Thermal insulation materials, thermal insulation products, layered structures, buildings, and methods for manufacturing thermal insulation materials

Abstract

The present invention relates to an insulating material (10) comprising a wood-derived material (11) and a flame retardant (13). The wood-derived material is present in the insulating material as an unseparated fiber fraction (14) and a separated fiber fraction (15), and the insulating material is a combination of the fraction and the flame retardant (28) that does not contain a separate polymeric component. Additionally, the present invention also provides methods for producing insulating elements, layer structures, constructions, and insulating materials.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The object of the present invention is to provide a heat insulating material containing a wood-derived material and a flame retardant. In addition, the object of the present invention is to provide a heat insulating product, a layer structure, a building, and a method for manufacturing a heat insulating material.

Background Art

[0002] In the field of building materials, various heat insulating materials containing plant fibers derived from wood are known. For example, blown wool made of recycled fibers is an example. Also, more solid heat insulating materials are known, which may be handled, for example, as boards or mats. One example is a heat insulating board sold under the product name Nativo by Hunton Fiber AB. This product contains wood fibers, synthetic biopolymer fibers, and a flame retardant [1].

[0003] Since polymers, i.e., plastics, are included, the above heat insulating materials cannot be said to be completely plant fiber-derived products. Chemical substances may evaporate from synthetic polymers into the air. The chemical substances are released from the structure into the living space and thus may be released into the air we breathe. These substances may cause allergies in different ways.

[0004] In addition, the synthetic polymers in the heat insulating material may pose health risks, for example, also regarding the installation of the heat insulating material. Generally, the dimensions of the heat insulating elements are not always adapted to the structure to be insulated and must be cut to a suitable size and / or shape at the construction site. Since the dust from cutting enters the air, those handling the heat insulating material may need to protect themselves from the dust, at least with respect to the air they breathe. Since the effects of long-term exposure are not yet fully understood, there may be potential occupational safety risks associated with the heat insulating material.

Summary of the Invention

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide thermal insulation materials and thermal insulation products of the corresponding materials, which improve, for example, the problems of the prior art related to health during the installation and / or use of thermal insulation materials. A characteristic configuration of the thermal insulation material according to the present invention is shown in claim 1, a thermal insulation product in claim 12, and a method in claim 13.

[0006] The thermal insulation material and thermal insulation products made from the thermal insulation material according to the present invention can be said to be purely and completely derived from wood fibers, without containing polymer components, i.e., plastics. Preferably, the thermal insulation material also does not contain other binders, especially synthetic binders. Therefore, in addition to the wood-derived material, the thermal insulation material, especially the thermal insulation product, contains at most, for example, a flame retardant.

[0007] The thermal insulation material according to the present invention can be manufactured, for example, by a foaming method. Therefore, in addition to wood-derived materials and flame retardants, the thermal insulation material contains at most small amounts of foaming chemicals. The foaming method is one exemplary method that provides internal and external bonding between fractions, and consequently, aggregation of the thermal insulation material.

[0008] The thermal insulation material is entirely natural and does not contain polymer components, i.e., synthetic polymers. Therefore, the substance of the thermal insulation material is of natural origin, and its health effects are less harmful, or at least better known, than those of thermal insulation materials containing, for example, synthetic polymers or other synthetic binders. For this reason, its health effects in operation and installation conditions are more acceptable. Other additional advantages obtained by the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description of the invention, and characteristic configurations will become apparent from the claims. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

