The pursuit of thermal comfort in buildings is one of the main sources of energy consumption worldwide. To mitigate this expenditure, thermal insulation is required in construction. However, most conventional insulation materials come from non-renewable resources. Recently, different alternatives for generating more environmentally friendly insulation from biomass have been studied. However, when using biomass, care must be taken to avoid negatively impacting the food industry. One way to address this is to use biomass waste from previous manufacturing processes. The use of waste from the production of biofuel derived from castor beans (Ricinus communis) for the manufacture of thermal insulation was successfully implemented. Castor beans were collected and used to obtain biofuel. The waste was mixed with construction materials (lime, marble dust, and cement) in different concentrations. A device for measuring thermal conductivity was built and validated. The results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) are presented to characterize the material. A decrease in thermal conductivity was found in the construction material depending on the presence of micelle remnants left after oil extraction.

In recent years, the increase in energy demand has been an incentive to search for new ways to generate energy. An alternative is producing this energy from daily human activities. To do this, piezoelectric devices have been used in different human activities to collect energy. Some of these potential activities are transportation, biomedicine, and electronic devices. Harvesting energy from the mechanical force applied by a pianist during their performance is one of these activities that can be used. The implementation of piezoelectric devices under the keys of an electric organ was carried out. A theoretical model was developed to estimate the amount of energy we could recover. The system was characterized by controlled forces. The volume generated by the forces was measured via a Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) using the open-source music production software “LMMS (Linux MultiMedia Studio) 1.2.2 version”. The electric potential difference was measured as a function of the volume generated by the pianist. The voltages generated for different frequencies of the pianist’s rhythm were studied. The efficiency calculated in the mathematical model agreed with that obtained in the implemented system. The study results indicate that the batteries were recharged, which resulted in 53 s of organ operation.