| Abstract |
Acoustic comfort is essential to human health and well-being in both natural and built environments. In the workplace, for example, ensuring a better sound environment is of paramount importance because noise impacts communication, task completion, and productivity. Traditional porous and fibrous sound-absorbing materials have long been widely used as a possible passive acoustic technique to address noise control in buildings. More recently, however, acoustic product manufacturers are beginning to set their sights on eco-friendly sound absorbers to replace some of the conventional materials, since most of the latter are petroleum-based or require large amounts of energy to manufacture, which is at odds with the global agenda for decarbonisation and the new circular economy directives. Moreover, the end consumer feels that certain established sound absorbers are not affordable. In this scenario, the emergence of alternative, carbonneutral, and cheaper materials is a trend with growing resonance in the acoustic insulation market. Natural materials and composites have therefore been investigated worldwide by a number of authors as a valid option for noise reduction in buildings. However, to the best of our knowledge, no literature review has specifically focused on animal-based waste for this purpose, and a paper is needed to fill this gap. In addition, this work presents software simulations to compare the performance of different acoustic materials of animal origin with that of synthetic materials. |