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South Korean student Andy Park’s experimentation has resulted in an innovative eco-alternative for the building industry. Photo: Supplied A Christchurch-based international student has come up with what could be a two-pronged ‘green’ solution to problems facing the New Zealand building industry - namely carbon emissions and a critical shortage of Gib board.

Andy (Minhong) Park, 21, arrived here from South Korea to complete his Bachelor of Product Design at Canterbury University. While studying, he recognised the significant impact the building industry was having on the environment – currently contributing 20 per cent of the country’s carbon emissions.

So, as part of his final-year project, he experimented with a low-cost plasterboard alternative, which resulted in the development of a biocomposite wall panel that uses algae – or seaweed – as a bio-filler.

As well as helping the building industry reduce its footprint through recyclable components, in comparison to traditional gypsum-board seaweed plasterboard requires significantly less energy to manufacture, further reducing its environmental impact.

Andy explains: “Seaweed is fast growing at 0.5 metres per day and is capable of sequestering around 173 million metric tons of carbon annually. It’s easy to cultivate and can be farmed offshore, not competing for farmable land with other bio-based materials,  making it an attractive, low-cost farming commodity.

“Because seaweed can absorb carbon underwater, large wall-panel manufacturers could employ seaweed farming as a carbon offset by growing it,” he adds.

An ability to control moisture also means seaweed bio-filler contributes to warmer, drier, safer homes, and preliminary testing indicates fire performance at the level of commercially available products.

“Seaweed has been proven to reduce ignition risks, increase flame retardancy, and promote auto-extinguishing behaviour of seaweed-based composite systems because it contains boron, a natural fire retardant,” Andy says.

“Seaweed is also recognised for its ability to absorb and release moisture and is a greener alternative to traditional passive fire-protection materials due to the absence of non-recyclable elements. This also makes it able to be recycled and used as a  fertiliser.”

The finished seaweed plasterboard product has a glossy marble surface, coloured green, red or brown depending on the type of seaweed used.

Andy’s eco alternative to traditional plasterboard was recognised in the UC innovation jumpstart greatest commercial potential award, winning him the accompanying $20,000 prize.

After the success of his 12-week project development plan, Andy and his lecturers are in the early stages of a commercialisation plan and are working with Kaiārahi Rangahau Māori to identify suitable species of seaweed for product development and marine agriculture. The team are seeking additional funding and input from industry experts to assist in further research and business development.

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