Sound absorption properties of wood-based pulp fibre foams

In this study, sound absorbing materials were produced through foam forming technique using hardwood and softwood pulps with varying chemical composition, ultrastructural, and morphological properties as raw materials. The sound absorption properties of the produced foams were measured and related to the ultrastructure and the morphology of the pulp fibres. All the fibre foams provided sound absorption properties comparable to those of conventional porous materials used for acoustic purposes. In general, further processing, as well as smaller fibre dimensions contribute to improve the sound absorption properties of the pulp fibre foams. The results provide valuable insight on the optimization of wood-based sound absorbing materials.