On the use of “green materials” for the acoustic correction of classrooms

"The ”green materials " are spreading in the architectural acoustics applications. These materials are completely biodegradable and they have the advantage that they are easily disposed at the end of useful life. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the application of the ”green materials” into classrooms for the acoustical correction. Among available "green materials " the giant reeds of sweet water (Arundo donax) was chosen for its wide diffusion in the area of south of Italy. The ”green material" was dried and crushed in an appropriate way and it was subsequently placed in jute sacks to build up uniform sound absorbing panels. The ”green material” was characterized by measuring its acoustic properties (absorption coefficient, porosity and resistivity) and the same were compared with those of acoustical commercial materials. The "green" panels were placed in an university classrooms to evaluate the efficiency of the acoustic correction and the acceptability by the students."