#pectin

Sustainable and more efficient method for sound absorption and thermal insulation

Researchers at Aalto University have discovered a new way to use biowaste to provide sound absorption and thermal insulation.

An effective use of sound absorption materials is needed to reduce noise pollution, which constitutes a major environmental and health problem. The current sound absorption materials can be harmful for the environment and often create waste problems at the end of their lifetime.

The researchers found that pectin, a polysaccharide that can be extracted from biowastes such as fruit peels, can be converted into a freeze-dried highly porous material. They can outperform commercial sound absorption materials, such as glass wool and other porous materials with similar thickness. The research was published in the Chemical Engineering Journal.

"The porous material prepared in this work demonstrate the great potential of freeze-casted bio-based sound absorption materials to be employed as an alternative material in industrialization and construction, where environmental-friendly materials are needed. They also display low thermal conductivity and excellent thermal insulation performance," says Professor Jaana Vapaavuori from the School of Chemical Engineering.

I’ve become Untethered

   The camera brought the red tones of the jars closer together, but irl you can see a noticeable difference. The jar on the left uses lemon juice for the acid component and some of the fruit was pureed, some chopped. The right jar uses pure, unsweetened cranberry juice for acid and all the fruit was crushed. Both are delicious!

   The crushed-fruit-&-cranberry version, unsurprisingly, has a prettier ruby-red color. While ALL the info I have ever seen says Do Not Puree the fruit, I have done it multiple times and I really like the consistency. It is very spreadable. The version with the crushed fruit is technically prettier, with a chunky texture. Anyone experimenting with jam-making ought to try both versions to see which they prefer. The reason given for not pureeing fruit for jam is that the puree can have tiny air bubbles incorporated into it, which could throw your measurements off. I have not had that trouble, though; I just give my measuring cup a little shimmy-shake to settle the fruit and whatever volume difference occurs has not been enough to ruin my results.

   Definitely using cranberry juice in the future, though, for that deeper red color!