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MATERIALS 53
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Current Status And Development Of Bio-Based Façade
Materials Edanur Sonkaya
The current commercial bio-based façade materials in Europe
include straw and hemp systems, wood products, Miscanthus

and cork materials, and biocomposites made from bamboo,
recycled materials, and natural fibres.
Bio-based external façade materials in Europe fall into
several distinct groups and include the following:
1. Straw-based products and hemp-based systems (hempcrete
and hemp batt), often used in timber frame and modular
constructions;
2. Wood-based materials in various forms—untreated natural ecological outcomes such as urban greening and air quality.
wood, modified wood, wood fibreboards, and recycled Research on biocomposites, biopolymers, and bio-based

wood—applied as cladding or insulation; concretes including hemp and microalgae indicates measurable
3. Miscanthus boards and cork (raw or expanded), employed gains in thermal insulation, energy efficiency, and acoustic
for thermal buffering, moisture regulation, and esthetic performance along with compliance with safety codes. Reported
cladding; drivers include the following:
4. Composites and biocomposites that incorporate bamboo, 1. Environmental sustainability through carbon reduction and
recycled PET, sanitary paper, grass, reeds, and recycled the use of renewable or recycled resources;
textiles with bio-based resin, as well as biomass-based 2. Enhanced technical performance via improved thermal,

insulation. acoustic, and structural properties;
3. Material innovation that supports lighter, modular, and
Studies indicate that these materials achieve thermal code-compliant façade designs.
conductivities and moisture management properties comparable
to conventional synthetic insulations while offering low embodied Laboratory prototypes, simulations, and limited field studies
energy or even negative carbon footprints. support these conclusions while also noting challenges in
Reported implementations range from laboratory and pilot- durability, weathering resistance, and scalability.
scale evaluations to fully commercial applications, with notable Weathering resistance of bio-based façade materials,
market presence in France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. including acetylated medium-density fibreboard and ceramic-

The development of bio-based façade materials is driven bamboo-coated particleboards, was reported.
by the need for environmental sustainability through carbon
reduction, improved technical performance, and material Purpose And Preparation
innovation supporting modern design requirements. Taking into account the observed literature and indicated
Bio-based external façade materials are pursued to reduce challenges, the study aims development of novel fully bio-
construction’s environmental impact and to improve building based particleboards for external façade applications.
performance. Based on the previous works of the authors, two types

Studies report that renewable and recycled materials lower of high-density particleboards were investigated using steam
carbon footprints and embodied energy while enhancing explosion (SE) technology and suberinic acids (SA) as a binder.