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Another step towards practical superinsulation? Cabot launches new aerogel additives for coatings
Cabot’s Enova 3110 aerogel particles. Credit: Cabot.
In my mind, the holy grail for thermal insulation is a practical (i.e, inexpensive and easy to use) product that incorporates silica-based aerogel, and, at first glance, Cabot’s new Enova line of aerogel particles appears to be a step in the right direction.
Bulk silica aerogel is a hydrophobic superinsulator, but it is extremely brittle and therefore not so easy to manufacture in quantity, transport, use in large sizes, etc. Some niche applications have been found where the size of the products are small and buyers are willing to pay a premium for the extra performance.
Other companies, such as Cabot, ThermoBlok and Aspen also have been trying to find a useful middle ground, where some thickness and performance characteristics are being traded off for ease-of-use considerations. And, so far, even these are being aimed at high-payoff types of applications, such as pipelines and storage tanks where added temperature control can yield major energy savings, and to create thermal barriers in isolated construction elements, such as steel stud facings.
Cabot’s innovation in aerogel seems to be developing a product aimed specifically at the coatings market. While the reliance on particles rather than sheets of aerogel decreases the potential for insulation, this disadvantage could be offset by the advantage of being easily sprayed on using standard manufacturing and constructon equipment.
An announcement from the company, timed to coincide with the opening of the European Coatings Show, says that, “applying a 1mm coating containing Enova aerogel to a 200°C metal surface meets U.S. and European testing protocols for safe touch temperature, preventing the first-degree burns one would normally expect within five seconds of skin contact. A thicker application such as a 2mm coating results in a reduction in energy use of 30 percent for uninsulated metal vessels maintained at 70°C. This can easily translate to potential applications as wide ranging as home and commercial appliances, process piping, building and tank storage.”
Cabot says the thermal conductivity of the particles is 12 mW/mK. Although this is theoretically better than polyurethane foam (30 mW/mK), the company admits that the thermal conductivity of Enova can exceed polyurathane (30 mW/mK to 50 mW/mK) when the particles are used as an additive in a water-borne formulation. Cabot points out that this is still seven to 10 times more insulative than standard paint — and I suspect that the company will be looking to develop some partnerships with paint manufacturers and construction material suppliers.
It should be noted that the Enova brand actually encompasses three types of aerogel products, which are mainly differentiated by particle size. 0.1–0.7 mm, 0.1–1.2 mm and 2–40 µm.
So far, I have been unsuccessful in speaking with James Pidhurney, Cabot’s manager for the Enova products, (he is apparently tied up at the show), but he predicted in the company’s announcement that big changes may be in store. He says the, “Enova aerogel [additive] creates a paradigm shift in how the industry thinks about insulation and coatings, two products which were once mutually exclusive. In the past, if you wanted flexibility in a coating, you had to compromise on insulation performance. Enova additives enable a new class of coatings that deliver the performance of traditional insulation and the flexibility of a coating in a single product.”
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Some industry news from this week
On the business side of things:
H.C. Starck and Cabot announce patent cross-license agreement on tantalum, niobium powder technology
Z-Wave makes headway in home energy, via Verizon
UltraCell inks deal with Army for 150W fuel cell system
SUSS MicroTec announces collaboration with Cornell nano facility
DuPont Air Products Nano Materials to lease 95,000 sq. ft. facility as ASU Research Park
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Video of the week: aerogel insulation hits housing market
GreenTech reported that some aerogel companies are offering thin blankets that serve as replacements for traditional fiberglass, foam or cellulose insulation. It’s still more expensive upfront but the costs have fallen to the point that it can make sense in certain cases, particularly masonry or curved walls. The video posted above shows aerogel insulation over bent tubing.
Aerogels are made by removing the liquid from gels, resulting in a material that is more than 90 percent air. The porous structure of the nanomaterial makes it difficult for heat to pass through. As a result, aerogels make very good and light-weight insulators.
Aspen Aerogels says that its aerogel blankets have two to four times the insulating value per inch compared to fiberglass or foam. It’s also relatively easy to work with, allows water vapor to pass through and is fire resistant.
Material company Cabot has also developed its Nanogel insulator for buildings. Another company, ThermaBlok, has had its insulation used in demonstration houses built during last year’s Solar Decathlon home competition.
Contractors have started using the material on superinsulated homes that are sealed from the outside, both over masonry and under shingles. On wood frame homes, thin strips of aerogel can be applied to studs to prevent what’s called thermal bridging, where heat escapes through the walls’ framing.
Aspen provides this chart for for the R-value-philes (Spaceloft being Aspen’s brand name for their building insulation aerogel):
Read more about aerogel:
Aerogel markets report available
Aerogel-based -40°C hydration system to be licensed
Solar Decathlon entries make use of aerogel
Aeroclay research at Case Western
NASA’s aerogel grid captures amino acid in space
Cabot”s Nanogel aerogel insulation selected for 50 km of subsea pipelines
Artistic aerogel light demonstrations
Aerogel used in classic car remake
Aerogel’s potential to mop up oil spills
Aerogel has potential as tunable waveplate
Universe’s largest catcher’s mitt?
Birdair demonstrates aerogel membrane roofing systems
Nanotube aerogel sheets - better than real muscle?
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Industry headlines
APCI announces US-based electroceramic powder production operation
The firm announces the start-up of a U.S.-based ceramic powder manufacturing facility for the production of piezoelectric powders. Hammond Lead Products, a US-based chemical producer centered in Indiana, is working with APCI to match its lead-related materials science technologies with APCI’s array of established high performance lead-zirconate-titanate powders. These piezoelectric powders, as well as additional custom formulation products, will be available through APCI and HLP to customers for applications in commercial and defense-related markets. Expectations are for start up of this production installation before the end of 2009.
Raytheon receives industry award for energy innovation
The National Energy Resources Organization awarded Raytheon the 2009 Technology Innovation Award for recent work in the areas of renewable energy and green technology. The award was for research done by Frank Prautzsch and John Cogliandro. Prautzsch’s work involves using open and closed bed photobioreactors to raise algae using carbon dioxide flue gas as a feeder. The algae is then used to form biodiesel and other products. Cogliandro is currently developing a new patented disruptive technique to sequester carbon dioxide greenhouse gas using radio frequency energy and aerogel catalysts to convert the CO2 to a solid in underground formations.
Cabot”s Nanogel aerogel insulation selected for 50 km of subsea pipelines
The aerogel Compression Packs consist of packs of compressed Nanogel with an integrated protective outer layer to provide durability and consistency of form. These packs are applied to sections of inner pipe (80-foot double joints for this project) and then expanded to their precise final forms prior to insertion of the insulated inner pipes into outer pipes. The integrated indexing of each panel enables field personnel to install the insulation quickly and precisely, without the need for special tools or equipment. The ultra-low conductivity of Nanogel aerogel is a key enabler of the flowline designs, which have specified U-values of 1.50 W/m(2) K while maintaining relatively small outer jacket pipes.
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