J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51
DOI 10.1007/s41783-017-0005-2
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Utilization of Used Packaging Materials for Steam Pipes
Insulation
Soumitra Banerjee3 • Murlidhar Meghwal3 • C. S. Vivek1 • Jayeeta Mitra2
Received: 21 July 2016 / Accepted: 2 September 2016 / Published online: 14 March 2017
 Indian Institute of Packaging 2017
Abstract Waste utilization is a major challenge in recent
years and keeping this problem in mind waste packaging
materials were utilized for steam-pipe insulation. Conven-
tionally corrugated cardboard is used for packaging and
coconut rope is used for tying packaged boxes. These two
materials have low thermal conductivity; therefore they act as
good thermal insulators and were used to insulate the steam
pipe. Thickness of the insulating materials was decided by
determining critical thickness of insulation materials. Before
insulation, heat loss was found to be 122.0 W/m whereas after
insulation, it was 36.32 W/m. It can be concluded from this
result that three times more heat loss could be prevented by
utilizing waste packaging materials as insulators. Mathemati-
cal model was developed for steady state heat transfer and
simulated results showed a good match of experimental and
predicted values. These findings justify the validity of the
developed model and its applicability for further studies.
Keywords Waste packaging  Utilization  Insulation 
Heat transfer  Numerical modelling
& Soumitra Banerjee
soumitra.banerjee7@gmail.com
1
Centre for Emerging Technology, Jain University, Bangalore,
India
2 the surface of the board making them a good thermal
Agricultural and Food Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology, Kharagpur, India
3 packaging and patented it under United States patent. Moll
Food Technology, Center for Incubation, Innovation,
Research & Consultancy (CIIRC), Jyothy Institute of
Technology, Bangalore 560082, Karnataka, India
Introduction
Utilization of used packaging materials such as cartons,
sheets, boxes etc. is a complicated problem, because many
times these materials are disposed in nature which occupies
space and with time degrades to develop environmental
pollution issues. In most of the cases, packaging materials,
only after one time use, are thrown away, causing eco-
nomical losses. If these used packaging materials can be
reused effectively then its environmental impact as well as
economical loss could be prevented.
Packaging materials used commonly are papers, paper-
board sheets, paperboard boxes, fibreboards, regenerated
cellulose films, polymer films, semi-rigid and rigid con-
tainers made from polymer materials, metal foil, rigid met-
als, glass, timber, textiles and earthenware [1]. Paperboards
commonly used are boxboard, chipboard, corrugated and
solid fibre board [2]. Paperboards consist of two or more
layers adhering to each other’s surfaces. Paperboards are
heavy duty papers which are made by one thick layer of paper
or a number of layers of papers arranged one above the other.
Corrugated paperboards are often used for shipping or long
distance transport, where the term corrugated is used because
of the wavy inner layer of paperboard used [3].
Paperboards are made from fibrous cellulosic materials
of wood pulp which has been in use for paper making since
several decades. Cellulose is high molecular weight
polysaccharide which plants use for structure and support
[4]. The unique fluted design of corrugated paper board
makes the interior layer of the paperboard to trap air within
insulator [5]. Jones [6] invented corrugated paper for
[7] patented corrugated cardboard as an object with high
strength, resiliency, low weight and heat insulation.
123
46 J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51

