Mineral Wool Sizing Composition With Hydrogenated Sugar Crosslinking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sizing compositions for mineral wool insulation products, particularly those based on resol thermosetting resins, face challenges such as formaldehyde emissions, high viscosity, acid corrosion, and high crosslinking temperatures, which are environmentally harmful and costly, necessitating a formaldehyde-free, cost-effective alternative with improved sprayability and mechanical properties.
Innovation Solution
A sizing composition comprising hydrogenated sugars and polyfunctional crosslinking agents, such as organic polycarboxylic acids or anhydrides, which form a polymeric network upon heat treatment, providing a binder that is non-polluting, stable, and suitable for forming white insulating products with enhanced tensile strength and dimensional stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If resol thermosetting resins are used in sizing compositions, then good sprayability and affinity for mineral fibers are achieved, but formaldehyde emissions occur which are harmful to health and environment
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates formaldehyde from the sizing composition by replacing resol resins with formaldehyde-free alternatives such as polyols and carboxylic acids, while maintaining the essential binding and crosslinking functions through alternative chemical mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses cost-effective, readily available materials like polyols (glycerol, sorbitol) and common carboxylic acids (citric acid, malic acid) that can be easily applied and processed, replacing expensive and environmentally problematic resol resins
2Reliability
If urea is added to trap formaldehyde in resol resins, then residual phenol level is reduced, but under thermal conditions urea-formaldehyde condensates decompose and release formaldehyde and ammonia into the atmosphere
Solution Approach 1:
The patent converts the harmful thermal decomposition of urea-formaldehyde condensates into a beneficial formaldehyde-free system by using polyols and carboxylic acids that undergo stable esterification and condensation reactions under the same thermal conditions, producing no harmful emissions
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the binder system by replacing the phenol-formaldehyde-urea chemistry with polyol-carboxylic acid esterification and condensation, which operates at similar temperatures but produces fundamentally different, non-harmful decomposition products
3Strength
If high crosslinking temperatures are used to achieve dimensional stability and tensile strength, then mechanical properties are improved, but energy consumption increases and environmental impact worsens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the reaction kinetics parameters by using highly reactive carboxylic acids and polyols that undergo rapid esterification and condensation at lower temperatures, achieving the same crosslinking density and mechanical properties with reduced thermal energy input
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses carboxylic acids which are highly reactive toward polyols, accelerating the crosslinking reaction rate and allowing the process to complete at lower temperatures and shorter times, thereby reducing energy consumption
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The proposed solution achieves a stable, non-polluting binder system with reduced formaldehyde emissions, improved mechanical properties, and efficient crosslinking at lower temperatures, resulting in insulation products with excellent tensile strength, dimensional stability, and low water absorption, while being environmentally friendly and cost-effective.
Implementation Method 1
A sizing composition capable of thermally crosslinking to form said organic binder, which contains at least one hydrogenated sugar and at least one polyfunctional crosslinking agent
Implementation Method 2
The sheet of fibers coated with the sizing is subjected to a heat treatment, at a temperature generally above 100°C, in order to carry out the polycondensation of the resin
Implementation Method 3
The sheet of fibers coated with the sizing is subjected to a heat treatment, at a temperature generally above 100°C
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention relates to a sizing composition for insulating products based on mineral wool, especially glass wool or rock wool, which comprises at least one hydrogenated sugar, and at least one polyfunctional crosslinking agent. Another subject of the present invention is the insulating products based on mineral fibres thus obtained.