Rock Wool Knowledge Summary

Mineral wool is a general term for cotton-like fibers made of molten rock, slag (industrial waste residue), glass, metal oxides, or ceramic soil. Common mineral wool includes slag wool, rock wool, glass wool, aluminum silicate refractory fiber, and other varieties.

The standard name of mineral wool is called slag wool. Slag cotton is an inorganic fiber made from industrial slag such as blast furnace slag, phosphorous slag, fly ash, etc. as the main raw material, after remelting and fiberization. After processing, it can be made into various products such as plates, tubes, felts, belts, paper, etc., and should be used for thermal insulation, fire prevention, sound absorption, and earthquake resistance of construction and industrial equipment, pipes, and kilns.

What is rock wool?

Rock wool insulation is a kind of mineral wool. Rockwool is fluffy short-fine fiber cotton made from natural rocks such as basalt, diabase, dolomite, iron ore, bauxite, etc. as the main raw materials by high-strength temperature injection. After processing, it can be made into various products such as plates, tubes, felts, belts, paper, etc., and should be used for thermal insulation, fire prevention, sound absorption, and earthquake resistance of construction and industrial equipment, pipes, and kilns.

Fire Resistance Rock Wool Board

What is the difference between mineral wool and rock wool?

(1) Similarities

a. Fibrous insulation products made by high-temperature melting and centrifugation;

b. The same product standard "Rock wool for insulation, slag wool, and its products GB/T11835-2007" is implemented in the industrial field;

c. The same product standard shall be implemented in the construction field (except for external insulation of external walls) "Rock wool and slag wool insulation products for construction" GB/T19686-2005.

(2) Differences

a. Different raw materials: rock wool is based on natural ores such as basalt (or diabase); mineral wool is based on industrial waste slag such as blast furnace slag;

b. The mechanical properties, temperature resistance and chemical stability of rock wool fibers are better than mineral wool;

c. Mineral wool contains more alkaline compounds, and its volume stability and water resistance in the wet environment are worse than rock wool;

d. The mineral wool acidity coefficient is lower than that of rock wool, and it is inferior to rock wool in terms of weather resistance and service life;

e. The use temperature of mineral wool fiber is lower than that of rock wool and inferior to rock wool in terms of high-temperature volume stability.

What does the acidity index of rock wool mean?

The acidity coefficient is an index value for measuring the chemical durability of rock wool and is the mass ratio of the sum of silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, and the sum of calcium oxide and magnesium oxide in the fiber component. The acidity coefficient is an important index for evaluating the quality of rock wool products. The acidity coefficient is high, the weather resistance is good and life is long. At the same time, the acidity coefficient is also an important means to distinguish rock wool from slag wool. The slag wool raw material is mainly a slag acidity coefficient <1.5, and the rock wool raw material is mainly basalt acidity coefficient ≥1.6.

How are rock wool products produced? What are its characteristics?

Good rock wool products are made of selected basalt as the main raw material, the rock is melted at high temperature (temperature is greater than 1450°C), and inorganic fibers are made by high-speed centrifugal equipment, then special binder and dustproof oil are added, and then through the roller, The cotton collection swing belt is covered with felt, and the fiber arrangement is changed by special equipment to arrange the rock wool fibers into a three-dimensional chaotic structure, and finally a new type of light-weight insulation material made by curing and setting equipment. Then, according to different uses, fire resistance rock wool board, rock wool felt, rock wool tube shell, and other products are made.

Its characteristics are:

(1) Good thermal insulation performance.

(2) Excellent fire performance.

(3) Excellent sound insulation performance.

(4) Lasting chemical stability.

What fields can rock mineral wool products be used in?

(1) Application of rock mineral wool products in construction: used for heat insulation and sound insulation of building walls and roofs, fire protection and noise reduction of building partition walls, firewalls, various sandwich panels, fire doors, and elevator shafts.

(2) Application of rock mineral wool products in the industry: heat insulation, fire prevention, sound absorption, and earthquake resistance of industrial equipment, pipes, containers, and various kilns.

(3) Application of rock mineral wool products in the shipbuilding industry.

(4) The application of rock mineral wool products in other fields: instead of alkali-resistant glass fiber woven high-performance alkali-resistant mesh cloth, used for heat insulation and fire protection in vehicles, mobile equipment, cold storage projects, and air-conditioning pipes.

What is the so-called "fireproof rock wool board, thermal insulation rock wool board, waterproof (hydrophobic) rock wool board"?

In the national standard terms and definitions, there is no such thing as "fireproof rock wool board, thermal insulation rock wool board, waterproof (hydrophobic) rock wool board". Some rock wool production enterprises declared in the propaganda "fireproof rock wool board, thermal insulation rock wool board, waterproof (hydrophobic) rock wool board", the actual meaning is:

1) Insulation rock wool board: It is also called an ordinary rock wool board or rock wool board. This kind of rock wool board does not add water repellent during the manufacturing process, and the product absorbs a lot of water. It is mainly used in places where moisture-proof and waterproof requirements are not used. thermal insulation.

2) Waterproof (water-repellent) rock wool board: adding a certain amount of water-repellent agent and dust-proof oil to the rock wool fiber can significantly reduce the water absorption of the rock wool board, and the water-repellent rate can reach ≥98%.

3) Fireproof rock wool board: The so-called fireproof rock wool is mainly to improve the thermal stability and heat shrink resistance of the product under high temperature by improving the formula (such as increasing the iron content of the fiber and reducing the use of organic matter, etc.).

Does rock wool cause serious damage to human health?

will not. Some organizations such as the World Health Organization have conducted a lot of research on whether rock wool fibers are carcinogenic. The results clearly show that rock wool fibers are not carcinogens. The results of the study are as follows: "Insulated glass wool, continuous glass wool, rock wool, and slag wool are now considered to be non-carcinogenic substances in humans and fall into three categories. (The International Cancer Institute under the World Health Organization classifies the carcinogenicity of substances into Category 4: Category 3 substances are substances with insufficient evidence of carcinogenicity to humans.)