Coconut fibre rope is of low cost and being a natural fibre it

is environment-friendly and bio-degradable, hence poses no
threat to nature. Coconut fibre is made of cellulose, hemi-
cellulose, and lignin in which cellulose and hemi-cellulose are
polysaccharide and lignin is macromolecules of polyphenolic
compound [8, 9]. Ali et al. [10] described coconut fibre as the
toughest natural fibres available. Rodrı́guez et al. [11] studied
on insulation characteristics of coconut fibre and concluded
coconut fibre attached to the outer surface of the concrete,
comfortably keeps the room cool.
Cellulose, which is present in both paperboard and coconut
fibre, is used as an insulator from very long back time. Fisette
[12] reported cellulose materials as smart insulators which are
efficient, eco-friendly, non-toxic, affordable thermal solution
that’s worth considering. Generally steam pipe insulation is Fig. 1 Steam generator
done using asbestos or glass wool. Asbestos is good insulator,
low in cost and efficient to insulate any shape and size. In
industries, asbestos are used as insulating material for steam
pipes. Problems associated with asbestos insulation are the
concern of health related issues. Asbestos causes asbestosis,
lung cancer and mesothelioma if inhaled for a long time. Glass
wool is another common thermal insulating material used for
insulating heat pipes because of its properties like light weight,
high tensile strength and low thermal conductivity. It could be
used for a high temperature of 250 C. Glass wool causes
health hazards such as sore throat, hoarseness, cough, and
laboured breathing beside redness appearance of skin and eyes
with itchiness sensation [13, 14].
This research work aims to insulate steam pipe of a
steam generator, which was used to generate steam for a
steam jacketed kettle. The steam pipe connecting the boiler
and the steam jacketed kettle was not insulated, so there
was heat loss and accidental touching of steam pipes would
cause burns to the plant operator. Initially it was planned to
insulate the pipe with common thermal insulators, i.e. by Fig. 2 Steam jacketed kettle
glass wool or asbestos insulation. But keeping in mind
about waste utilization, economics and health hazards, The steam pipe connecting the steam generator and the
corrugated paper boards and coconut fibre ropes were used steam jacketed kettle was insulated with corrugated card-
as insulating material. Present study was undertaken to board and coconut fibre rope, as shown in Fig. 3a, b. As
study the utilization of waste packing materials for eco- discussed earlier, corrugated paperboard was used as pri-
nomic, environmental friendly bio-degradable, safe and mary insulation to cover the steam pipe and coconut fibre
smart steam pipe insulation for food and related industries. rope was used as second insulation material to hold the
paperboard material over the steam pipe.
Temperature for this investigation was measured using
Materials and Methods digital temperature sensor which was having K-type
thermo-couple. Experimental observations were taken in
Experimental Setup triplicates and the average values were reported.

In this research work, an electric steam generator, shown in
Fig. 1, was connected to a steam jacketed kettle, shown in
Fig. 2, with the help of steam pipe made of mild steel.
Temperature in steam generator was maintained at
140 C, with the help of electronic temperature controller.
Steam Pipe and Insulating Materials
Two layers of insulating materials were used to insulate the
steam pipe. Internal diameter of steam pipe was denoted as
‘‘di’’ and outer diameter as ‘‘d2’’, as shown in Fig. 4.

123
J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51 47

After first insulation the thickness of the steam pipe was

marked as ‘‘d3’’ and after putting second layer of insulation
the pipe thickness was marked as ‘‘do’’. In other words, it
could be stated that ‘‘di’’ and ‘‘do’’ are inner and outer
radius of the steam pipe with insulation and unit length of
steam pipe was taken as ‘‘L’’.
The standard values of thermal conductivities and con-
vective heat transfer coefficients were taken from litera-
tures and values are shown in Table 1.

Theoretical Considerations

Critical Insulation Thickness

Steam pipe insulation thickness is important challenge,

because with increase in insulation thickness of steam pipe,
there is increase in heat transfer area. As heat transfer area
increases, there is increase in heat transfer. Therefore,
insulation material thickness should be decided from crit-
ical radius of insulation. Critical radius (rc) of insulation
[17, 19, 20] was determined from Eq. (1).
k
rc ¼ ð1Þ
ho
where, k = thermal conductivity of the insulation material,
ho = convective heat transfer coefficient of air over the
insulation.
Fig. 3 Types of insulation a single layer insulation and b double
layer insulation
Heat Loss Determination

Referring to Fig. 4, one can understand how the heat

transfer is taking place from the centre of the steam pipe
containing high temperature steam to the atmosphere
through double insulation layers. Ti is steam temperature
inside steam pipe and To is the surrounding air temperature
(i.e. Ti = 140 C and To = 30 C). T1 and T2 are inside
and outside steam pipe temperature. T3 and T4 are the
temperatures after first and second insulation over steam
pipe. For convective heat transfer inside and outside,
Fig. 4 Steam pipe with insulation Eqs. (2) and (3) was used respectively.

