Development of a Kraft Paper Box Lined with Thermal-Insulating Materials by Utilizing Natural Wastes

This research studied the feasibility of using natural fibers extracted from natural wastes as a thermal-insulating material lined in a Kraft paper box packaging. The natural fibers were extracted from natural waste of rice straws using NaOH solutions. The extracted fibers were then formed as a porous thermal-insulating pad by a spray lay-up method using natural rubbers as binders. The thermal conductivities, specific heat capacities and temperature-rise time of the natural fiber insulation and other thermal-insulating materials including polystyrene foam, a polyethylene foam, and a glass fiber insulation were studied and compared. The glass fiber insulation showed the highest thermal conductivity, while the thermal conductivities of the other studied insulating materials were found to be similar. Moreover, the polymeric and natural-fiber insulations show better temperature-rise resistance than the glass fiber insulation. The temperature rises for different insulating materials were estimated using the analytical analysis of heat transfer. The calculated temperature-rise times were compared with the empirical results; both results are in the same order of magnitude. Consequently, a Kraft paper box lined with natural-fiber pads was constructed and compared with a Kraft paper box (without insulation lining) and a polystyrene box of equal sizes. The boxes were packed with an equal amount of ice and left under room temperature for 24 hours. The results show that, after 24 hours, the temperatures inside the natural-fiber lined box and the polystyrene box were contained below 15 °C, while the temperature inside the Kraft paper box increase to room temperature only after 16 hours. The observation shows that a natural fiber pad can potentially be used as an alternative insulating material in packaging industries, which can enhance environmental-friendly packaging products.