawbacks, originating either from the conditions of manufacturing processes applied for their production or from the technical and environmental inefficiencies of the primary raw materials used for their synthesis.

BRIMEE aims to develop a new, innovative material that is based on a nano-cristalline cellulose (NCC) based foam, strengthened with natural derived resin, providing self-extinguishing features. An enzymatic approach and protein fusion to the cellulose basis is exploited to confer to the material additional functionalities from the bulk, such as fragrance release, water repellence or anti-bacteria. Thanks to an advanced processing, the NCC material can be profitably extracted from the waste streams of the pulp and paper industry.

The BRIMEE product family shall be applicable for the envelope and interior partitions of both new and existing buildings.

BAM's contribution

BAM operates the tests for material emissions into the environment.

BAM's division Materials and Air Pollutants is leader of work package 6 Panel Characterisation, Durability Assessment and Compliance with Standards and Regulations. It involves the objectives: determination of panel emissions into the environment, analysis of panel durability, fire resistance.

Project partners

D'Appolonia S.p.A., Italy
Dragados, Spain
Bergamo Tecnologie Sp. Z. O. O., Poland
BRE Building Research Establishment Ltd., United Kingdom
BAM Bundesanstalt für Materialforschung und -prüfung, Germany
Melodea Ltd., Israel
ZAG Zavod Za Gradbenistvo Slovenije, Slovenia
AMSOLUTIONS Proigmenes Erevnitikes & Diahiristikes Efarmoges, Greece
Fraunhofer-Institut für Umwelt-, Sicherheits- und Energietechnik UMSICHT, Germany
HUJI Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
Brzozowski Grabowiecki Architekci Sp. Z. O. O., Poland
Silcart S.p.A, Italien Fenix TNT SRO, Czech Republic
SARP Stowarzyszenie Architektow Polskich, Poland
ICPE Institutul de Cercetari Electrotehnice, Rumania

Coordinator

D'Appolonia S.p.A, Italy