Development and performance evaluation of ultra-lightweight geopolymer foam insulation material

The preparation technology for new ultra-lightweight geopolymer insulation materials (ULGIM) has been developed based on the principle of alkaline activation, and ULGIM for building walls have been obtained. It has improved the problem of traditional inorganic foam insulation material that cannot balance density, insulation performance, mechanical performance and environmental performance. The composition of supplementary cementitious materials, the mass ratio between each component, and water to binder ratio (w/b) were used to analyze the thermal conductivity, dry density, volumetric water absorption, compressive strength, average pore diameter, and porosity of ULGIM. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method was employed to assess the environmental impact of ULGIM production. The test results showed that ULGIM achieved a dry density and thermal conductivity of ULGIM only 181.17 kg/m³ and 0.0427 W/(m·K), respectively, and the optimal compressive strength was 0.72 MPa at 7 d. ULGIM exhibited superior compressive strength, lower thermal conductivity, and smaller environmental impact in comparison to cement-based foamed materials with comparable dry density.