[0010] The present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0011] Figure 1 schematically shows the origin of the wood fiber-derived raw materials 14 and 15 of the thermal insulation material according to the present invention, and Figure 2 then shows an example of a method for manufacturing the thermal insulation material 10 according to the present invention. The thermal insulation material 10 comprises a wood-derived material 11 and a flame retardant 13. The wood-derived material 11 exists in the thermal insulation material 10 as two fractions 14 and 15. It can be said that the wood-derived material 11 exists in the thermal insulation material 10 as an unseparated fiber fraction 14 and as a separated fiber fraction 15. Therefore, it can be said that the wood-derived material 11 is, in particular, a fibrous material derived from wood 12. Furthermore, the thermal insulation material 10 according to the present invention is a combination, i.e., a mixture, of the wood-derived fractions 14 and 15 and the flame retardant 13, without containing any separate polymer components 28, such as synthetic polymers, that belong to the thermal insulation material 10. In other words, the thermal insulation material 10 does not contain plastics, i.e., petrochemical products, obtained from, for example, a petroleum refining process 30.

[0012] The unseparated fibrous fraction 14 of the thermal insulation material 10 contains particulate wood material 17. The particulate wood material 17 is particles mechanically formed from material 11 derived from wood 12. Examples of manufacturing methods include grinding, planing (shaving) 24, or milling of the wood material 17. The particles may be wood dust, sawdust or shavings, more specifically, such as planar shavings, or refined by a selected method.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the unseparated fiber fraction contains woody material 17 in particulate form, and the particle size of the woody material is preferably 0.005 to 30 mm, more preferably 0.01 to 10 mm, for example 0.01 to 8 mm.

[0014] Suitable examples of wood shavings include those used as animal litter, such as flat wood shavings. A commercially available example is the litter shavings marked "Verso Hirnu" by Versowood Oy. Figure 3 is a photograph of such shavings. The wood material 17 on which the wood particles are formed may be, for example, pine or spruce. According to one embodiment, the wood particles are sieved wood particles. According to one embodiment, the wood particles are also dry. In the case of flat planing, the size of the wood particles is greater than 1 mm, particularly 2 to 8 mm, for example 6 mm, and does not contain sawdust, dust, or twigs. Therefore, the wood particles can be said to be uniform, flexible, and elastic wood shavings.

[0015] Furthermore, the wood particles have absorbent properties. According to one embodiment, the wood particles can be either crushed or planar shavings refined by other means, and the particle size can be made even smaller than that of the planar shavings as they are. One method is to pass the planar shavings through a hammer mill, for example, one or more times.

[0016] In another embodiment, the wood particles are wood dust or sawdust. In this case, the size of the wood particles is generally 0.005 to 10 mm, preferably 0.01 to 8 mm, for example 0.05 to 2.5 mm.

[0017] In one embodiment, the particle size of the wood dust is approximately 10 to 50 μm.

[0018] In one embodiment, the particle size of the sawdust is approximately 0.05 to 4 mm, for example, 3 mm.

[0019] The particle size of wood particles is expressed as the particle size after sieving.

[0020] Therefore, it can be said that the non-separated fiber fraction 14 is the woody material 17 derived from the wood 12, and in the woody material 17, the fibers are naturally adhered to each other in the wood particles. Also, it can be said that mechanical and / or chemical wood processing-related operations that impart a peeling or breaking effect to the fibers within the wood particle unit are not applied to the wood particles.

[0021] According to one embodiment, it can be said that the non-separated fiber fraction 14 is a so-called non-fibrous material, preferably a woody material. Generally, in a non-fibrous material, the particle size may vary depending on the direction of the particles, and the non-fibrous material generally has a certain average particle size as described above.

[0022] The proportion of the woody material 17 itself in the heat insulating material 10 is relatively high. The woody material 17 itself is an inexpensive material. One specific advantage provided by the woody material 17 in the heat insulating material is to improve the moisture movement in the structure where the heat insulating material is present. The wood particles of the heat insulating material 10 absorb and release moisture depending on the situation.