Table 1 Thermal
Material Thermal conductivity (W/m K) References
conductivities and convective
heat transfer coefficients of Mild steel 45.3 [15]
various substances
Corrugated paper board 0.064 [16]
Coconut fibre 0.0499 [11]

Substance Convective heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K) References

Air at 30 C (hair) 12.9 [17]

Steam 3750 [18]

123
48 J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51

q ¼ hi  Ai  ðTi  T1 Þ ð2Þ Comparing Eqs. (7) and (8), overall heat transfer coef-
q ficient for steam pipe was determined, as shown in
or, ðTi  T1 Þ ¼ ð2aÞ Eq. (9)
hi  Ai
1
Again, Ui ¼  
di lnðd2=di Þ di lnðd3=d2 Þ di lnðdo=d3 Þ
q ¼ ho  Ao  ðT4  To Þ ð3Þ
1
hi þ 2k1 þ 2k2 þ 2k3 þ ho dd
i
o

q ð9Þ
or; ðT 4  To Þ ¼ ð3aÞ
ho  A o
where ‘‘Ui’’ is the overall heat transfer coefficient based on
For conduction through metal steam pipe, Eqs. (4), (5) and inside area with insulation. Based on overall heat transfer
(6) was used respectively for steam pipe, insulation layer I coefficient, heat losses in mild steel pipe with double
and insulation layer II. insulation layer was determined and compared with that of
Therefore for steam pipe, pipe without insulation. Heat loss from pipe (Q) is deter-
ðT1  T2 Þ mined using ‘‘Ui’’ value, as shown in Eq. (10).
q¼ ð4Þ
lnðd2=di Þ
2pk1 L Q ¼ Ai  Ui  ðDTÞ ð10Þ
 
ln d2=di
or; ðT1  T2 Þ ¼ q ð4aÞ
2pk1 L Heat Transfer Modelling and Simulation of Steam Pipe
Insulation
For first layer insulation (I),
ðT2  T3 Þ Heat transfer process was modelled, solved and simulated
q¼ ð5Þ
lnðd3=d2 Þ using SOLIDWORKS software, to understand the tem-
2pk2 L
  perature profile of insulated steam pipe at steady state
ln d3=d2 condition and heat flow pattern. Finite element method was
or; ðT2  T3 Þ ¼ q ð5aÞ
2pk2 L applied and meshing was done with above mentioned
software. Fourier law of steady state heat transfer was
For second layer insulation (II),
applied with initial and boundary conditions, which was
ðT3  T4 Þ solved by the software. Results and obtained temperature
q¼ ð6Þ
lnðdo=d3 Þ profile in various levels of insulations are provided in
2pk3 L details in results and discussion section. Few assumptions
 
ln d0=d3 were made during the process modelling which are pro-
or; ðT3  T4 Þ ¼ q ð6aÞ vided below:
2pk3 L
Now, adding Eqs. (2a), (3a), (4a), (5a) and (6a), • Heat transfer occurred by conduction and convection
only and radiation heat transfer effects were neglected.
ð Ti  T o Þ ¼ q      
2 3 • Heat transfer is unidirectional.
1 ln dd2i ln dd32 ln ddo3 1 • Steady state heat transfer was considered.
4 þ þ þ þ 5
hi Ai 2pk1 L 2pk2 L 2pk3 L ho Ao
Governing Equations General heat transfer equation was
Multiplying both the sides with Ai = p 9 di 9 L, where used to define the heat transfer process, during the flow of
Ai = Internal area of the pipe, we get Eq. (7). heat through the metal pipe with and without insulation
Ai ðTi  To Þ ¼ q condition as shown in Eq. (11).
       
1 di  ln d2=di di  ln d3=d2 di  ln do=d3 di
 þ þ þ þ oT
hi 2k1 2k2 2k3 ho  do qCP þ r  ðkrTÞ ¼ 0 ð11Þ
or; q ot
Ai  ð T i  T o Þ Surrounding/ambient air temperature, i.e. the room tem-
¼ 
1 di lnðd2=di Þ di lnðd3=d2 Þ di lnðdo=d3 Þ di perature was taken constant, during the whole experiment.
hi þ 2k1
þ 2 k2
þ 2 k3
þ ho do
Relevant initial and boundary conditions used were
ð7Þ expressed as follows:
Again, Initial condition: T ¼ Ti ðat t ¼ ti Þ
ð12Þ
q ¼ Ui  Ai  ðTi  To Þ ð8Þ Boundary condition: q ¼ hair ðTF  TÞ;

123
J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51 49

Table 2 Insulation thickness of

Insulation Critical thickness (mm) Actual thickness (mm)
insulating materials used
Corrugated paper board 4.96 11.75
Coconut fibre 3.10 6.00

