Recycled duvets for building thermal insulation

Abstract This study aims to valorize duvet waste notably polyester and duck feathers in the conception of thermal insulation for buildings. Physical properties of these waste materials were investigated and mini-prototypes were designed by varying the components. Thermal conductivity tests showed that those manufactured with polyester and duck feathers have approximately the same thermal conductivity which is around 0.05 W/(m∙K). However, fire reaction tests demonstrated that polyester has a better fire behavior than duck feathers which produce a larger amount of ignited debris. Thus, the mini-prototype based on polyester was selected for full-scale reproduction and characterization. To do so, a Hot Box system was designed and developed. The full-scale tests confirmed the interesting thermal properties of the polyester, already obtained at a reduced scale.