Pierre Blanchet and Simon Pepin propose earth and wood fiber panels as an eco-friendly alternative to gypsum!
What if the walls of our buildings were made from earth and wood fibers instead of gypsum?
This is the bold idea being explored by our members Pierre Blanchet, professor in the Department of Wood and Forest Sciences, and Simon Pepin, postdoctoral fellow at Université Laval.
In a study published in the journal Construction and Building Materials, researchers Pierre Blanchet and Simon Pepin demonstrate that panels made of earth and wood fibers can offer mechanical, thermal, and acoustic performance comparable to or even better than traditional gypsum boards. This innovation combines technical performance with environmental responsibility, paving the way for more accessible sustainable construction.
Each year, nearly 65 million square meters of gypsum boards are installed in Quebec, roughly the equivalent of 11,000 football fields. Yet despite their ubiquity, most of these panels end up in landfills, generating about 200,000 tons of waste annually.
For their study, the researchers used a local raw material: soil from Université Laval’s campus. The soil is prepared, sieved, and mixed with water, wood fibers, and a natural adhesive. The mixture is then molded between two sheets of paper, using a process similar to industrial gypsum board production—before being dried for five days.
Tests on these panels revealed several advantages: they provide better sound insulation and have a high capacity for moisture storage, allowing for improved passive humidity control within buildings. Their main weakness is an initial release of heat during combustion, which could be mitigated by adding materials such as perlite or vermiculite.
According to the researchers, this innovation will not immediately replace gypsum but represents a high-performance, eco-friendly alternative for architects and construction professionals seeking to reduce the environmental footprint of their projects. By using natural adhesives like cornstarch, these panels could even become fully compostable.
The study was conducted within the Renewable Materials Research Centre and the Centre for Research on Advanced Materials, marking an important milestone in the transition toward sustainable building materials.
👏 Congratulations to Pierre Blanchet and Simon Pepin for this promising innovation that could reshape the future of construction materials!
📖 To learn more, read Jean Hamann’s press release: Soil-based panels instead of gypsum for your home?
📄 Read Pierre and Simon’s full article: Potential of soil-based boards to replace conventional gypsum plasterboards.
👉 Discover Professor Pierre Blanchet’s interview in Le Devoir, highlighting an innovative alternative to gypsum: more sustainable homes built with earthen panels instead of drywall.
👉Listen to the interview on Radio-Canada’s show “Première heure”: panels similar to drywall, made from raw earth.