[0023] The separated fiber fraction 15 of the insulating material 10 then includes wood-derived pulp, i.e., mechanical, chemomechanical, and / or chemical pulp 16 prepared from wood material 17. Thus, wood material processed by the wood processing industry 31 can also be cited. Examples include refined pulp, crushed pulp, or chemical pulp, such as cellulose pulp. Then, as a corresponding step, the wood material 17 is refined or crushed, or wood shavings derived from wood 12 are cooked, in order to separate the fibers from each other in the desired manner. In addition to the production of cellulose pulp, in the case of refined pulp and crushed pulp, in addition to mechanical stress, for example, chemicals, liquids, pressure, and / or heating may be involved in the production of pulp in ways that are known. An example of a suitable mechanical pulp is CTMP pulp 16', which can be produced by the chemical thermomechanical pulping method (CTMP). Its purpose is to produce hard mechanical pulp from wood chips using chemicals, heat, and mechanical energy. In the case of cellulose pulp, for example, substances present in the wood material 17 in addition to the fibers are separated from the wood by methods known to the extent. Examples include lignin and extracts. Mechanical pulp contains these substances. However, the separated fiber fraction 15 is characterized in that the wood fibers are in one or more components that form fractions more or less separated from each other in a manner not inherent to the wood material 17 used as raw material for the components in fraction 15.

[0024] Therefore, according to one embodiment, the separated fiber fraction 15 can be said to be a fibrous material, and preferably a woody material 17 derived from wood 12, and can therefore be called woody fiber. Generally, fibrous materials have a certain average fiber length. The fiber length varies, for example, based on the fiber source.

[0025] According to one embodiment, the average fiber length of the wood fibers contained in the separated fiber fraction 15 is preferably 0.5 mm to 6 mm, more preferably 1 mm to 4 mm, for example 1.5 mm to 2.5 mm. The length of the wood fibers can be measured, for example, with a microscope or an optical scanner. Generally, the fiber length is measured by a fiber analyzer such as a Valmet Fiber Image Analyzer or an L&W Fiber Tester Plus. The fiber length can vary based on quality and patch.

[0026] According to one embodiment, the fiber length of the separated fiber fraction 15 can, for example, affect the strength properties of the material. Generally, the longer the fiber, the higher the strength of the material.

[0027] Based on the above, the non-separated fiber fraction 14 and the separated fiber fraction 15 are determined by the state of the fibers in the raw material of the components of the fractions 14, 15, that is, the wood material 17 from which the components of the fractions 14, 15 are produced. In the wood material 17, it can be said that the fibers are in a non-separated state. The separated fiber fraction 15 is preferably mechanical and / or chemi-mechanical pulp. For example, this provides a higher compressive strength to the heat insulating material 10 compared to pure chemical pulp such as cellulose pulp.

[0028] The thermal insulation material 10 may contain wood material 17 as a separated fiber fraction 15 expressed in a proportion of 10 to 85% by weight, particularly 30 to 55% by weight, more specifically 30 to 45% by weight. Preferably, the thermal insulation material 10 contains wood material 17 as a separated fiber fraction 15 expressed in a proportion of 30 to 70% by weight, preferably 40 to 60% by weight. Fraction 15 may contain one or more components such as cellulose pulp, CMTP 16', crushed pulp and / or refined pulp. Therefore, the thermal insulation material 10 may contain wood material 17 as an unseparated fiber fraction 14 expressed in a proportion of 10 to 85% by weight, particularly 40 to 60% by weight, more specifically 50 to 60% by weight. Preferably, the thermal insulation material 10 contains wood material 17 as an unseparated fiber fraction 14 expressed in a proportion of 30 to 70% by weight, preferably 40 to 60% by weight. The components of fraction 15 are, for example, wood dust 17'. Next, the thermal insulation material 10 contains a flame retardant 13 expressed in a proportion of 3 to 20% by weight, for example, 5 to 10% by weight, and especially 4 to 8% by weight. According to one embodiment, the fire class of the thermal insulation material 10 is E.

