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The article is heavy on cork production, light on use cases. >“Compared with materials like polyurethane foam [used for thermal insulation], products made with
by scythe 3y ago
The article is heavy on cork production, light on use cases.
>“Compared with materials like polyurethane foam [used for thermal insulation], products made with cork require less energy and produce less CO2 emissions.”
Polyurethane foam is used for thermal insulation in a few places. But fiberglass is still the champion of that sector, and it's older than plastic and more durable and abundant than cork. More often, polyurethane is used for couch cushions, cheap mattresses, and shoes, which are difficult use-cases for cork — Birkenstocks have a cult following but poor water resistance.
>used to shield fuel tanks on NASA spacecraft and electric car batteries.
And this about wraps it up.
There are probably some good use cases for cork, but the major advantage of plastic is the ability to do so much with so little. An LDPE bag of the sort now banned in California weighs about six grams. I can't think of many things you could do with six grams of cork that don't involve grapes.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- lh7777 3y agoI wouldn't write off cork as insulation so easily -- fluffy insulation (fiberglass and cellulose) doesn't cover every scenario. For example, Washington State's energy code now requires continuous exterior insulation. Putting a continuous layer of rigid insulation on the outside of the building reduces heat loss due to thermal bridging (conduction through the studs). The most common material for this purpose, in the US anyway, is foam (polystyrene or polyisocyanurate). Other options are mineral wool, fiberboard, and cork. Mineral wool and fiberboard are pretty expensive compared to foam and I imagine that cork would be similar or even more expensive. But a cool thing about cork is that it can double as both insulation and cladding. I don't know if that makes it an economical choice, but someone's marketing cork for this purpose right here in Washington [1]. [1] https://www.smallplanetsupply.com/thermacork https://www.smallplanetsupply.com/thermacork Edit: fixed a typo