Stay warm with popcorn? Theater snack holds promise for building insulation

In Germany, researchers at Georg August University have created a process to turn popcorn into a polystyrene foam alternative for building insulation. 

Forest Sciences professor Alireza Kharazipour and his team create the material by shredding and pressure-steaming corn to expand or “pop” it. A plant-based protein is then used to bind the material, which is then packed into a mold. 

“This new process, based on that of the plastics industry, enables the cost-effective production of insulation boards at an industrial scale,” Kharazipour said in a press release. “[N]atural insulation materials are no longer just niche,” he adds.