[0029] The thermal insulation material 10 is suitable for manufacture by a foaming method 21. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram relating to the manufacture of the thermal insulation material and the thermal insulation product 10' from the thermal insulation material. In this case, the thermal insulation material 10 also contains a foaming chemical 18 in addition to the above-mentioned fractions 14 and 15, in an amount of, for example, less than 1%. As the foaming chemical 18, for example, a chemical sold under the trade name Tween 20, which is a biodegradable material, can be used. In the manufacturing process of the thermal insulation material 10, an aqueous fiber dispersion formed by synthetic polymer 28, more generally fiber fractions 14 and 15 that do not contain polymer components, is vigorously mixed with the foaming chemical 18 in a container 29 to foam and is then pumped from the container 29 to a nozzle / headbox 22. The nozzle / headbox 22 uniformly distributes the fiber foam onto the wires of the wire section 23. A uniformly distributed thermal insulation material layer is formed, in which fractions 14 and 15 are distributed vertically throughout the thermal insulation material 10. In other words, in foam formation, fractions 14 and 15 are mixed so that the final product, i.e., the thermal insulation product 10' produced from them, is porous and cohesive.

[0030] Preferably, the insulation product has a non-settling structure in which the flame retardant remains well adhered. The flame retardant is distributed in the insulation material, particularly based on its weight.

[0031] In the wire section 23, moisture is removed from the fibrous foam by means of gravity, reduced pressure, etc. In addition, dehydration by heating is also possible. After passing the wire section 23, the web W proceeds to drying level 25. There, moisture is evaporated using different drying techniques. The dry matter content of the product 10 after drying level 25 is about 90%, more commonly 85-95%. From drying level 25, the web W proceeds to finishing. Only during or after the manufacturing process by means 26, a flame retardant 13 is added to the surface 19.1, 19.2 of the thermal insulation material 10 by means of spray, brush, foam coating, or curtain coating, for example. This may occur, for example, before and / or towards the end after drying 25. The flame retardant 13 may be a known salt compound or organic compound. Examples of flame retardants 13 include magnesium hydroxide, magnesium sulfate, aluminum hydroxide, aluminum trihydrate, and aluminum sulfate. The flame retardant may also be, for example, several phosphate-based compounds. Furthermore, the flame retardant may be selected from the group consisting of, for example, ammonium phosphate, borate, boric acid, iron phosphate, and mixtures thereof. The density of the thermal insulation material 10 is typically 10 to 100 kg / m³. 3 In particular, 30-50 kg / m 3 In particular, 35-45 kg / m 3 For example, 40 kg / m 3 Finally, the insulation product 10', i.e., an insulation board or mat, is cut from the insulation material web W by means 27. The thickness of the final product, i.e., a panel such as the insulation product 10', can be, for example, 5 to 1000 mm, for example, 10 to 300 mm, and especially 50 to 200 mm.

[0032] In pilot tests, it was observed that the greater the amount of CTMP16′, the higher the compressive strength of the thermal insulation material 10. Therefore, the amount of CTMP16′ in the thermal insulation material 10 is preferably at least half, for example 50-85%, or more than half, for example 65-75%, and the amount of unseparated fibrous fraction 14 such as wood dust 17′ or sawdust is at most half, for example 10-50%, for example 40-50%. Similar results have been obtained regarding reversibility. From the viewpoint of reversibility, the optimal ratio of fractions 14 and 15 in the thermal insulation material 10 can therefore be close to 50:50. However, such a ratio of fractions 14 and 15 does not necessarily have to be the most desirable for the final product. In the final product, the proportion of wood particles is preferably higher than the proportion of CTMP16′, but the desired product characteristics can still be obtained.

[0033] The thermal conductivity of the insulating material 10 is generally 0.0250 to 0.0450, for example 0.030 to 0.040, and especially 0.036 to 0.038 W / (m·K). A common application of the foamed wood fiber insulating material 10 is to act as an insulating material for structures. For example, in a building, insulating material placed in the internal structure of the building prevents heat transfer from the inside to the outside of the building by known methods and by other methods.

