Marie Donlon | July 18, 2022
A team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology has developed an eco-friendly sound-absorbing material derived from seaweed.
The biodegradable seaweed-derived film reportedly dampens and absorbs sounds such as human voices, traffic and music, according to the researchers.
Souce: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
In the lab, the team tested porous films of agar — a gelatinous substance from seaweed — using a sound tube wherein a speaker was placed at one end of the tube while the agar test film was at the other end. Meanwhile, microphones stationed at the middle of the tube captured how much of the sound emitted by the speaker was reflected off of the film.
According to the researchers, the porous films featuring the highest concentration of agar demonstrated the greatest sound dampening qualities, performing as well as the current range of plastic foams used to manufacture sound-absorbing materials but that are difficult to degrade and recycle.
The material is detailed in the article, Agar-Based Composite Films as Effective Biodegradable Sound Absorbers, which appears in the journal ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
