ArticleRaw materials of annual plants fibres are not easily usable for industrial production
applications. Pre-treatment of the annual plant fibres is necessary to increase the homogeneity of
the material and to improve the material properties. This study deals with the influence of steam
explosion treatment on the quality of annual plant fibres used as insulating material.
Maize and wheat straw were selected for production of insulating panels. To clarify the changes
within the structure of the plants due to the pre-treatment process material analysis was carried
out using FT-IR spectroscopy and raster electron microscope. Furthermore, the bulk density and
the thermal conductivity were analysed as important values for insulating materials.
The results showed that the pre-treatment process homogenizes the materials and the processes
could be used for the production of bulk insulation