Without any insulation Double insulation Readings were taken after the steam pipe reaches a steady
state condition. Steam temperature (Ti) in the centre of
160
steam pipe was taken constant at steady state. Initially the
140
temperature of steam pipe without insulation was deter-
120
Temperature (degree C)

mined. After that the steam pipe was insulted with the two
100
selected layers of waste materials and in fixed distance
80
intervals, the outside surface temperature was determined.
60
Differences between the temperature, with and without
40
insulation was determined and compared with predicted
20
values.
0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

Time (min)
Results and Discussion
Fig. 5 Temperature profile of steam pipe with and without insulation
Thickness of the Insulation Material
Table 3 Heat loss per unit length of steam pipe
Equation (1) was used to determine the thickness of the
Insulation type Heat loss (W/m)
insulation for cardboard and coconut fibre. Thickness of the
Without insulation 122.00 actual insulation must be taken more than that of critical
With paper board and coconut fibre insulation 36.32 insulation value to reduce the heat loss. Table 2 shows the
calculated critical insulation value and actual insulation
thickness for corrugated paper board and coconut fibre
rope.

Heat Losses Through Steam Pipe

Experimentally temperature was determined at the pipe

Fig. 6 Mesh geometry of steam pipe a without insulation (total
elements: 2372) and b with insulation (total elements: 7542)
where, T = Temperature at any time, say ‘‘t’’, TF = Final
temperature, t = Time, i (subscript) = Initial condition,
q = Heat flux, q = Density, Cp = Specific
heatk = Thermal conductivity.
The expression ‘‘hair (TF - T)’’ represents convective
heat transfer taking place between the boundary layer of
insulation and the still air. For process simplification,
convective heat transfer coefficient was taken as constant
[17] and was not varied with time or other phenomenon
variation.
surface with and without insulation, which is shown in
Fig. 5. It was found from the temperature plot that, outer
surface temperature rise of the steam pipe was much less
indicating reduced heat losses.
Heat lost was calculated per unit length of steam pipe
(per metre) by using the temperature profile in Fig. 5.
Overall heat transfer coefficient was calculated by using
Eq. (9) to determine the heat loss with and without insu-
lation according to Eq. (10), which is shown in Table 3.
From Table 3 it is understandable that double insulation
of corrugated paperboard and coconut fibre rope, much
heat loss could be prevented. About 2.99 & 3 times heat
losses could be prevented by insulating with those
materials.

Insulation Efficiency Heat Transfer Modelling of Steam Pipe

After determining the theoretical heat loss with and without Heat transfer process during the steam flowing through the
insulation, a comparative study was done by actually pipe was modelled and the model was solved to determine
insulating the steam pipe with two insulating materials. the temperature of the outer layer of the insulation.

