HomePULSARvol. 3 no. 1 (2014)

DURIAN HUSK AS AN INSULATOR

Edson Lou Dominic S. Calvo | Kerstine Mae P. Catalan | Edzon Kent D. Tizon | Ruben M. Ruiz

 

Abstract:

Durian is widely known in Southeast Asia as the “King of Fruits”. All durian species are mainly produced in Southeast Asian countries. The flesh and seeds make up around 60 percent of the fruit, while the husk which is generally considered waste material represents 40 percent or 21,880 metric tons. These prompted the researchers to use the durian husk as a roof insulation material to lessen and recycle the waste brought about by durian husk. Experimental method was used in this study to utilize durian husk as roofing insulation material and tested whether there is a decrease in room temperature. Three (1m x 1m x 1.8m) miniatures were used to test the temperature readings: miniature (A) with no insulator, miniature (B) with commercial insulator, and miniature (C) with Durian husk. The testing was done for 5 days with 4 readings from 11:30am to 1:00pm and an interval of 30 minutes in each miniature. The results were analyzed using arithmetic mean and analysis of variance. The test results revealed that there was a significant difference in miniature (C) with miniature (A) and outside temperature. There was no significant difference in miniature (B) and miniature (C). This means that the durian husk was effective for roofing insulation.