Possible Future Improvements and Applications of the Soap Insulation

Aerated soap insulation could be improved by replacing the pockets of air with pockets of butane or similar petroleum derived gases. This works on the same principal as the “Expancel” microspheres used in the earlier experiments. However, this takes the soap insulation research down a different direction because although the thermal performance would be improved, the soap body would depend on a petroleum based derivative to function. Using lighter, inert (not chemically reactive) gasses such as helium (which is both non-toxic and fire retardant) or neon (which is two thirds the density of air) would decrease the weight and help to improve the thermal performance of the soap.

If the soap insulation was factory manufactured using regularised sizing and shaping with regularised and measured ingredients, the insulation product would be uniform and consistent throughout. A uniform insulation creates a uniform thermal barrier that eliminates temperature cold spots and thermal bridging discrepancies within the building envelope. Regularised raw ingredient quantities of a consistent standard would eliminate any minor indiscretions with the thermal conductivity measurements due to mixing more, less or slightly different ingredients into the soap mixture. Temperature controlled drying rooms at the final manufacturing stage would prevent any minute discrepancies in the insulation’s thermal conductivity readings. This is because the moisture contained within the soap body would be evaporated off at the same rate, giving a uniform body matrix to contained moisture ratio.

With outside investment and product promotion, soap insulation could become marketable as a sustainable product. Part of its selling features would be that soap thermal insulation is sustainable and non-toxic. Also, because soap is mouldable, it lends itself to fitting intricate shapes and niches. Buildings that are earmarked for thermal upgrading, can, and often are allowed by building control bodies to be thermally upgraded to a lower standard than the building regulations require (Barritt,

2014). This discretion is commonly used when properties are difficult to insulate without major structural or expensive alterations are required. Grade II listed buildings or properties contained within a conservation belt often fall under this remit. Soap based insulation is viewed as a moderate thermal performer (as opposed as an excellent performer) and as such should not be viewed as a failure. As mentioned previously, although thermal insulation over 200mm thick is unlikely to be accepted as a mainstream standalone wall thermal insulation, it could be used as part of a combination to achieve a wall’s overall U-value. Multifoil insulation, a common type of insulation used throughout the world, does not perform on its own and requires a back-up insulation to help it achieve the correct U-values for the UK legislation. Soap based thermal insulation would probably be best suited for roof and floor insulations where insulation thickness is not so much of an issue.

In an environment where thermal performance legislation is not such so stringent, for example in a country with a warmer climate, soap insulation could come to the fore. This especially applies to an environment where low capital manufacture and retail costs are important, where elevated sustainability issues are important and to countries without a need for such high, stringent thermal performance requirements from their buildings. In effect, by using up the thousands of tons of waste oils and fats that are accumulated annually, soap insulation would actually give this waste a purpose.

In some Asian countries, for example, Thailand, India, Korea, China and Indonesia etc., solar heat gain is an important a problem as heat loss. This is especially so in the overcrowded factories where human comfort in crowded conditions can lead to manufacturing production issues. Roof insulation can reduce solar gain in factories to combat overheating, but the insulation must have a cheap overall retail cost for it to be considered (Desjarlais & Zarr, 2012). To limit solar gain to the factory roofs, traditional methods of solar reflection or absorption are still in use.

A 100mm thick mud layer spread over a factory roof can reduce the interior by 100_C (Utgikar, 2009). However this can lead to structural problems due to the extra loading to the roof. Painting the roof white can reduce internal heat by 11% but will eventually become ineffective through dust accumulation over the surface and ultraviolet

degradation (Utgikar, 2009). 25mm polystyrene will reduce the internal heat gain by 12% (Utgikar, 2009). This means that 40mm soap insulation should produce the same results. Obviously the thicker the soap insulation used, the less internal heat gain.

Insulation in new buildings is a legal requirement in many former Eastern Bloc countries, but because of financial cost issues, only 30% of new buildings actually contain it (Ries et al, 2009). Cheap aerated soap insulation, made from cheap animal fats, could help to combat this.

Most abattoirs and rendering facilities have to pay to have their animal waste removed. If the fats are separated from the offal at source, removal to a tallow manufacturing plant could be carried out a reduced cost to the abattoir. Worldwide, 60 billion farmed animals are slaughtered every year, with this figure predicted to double by 2050 (Cross, 2013). This will create a colossal amount of waste animal fats. In London alone, Thames Water removes 30 tonnes of fats, oils and grease (fog) from the sewer system every day (Messenger, 2013).