Thermal Conductivities of Selected Solid Waste Materials Determined Using Lees’ Disc Method

Abstract

In this study, the coefficients of thermal conductivities have been determined. The goal was to find out the best insulator among the recyclable and locally available materials which can be adopted for use to replace the existing thermal insulation. Rice husks, dry grass, sawdust and old/used newspapers have been studied in this study using Lees’ disc method. The results showed that grass can do best as an insulating material though all the samples can be used as insulators. They all have low thermal conductivities. The coefficient of thermal conductivities ranged from 𝟎. 𝟐𝟐𝟔 𝑾/𝒎𝑲 for grass, 𝟎. 𝟐𝟕 𝑾/𝒎𝑲 for saw dust, 𝟎. 𝟓𝟎 𝑾/𝒎𝑲 for rice husks and 𝟏. 𝟗𝟑 𝑾/𝒎𝑲 for newspaper cut-outs. Due to their local abundance, and no much competing commercial interest, we recommend the studied materials as suitable thermal insulators.