Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a dangerous and invasive aquatic species, of which global concern has sharply risen due to its rapid growth. Despite ample research on its possible applications in the construction field, there are no clear references on the optimal use of the plant in finding the most efficient-use building material. In this paper, a microstructural and chemical characterization of the Water Hyacinth petiole was performed, in order to find the most efficient use as a construction material. Subsequently, two types of binder-less insulation panels were developed, with two types of particle size (pulp and staple). A physical, mechanical, and thermal characterization of the boards was performed. These results demonstrated that it is possible to manufacture self-supporting Water Hyacinth petiole panels without an artificial polymer matrix for thermal insulation. The boards showed good thermal conductivity values, ranging from 0.047⁻0.065 W/mK. In addition, clear differences were found in the properties of the boards, depending on the type of Water Hyacinth petiole particle size, due to the differences in the microstructure.
Keywords: Water Hyacinth; anatomy characterization; binder-less; bio-based thermal insulation; cellulose fibres; chemical characterization; invasive Plant; mechanical characterization; thermal conductivity.