DYNA

http://dyna.medellin.unal.edu.co/

Generalities about mineral wools

Juan Pablo Bedoya-Muñoz & Liseth Paola Caballero-Diaz
a b

a
Geological Engineering Student,Faculty of Mines, National University of Colombia, Medellín,Colombia jupbedoyamu@unal.edu.co
b
Mining and Metallurgy Engineering Student, Faculty of Mines, National University of Colombia, Medellín,
Colombia.lpcaballerod@unal.edu.co

,2019.

Abstract
Mineral wools are a group of fibrous materials, which are produced through the casting of raw materials,
quite affordable, such as: diabases, basalt, granites, limolites, dolomites, among others. Mineral wools
are characterized by their high porosity, fibrous habit with amorphous structures, high water retention
capacity, low heat transfer, very fine particle size and chemical inertia, these qualities are mainly used
to produce thermal and acoustic insulators, monopolizing approximately 50% of the market. They are
also used as "soils" in hydroponic crops, and as fire protection, in addition to the waste resulting from
their manufacture, can be used as additives for cement.

Keywords: mineral wool, stone wool, glass wool.

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Generalidades acerca de las lanas minerales

Resumen
Las lanas minerales son un grupo de materiales fibrosos, que se producen a través de la fundición de
materia primas, bastante asequibles, tales como: diabasas, basaltos, granitos, limolitas, dolomitas, entre
otros. Las lanas minerales se caracterizan por su alta porosidad, hábito fibroso con estructuras amorfas,
alta capacidad de retención de agua, baja transferencia de calor, tamaño de partícula muy fino e inercia
química, estas cualidades son principalmente aprovechadas para producir aislantes térmicos y acústicos,
acaparando aproximadamente un 50% del mercado. También se utilizan como “suelos” en cultivos
hidropónicos, y como protector de fuego, además los desechos resultantes de su fabricación pueden ser
aprovechados como aditivos para el cemento.

Palabras clave: lana mineral, lana de roca, lana de vidrio.

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hydroponic growth medium. In addition,
1. Introduction composite materials have been manufactured with
mineral fibers as reinforcement. Three main types
Mineral wool is a general term to fibrous materials
of mineral wool are manufactured:
that are produced by spinning or drawing molten
• Stone wool: obtained from volcanic rocks.
minerals. This is commonly used for thermal
• Glass wool: among its raw materials are sand and
insulation, soundproofing, filtration, and as a
recycled glass.

© The authors; licensee Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

DYNA 81 (184), pp. 1-2. April, 2019. Medellín. ISSN 0012-7353 Printed, ISSN 2346-2183 Online
• Slag wool: obtained from recycled products from Figure 1. Production of stone wool. Source: Chapelle et al [1] .
blast furnaces.
In this article we will focus on rock wool and glass
2.2 Production of glass wool
wool [1].

2. Production The mechanism for producing glass wool is like

2.1 Production of stone wool
Stone wool fibres are obtained by melting volcanic
rocks at high temperature (~1500°C) and
subjecting the melt to a cascade spinning process.
This process consists of assembling several castor
wheels installed in series. The melt is transformed
into fibres by the rotation field generated by the
spinning wheel. The diameter of the fibres is
subject to the speed of the wheels and the viscosity
of the melt. Generally, the average diameter of the
fibre is 3 μm.
that of stone wool, but in this the raw materials for
glass wool are melted at 1300 ° C in an electric
furnace. Then, the melt is propelled through
several fine holes of 1 mm diameter each. The melt
is pushed centrifugally through these holes and
divided into several streams.
Then a strong jet of hot gases makes the final
tracing of the melt into fibers. The fibers are
sprayed with a binder and molded into mats.
Finally, the mats are cured, cut and packed. The
diameter of the glass wool is typically varies from
1μm to 10μm [1] .

During the fibromialization process, inclusions in

the melt of a few hundred micrometers are created,
called "shots", are an unwanted defect inherent in
the cascade spinning process. In the spinning
chamber, a mixture of water, binder and silane is
sprayed onto the fibers. The binder is an organic
resin that creates the bonds in the mineral wool
product. Silane is added to improve the adhesion
between the inorganic fibers and the organic
binder. The fibers are then collected on a belt,
placed by a pendulum on a conveyor belt and taken
to the curing oven, where the binder is cured at
approximately 200°C. Finally, the stone wool is cut
and packed [1].
Figure 2. Production of glass wool. Source: Chapelle et al [1].

3. Characterization of the mineral wool

structure

3.1 Scanning electron microscope study

This analysis is done in order to determine the

dissolution rate of mineral wool fibers within a
product. The microscope used is the Philips XL30
SEM, and the sample represented consists of a few
fibers, often cut into several pieces.
The sample is prepared by cutting a small volume
of a mineral wool product and attaching it to a
microscope heel. The heel is gold-plated to prevent
the accumulation of charges on the surface of the

2
sample, so that high acceleration voltages (20 keV) overlapping fiber networks, in which it is possible
can be used. Observations in high vacuum mode to control the aspect ratio of the fiber, the
confirm that the fibres have a high aspect ratio (Fig. orientation and the curvature [1] .
3) and are arranged in a complex manner. It is
almost impossible to follow a fibre from one end to
the other due to the high aspect ratio of the fibre
and the degree of entanglement of the fibre
network. It is also observed that the diameter of the
fibre is not constant and ranges from a few
micrometers to a few tens of micrometers [1].
Figure 4. Virtual fiber networks. Source: Chapelle et al [1].