[0034] Therefore, an object of the present invention is also to provide a layered structure having surface layers on the opposing outer surfaces of the layered structure, with one or more insulating layers formed by insulating products 10' between the surface layers. At least a portion of the insulating products 10' is the insulating material 10 according to the present invention.

[0035] Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide a structure having several layered structures on, for example, the wall of a building. At least one of the layered structures is a layered structure according to the present invention.

[0036] <References> [1]:Varme& fuktegenskaper hos biobaserade isoleringsmaterial, Robert Oscar Balint Palmgren | LTH | Lunds universitet. <http: / / lup.lub.lu.se / luur / download?func=downloadFile&recordOId=8991185&fileOId=<8992313> (PDF document download 07.09.2020; the applicant possesses a printed copy of the document.)

Claims

1. A thermal insulation material comprising a wood-derived material (11) and a flame retardant (13), The wood-derived material (11) is present in the thermal insulation material (10) as an unseparated fiber fraction (14) and a separated fiber fraction (15). The thermal insulation material (10) is characterized by being a combination of the fractions (14, 15) and the flame retardant (13) that does not contain plastic (28), and the thermal insulation material is manufactured by a foaming method (21).

2. - The unseparated fiber fraction (14) includes particulate woody material (17), - The thermal insulation material according to claim 1, characterized in that the separated fiber fraction (15) includes mechanical and / or chemical pulp (16) derived from wood.

3. The aforementioned heat insulating material 10 is - The wood-derived material (11) as the separated fiber fraction (15) contains 10 to 85% by weight, - Containing 10 to 85% by weight of the wood-derived material (11) as the non-separated fiber fraction (14), - The heat insulating material according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it contains 5 to 10% by weight of the flame retardant (13).

4. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the thermal insulation material (10) further comprises less than 1% by weight of a foaming chemical substance (18).

5. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the density of the thermal insulation material (10) is 10 to 100 kg / m³.

6. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the thermal conductivity of the thermal insulation material (10) is 0.0250 to 0.045 W / (m·K).

7. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the particulate wood material is elastic shavings (17').

8. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that the particulate wood material is sieved planar wood shavings.

9. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the dry matter content of the thermal insulation material (10) is at least 85%.

10. The heat insulating material according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the flame retardant (13) is applied to the surface (19.1, 19.2) of the heat insulating material (10).

11. The non-separated fiber fraction comprises a woody material (17) in particulate form. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the particle size of the wood material is 0.005 to 30 mm.

12. The thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the fiber length of the woody fibers contained in the separated fiber fraction (15) is 0.5 to 6 mm.

13. The aforementioned heat insulating material (10) is determined based on the total weight of the heat insulating material (10), - The wood-derived material (11) as the separated fiber fraction (15) is 30 to 70% by weight. - The wood-derived material (11) as the non-separated fiber fraction (14) is 30 to 70% by weight, and - The flame retardant (13) is 3 to 15% by weight. A thermal insulation material according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized by including the following:

14. A heat insulating product cut to size, comprising a wood-derived material (11) as a heat insulating material (10) and a flame retardant (13), An insulating product characterized in that the insulating material (10) of the insulating product (10') is the insulating material described in any one of claims 1 to 13.

15. A method for manufacturing a thermal insulation material (10) from a wood-derived material (11), A method for producing a thermal insulation material, characterized in that the thermal insulation material (10) is produced by a foaming method in which the wood-derived material (11) is foamed (21) as a non-separated fiber fraction (14) and a separated fiber fraction (15) that does not contain a synthetic polymer (28).

16. A layered structure comprising surface layers on both sides of the layered structure, with one or more insulating layers formed from an insulating material (10) between the surface layers, A layered structure characterized in that at least a portion of the aforementioned heat insulating layer is formed from the heat insulating product (10') described in claim 14.

17. A building having several layers, A building characterized in that at least one of the layer structures of the building is the layer structure described in claim 16.

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