BATON ROUGE (AP) — The LSU AgCenter has received a $250,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to study low-quality wood as a possible source of spray foam insulation.
Researcher Todd Shupe says he and Niels de Hoop will be studying the potential of saplings less than 3 inches across and low-value wood, such as tallow trees, as feedstocks.
He says those currently have little to no value but pose a significant risk for wildfires.
They'd also be more biodegradable than petroleum-based foam insulation.
Shupe says current spray foams contain up to 30 percent agricultural byproducts, such as sugar cane waste.
He says he and de Hoop are collaborating with the spray foam industry in an effort to boost that to 50 percent. That would reduce the amount of petroleum-based products, such as polyurethane.