5. Applications

Mineral wool has a wide range of applications

Figure 3. Observation of stone wool fibres in a SEM (high vacuum).
Source: Chapelle et al [1].
3.2 X-ray Computed Tomography (X-ray CT)
study
3D X-ray micro CT of stone wool has been used
for measuring the displacement field during
deformation. The deformation of the imaged
sample of stone wool was correlated to its local
density variations but no other quantifications were
conducted [1].
4. Generation of virtual fiber networks
based on its property of having a fibrous habit with
amorphous structure, high porosities, high
resistance to heat and chemical inertia, and the
possibility of generating them according to a
particular need from different raw materials, from
this In this way, its main and most used
applications are as thermal and acoustic insulators
in structures, pipes, tanks, turbines and fire
protection in offshore operations, and it is usually
used in agriculture for hydroponic crops and
currently the application of process waste is
investigated of production as additives for cement
and concrete.
Figure 5. Insulation Market Value broken down by insulation type
(AMA Research). Source: Cabeza et al [6].

With the characterization analyses previously 5.1 Mineral wool as insulating materials
exposed, it can be evidenced that the mineral wools
This is the main application of mineral wool due to
do not present a defined orientation, nor a fixed
its low heat transfer and its amorphous structure,
diameter. An option to control these aspects is the
mainly in countries of latitudes outside the tropics,
generation of a virtual volume that accurately
thermal insulation of structures and buildings is
represents the real architecture of the mineral wool
important, this entails a reduction of energy
fiber network. The automatic generation of a
expenditure and also a reduction in CO emissions, 2
representative volume is a crucial step in the
since the energy required for this sector only in
numerical modeling of the mineral wool, thanks to
Europe represents 40% of CO emissions. In the
2
this method it is possible to generate non-

3
market you can get different materials of thermal
and acoustic insulation, whose main feature is that
they must have a high resistance to heat flow, in
addition, the isolation of very high or very low
temperatures creates a more comfortable
environment for people and avoiding corrosion of
objects inside buildings.
Some investigations like the one carried out by
Cabeza et al. [6] shown experimental reports on the
effectiveness of thermal insulation in buildings,
where reference values are compared without
insulators and some commercial ones, in these
reports the temperature differences and the
energetic decrease in test buildings are evidenced.
Figure 6. Values in the materials used in the experiment. Source:
Cabeza et al [6].
Figure 7. Temperature differences between the outside and inside of
the structure for different insulating materials. Source: Cabeza et al
[6].
4
Figure 8. Accumulated energy consumption of heat pumps, in the
same period. Source: Cabeza et al [6].
5.2 Mineral wool in hydroponic crops acting as a
mineral substrate
The mineral wool is used in hydroponic crops as a
substrate or material where the roots of a plant
grow, due to its low cost since it has optimal
properties for this activity, such as a high water
retention capacity derived from a high porosity, a
low density, and a high capacity for aeration [3].
This acts as the means of accumulation of water
which possesses the nutrients for the plant, in
addition patents have been generated to increase its
capacity of cation exchange allowing this a more
controlled dose of nutrient release. Taking into
account the limitations of land use for agriculture,
the development of hydroponic crops will have a
key role in the food resources of the future and
consequently an increase in the use of raw
materials such as mineral wool [4], but also have
properties against, mainly its durability, because as
the crop develops the substrates with mineral wool
lose their properties [3].
Figure 9. Typical values of physical properties of rock wool
(modified). Source: Nowak [3].
Figure 10. Normally the mineral wools change their properties
according to the progress of the crop, in this case it is observed how
it loses its porosity. Source: Nowak [3].
5.3 Reuse of ultrafine mineral wool production
waste in the manufacture of refractory concrete
It is interesting that not only mineral wool in the
strict sense is used in different industrial
applications, but also that the waste generated in
the production of this material is a research focus
for its use and exploitation, this is the case of the
material of clipping that is generated in the process
of wool generation, which has been investigated
and has been found that can serve as a replacement
for the commercial microsilice for the addition of
concrete, which could improve some conditions as
long as its proportion in the mixture does not
exceed 2% [2].

6. Conclusions

References
[1] Chapelle, L., Brondsted, P., Kusano, Y., Folschack, M.R.,
Lybye, D. and Martin, L. (2016). Characterization and modelling of
the mechanical properties of mineral wool.
[2] Stonys, R., Kuznetsov, D., Krasnikovs, A., Skamat, J., Baltakys,
K., Antonovic, V., Reuse of ultrafine mineral wool production waste
in the manufacture of refractory concrete. Journal of environmental
management, 176, pp. 149-156, 2016.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2016.03.045
[3] Nowak, J. Changes of physical properties in rockwool and
glasswool slabs during hydroponic cultivation of roses. Journal of
Fruit and Ornamental Plant Research, 18(2), pp. 349-360, 2010.
[4] Sardare, M. and Admane, S. A review on plant without soil -
hydroponics. International Journal of Research in Engineering and
Technology, 02(3), pp. 299-304, 2013.
[5] Blaakmeer, A. and Huber, P.J.L. (2006). USA. Patent N.
7,104,006 B1, Washington, DC: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
[6] Cabeza, L.F., Castell, A., Medrano, M., Martorell, I., Pérez, G.
and Fernandez, I. Experimental study on the perfomance of
insulation materials in Mediterranean construction. Energy and
Buildings, 42, pp. 630-636,
2010. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2009.10.033