123
50
Fig. 7 Temperature profile of
steam pipe a without insulation
and b with insulation
Table 4 Observed and
Type of steam pipe
predicted temperatures
Without insulation
With insulation
Governing equation is shown in Eq. (11) along with initial
and boundary conditions (Eq. 12). Two models were
analysed, one with insulation and other without insulation.
Geometries of steam pipe with and without insulation were
created and meshed as shown in Fig. 6a, b.
Thermal analysis was done with required boundary and
initial conditions as discussed in Materials and Methods
section. The model was solved and thermal simulation
plots were generated with and without insulation as shown
in Fig. 7a, b.
From the obtained simulated temperature profiles, the
temperature profiles were determined and reported in
Table 4, along with experimentally determined
temperatures.
It can be concluded from Table 4 that, predicted model
fits well with the experimental data. Hence the mathe-
matical model used was successful in predicting the tem-
peratures across the boundary for this steam pipe thermal
insulation problem.
Conclusion
In this research work, waste packaging materials were
utilized as thermal insulating material for insulating steam
pipe. Corrugated paper board was used as first packaging
material and coconut fibre rope was used as second mate-
rials. Both of these materials were low cost and commonly
used as packaging and for tying purpose. From the con-
ducted study, it was found that much heat loss could be
prevented by using these insulating materials. It was found
experimentally that without insulation the outer pipe tem-
perature reaches 140 C but with insulation the outer
insulator temperature reaches only 41 C. Heat loss was
123
J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51
Observed temperature (C) Predicted temperature (C)
140.00 ± 0.58 140.00
41.30 ± 1.53 46.00
calculated and it was found that estimated three times heat
loss could be prevented from steam pipe using the above
stated insulations. Heat transfer model was developed and
solved using initial and boundary conditions. It was found
that the simulated model was able to predict very well the
pattern of temperature of outer surface of the pipe with and
without insulation. The developed model could be used for
steady state heat transfer study of steam pipes using dif-
ferent insulation materials, by varying the properties of the
materials.
Acknowledgements Authors are thankful to Director and Dean,
Centre for Emerging Technologies, Jain University and Head of Food
Technology Division, Centre for Emerging Technologies, Jain
University for their help and support.
Compliance with ethical standards
Conflict of interest There is no conflict of interest between the
authors. All the authors are informed and had agreed for the sub-
mission in this journal.
References
1. Brenan JG, Day BPF (2006) Packaging. In: Brenan JG (ed) Food
processing handbook. WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA,
Germany
2. Fellows P (2000) Food processing technology—principles and
practices. Woodhead Publishing Limited, England
3. Potter NN, Hotchkiss JH (1995) Principles of food packaging,
food science. Chapman & Hall publisher, New York
4. Anonymous A (2015) Iggesund paperboard: the paperboard
products. https://www.iggesund.com/globalassets/iggesund-docu
ments/pitw/ch_2_the_paperboard_product.pdf. Accessed 14 June
2016
5. Anonymous B (2016) Why is corrugated cardboard a good
insulator: E-How. http://www.ehow.com/about_6469087_corru
gated-cardboard-good-insulator_.html. Accessed Feb 2016
J Package Technol Res (2017) 1:45–51
6. Jones AL (1871) Improvement in paper for packing, patent no.
US 122023 A, Patent Type: Granted, United States Patent Office
7. Moll J (1931) Corrugated cardboard, patent no. US 1802522 A,
Patent Type: Granted, United States Patent Office
8. Khalil HPSA, Alwani MS, Omar AKM (2006) Chemical com-
position, anatomy, lignin distribution and cell wall structure of
Malaysian plant waste fibers. BioRes 1:220–232
9. Mukhopadhyaya S, Annamalaib D, Srikantac R (2011) Coir fiber
for heat insulation. J Nat Fiber 8:48–58. doi:10.1080/15440478.
2010.551001
10. Ali M, Liu A, Sou H, Chouw N (2012) Mechanical and dynamic
properties of coconut fibre reinforced concrete. Constr Build
Mater 30:814–825. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2011.12.068
11. Rodrı́gueza NJ, Yáñez-Limónb M, Gutiérrez-Micelia FA,
Gomez-Guzmanc O, Matadamas-Ortizd TP, Lagunez-Riverad L,
Vazquez Feijood JA (2011) Assessment of coconut fibre insula-
tion characteristics and its use to modulate temperatures in con-
crete slabs with the aid of a finite element methodology. Energy
Build 43:1264–1272. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2011.01.005
12. Fisette P (2005) Cellulose insulation—a smart choice, building
and construction technology, building and construction technol-
ogy, University of Massachusetts. https://bct.eco.umass.edu/
51
publications/by-title/cellulose-insulation-a-smart-choice/. Acces-
sed 19 Feb 2016
13. NIOSH (2014) National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.
cdc.gov/niosh/ipcsneng/neng0157.html. Accessed 26 April 2016
14. NSW Government (2015) Asbestos and health risks. http://www.
health.nsw.gov.au/environment/factsheets/Pages/asbestos-and-
health-risks.aspx. Accessed 23 Nov 2015
15. ASHRAE (1993) Handbook fundamentals. American Society of
Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta
16. Holman JP, Bhattacharyya S (2011) Appendix: properties of non
metals, heat transfer (in SI units). Tata McGraw-Hill Education
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi
17. Geankoplis CJ (1993) Transport processes and unit operations,
3rd edn. Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River
18. Anonymous C (2017) Engineering toolbox, overall heat transfer
coefficient. http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/overall-heat-
transfer-coefficient-d_434.html. Accessed Feb 2017
19. Incropera FP, Dewitt DP, Bergman TL, Lavine AS (2007) Fun-
damentals of heat and mass transfer. Wiley, New York
20. Nag PK (2010) Heat and mass transfer. Tata McGraw Hill
Education Private Limited, New Delhi
123