[Greenbuilding] Vacuum walls

[John E. Beeson]

Hey then, how about this?

Recipe for R-Value

If two recent graduates of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have their
way, builders may soon begin using an innovative insulation board
consisting largely of dehydrated mushroom cells. 

Dubbed Greensulate, the board is made from a slurry of water, starch,
and perlite inoculated with live oyster mushroom spores, plus some
hydrogen peroxide to inhibit the growth of unwanted microorganisms. The
mixture is poured into molds and kept at a constant temperature in a
dark environment for two weeks to allow the cultured mushroom cells to
grow; they consume the starch and produce a dense mat of fibrous strands
that bind the perlite granules into a solid mass. Recent tests at the
National Institute of Standards and Technology reportedly show that,
after drying, the material has an R-value of 2.9 per inch. 

Eben Bayer and Gavin McIntyre, the young inventors, hope to bring
Greensulate to market within a year or two; no word yet on the product's
pricing, structural qualities, or suitability as an emergency snack
food.  


QUINN EVANS | ARCHITECTS
John E. Beeson, LEED AP
jbeeson at quinnevans.com


On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:31:50 -0400, Lawrence Lile <LLile at projsolco.com>

wrote:

>
> I was just thinking about this the other night during yet another bout
of
> insomnia. Spheroids ... I am imagining spheres that are at most 1/4"  
> diameter.
>
> Plastic is the way to go.
>
> Now we just need to patent this within one year of today's date, or
> someone else will grab it and we'll miss out on being millionaires.

Rob Tom wrote:
Too late I think, LLMan.
I think that some dude called "Dow" or "Corning" already swiped your
idea.

I think he called the material "Expanded Polystyrene" or something like

that and I think that it made him a guhzillionaire, as Forrest Gump
would  
say.