The hot-wire standard technique, mostly used for ceramic materials, wa
s adapted to determine the thermal conductivity of nylon 6,6, polyprop
ylene, poly(vinyl chloride), and poly(methyl methacrylate). The result
s obtained showed that the hot-wire standard technique can be used wit
h accuracy and reproducibility to measure the thermal conductivity of
polymers. In the second stage, to verify the effect of the use of a li
gnin (a ''macromonomer'') in the thermal conductivity of phenolic resi
ns, this technique was applied to phenol-formaldehyde and phenol-ligni
n-formaldehyde resins. (C) 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.