This innovation entitled “Development of Bio-Composites Using Banana Stems and Used Paper Waste for Sound Control Application in Building" deals with the development and successful use of eco friendly process in the production of banana stems and used paper waste based bio-composite materials for sound control applications in civil construction. Both materials which are normally wasted, and have great potential for being developed as bio-composites for industrial applications.

Once the proposed value chain on utilization of banana stems and used papers are established as main raw materials, substantial benefits are expected to accrue for farmers, textile and paper industries. This apart from qualifying as an alternative natural raw material for textile and paper industries, and also ensures an environmentally safe method of disposal of wasted banana stems and used papers.

As part of the value chain, the objective of this research is to investigate the acoustic properties of the wasted banana stems reinforced recycled paper pulp bio-composites using hand-lay process. The purpose of this study is to provide an understanding of acoustical properties of this bio-composites and to model the noise control behavior in terms of the banana stems based fibre length, fibre volume fraction and composites thickness.

A review of existing models on sound absorption of fibrous materials, coupled with experimental data, helps in modeling of sound absorption in the bio-composites. The effects of several combinations, which may influence the sound absorbing, namely three different fibre length, fibre volume fraction and composite thicknesses are investigated. The collected data is evaluated by the standard impedance-tube and reverberation-chamber methods. There is scope for further research to completely characterize these banana stems based fiber reinforced recycled paper pulp bio-composites and facilitate proper applications in low and medium load bearing industries.