Research paper Moisture absorption, thermal conductivity and noise mitigation of clay based plasters: The influence of mineralogical and textural characteristics L. Randazzo a, ⁎, G. Montana a , A. Hein b , A. Castiglia a , G. Rodonò c , D.I. Donato d,1 a Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare (DiSTeM), Università degli Studi di Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90123 Palermo, Italy b Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, N.C.S.R. “Demokritos”, Aghia Paraskevi, 15310, Athens, Greece c Dipartimento di Energia, Ingegneria dell'Informazione e Modelli Matematici, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 9, 90128 Palermo, Italy d Dipartimento di Fisica e Chimica, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, Ed. 17, 90128 Palermo, Italy abstract article info Article history: Received 14 April 2016 Received in revised form 21 July 2016 Accepted 23 July 2016 Available online xxxx Three pre-mixed clay based plasters successfully employed in green building practices in several European coun- tries (Spain, France, Germany, and United Kingdom), mainly used for interior wall coating and finishing, were tested in this paper. Their compositional and textural characteristics as well as plastic behaviour were investigat- ed through a multi-analytical approach in a previous paper. A natural earth (Terra Rossa red soil sampled in north-western Sicily), theoretically appropriate for the production of earthen plaster, was also subjected to the same analytical routine and compared with the three commercially available products. Humidity control capacity by the determination of the equilibrium moisture content, sound absorption coefficient and thermal conductivity of these ‘green’ building materials were tested according to the Italian and European regulations. The achieved results allowed the individuation of the compositional and textural features that primarily influence the perfor- mances of the studied clay based plasters. The obtained data are expected to be also useful in the selection of suit- able raw materials and directing the local manufacture of innovative products. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Clay based plasters Porosity Moisture absorption Thermal conductivity Noise mitigation Green building 1. Introduction Raw earth is the most important natural building material being available almost anywhere and not requiring high technological knowl- edge. It has been used for thousands of years in many parts of the world and, even today, it is still the most prevalent building material in not de- veloped communities characterized by hot-arid climates (Houben and Guillaud, 1994; Norton, 1997). In the most developed European coun- tries most of the skills of earth builders were lost during the last century and building with earth became marginal (e.g. Spain, France, Germany, United Kingdom, and Italy). However, especially in the last two decades, the immense requirements for industrial building materials, needing energy-intensive production cycles and causing significant environ- mental pollution, indirectly revitalized these traditional skills (Pacheco-Torgal, 2014; Melià et al., 2014). Accordingly, technological research focused in demonstrating that raw earth (natural or stabilized) can be used for modern architecture in the third millennium and it achieved considerable development (Reeves et al., 2006). The practice of ‘green-building’ demands energy- and cost-effective living spaces emphasizing a healthy and balanced indoor climate. Raw earth, as a natural building material, concerning these aspects is some- what competitive or even superior with respect to concrete, fired bricks and natural stones. As a matter of fact newly developed advanced earth building techniques demonstrate the value of earth not only in do-it- yourself construction, but also for industrialised construction involving contractors (Minke, 2000, 2012; Pacheco-Torgal and Jalali, 2012). In Europe, the re-popularization of earthen materials in modern architec- ture has particularly increased in France and Germany, where multidis- ciplinary scientific research has led to the growth of some centres of excellence in the field (e.g. CRATerre at Grenoble). Moreover, in the last decade, numerous professional associations have also been established aimed at organizing theoretical and practical courses specif- ically addressed to increase the expertise of business operators, contrac- tors and craftsmen (see for example: INATER Project — Isolants Naturels et Terre Crue, European Commission ‘Leonardo da Vinci’ Programme, 2009–2011; World Heritage Earthen Architecture Programme — by UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2007–2012). Earth suitable for building is generally exploited from a soil with a proper distribution of clay, silt and sand. In earthen architecture load- bearing walls, infilling of walls, roof structures, roof and wall plasters can be constructed from earth. Commonly used for interior panelling, Applied Clay Science xxx (2016) xxx–xxx ⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail address: luciana.randazzo@unipa.it (L. Randazzo). 1 Deceased. CLAY-03931; No of Pages 10 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2016.07.021 0169-1317/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Applied Clay Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/clay Please cite this article as: Randazzo, L., et al., Moisture absorption, thermal conductivity and noise mitigation of clay based plasters: The influence of mineralogical and textural..., Appl. Clay Sci. (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2016.07.021