Using Wheat Straw in Construction

  • Dana Mariana CANTOR (ANDREȘ) University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, 3-5 Manastur St., 400372 Cluj-Napoca
  • Daniela Lucia MANEA
Keywords: sustainable building materials, agricultural waste, wheat straw

Abstract

Agricultural production leaves behind it a considerable amount of agricultural waste. Some of these are reused in agriculture as fertilizer, but most are burned. Uncontrolled burning is a solution with a negative impact on the environment and energy waste. Straw is a healthy alternative to modern construction materials, being a natural material. While prices of construction materials have increased in recent years, agricultural waste recycling presents a continuous challenge for the fields of engineering, attention being directed to the materials made from agricultural waste showing characteristics similar to the traditional production, at a considerably lower price. Straw bales have demonstrated standard insulation capacity two times better than that required by regulations, with power consumption reduced by 50%. At the same time, the straw bales significantly reduce the energy consumed to build a wall with up to 90%. Globally, the construction of straw bale is rising. In many countries governments encourage the use of straw in the construction industry; local authorities are among the biggest beneficiaries. In Romania natural and green houses are becoming increasingly popular and more and more specialists are interested in this type of construction.

Published
2015-03-29