Back in November 2016, the US based insulation firm Armacell has established a joint venture with the Silica Aerogel specialist JIOS Aerogel Ltd. (Korea), to develop and manufacture aerogel blankets.
Recently, the first fruits of this partnership were reaped as Armacell has released the ArmaGel HT insulation blanket, a flexible and versatile blanket equipped with aerogel particles. The novelty of this type of aerogel blanket is that, in contrast to conventional commercial manufacturing techniques, Armacell has developed a new type of process during which aerogel particles are injected mechanically into an existing blanket structure, instead of synthesizing aerogel matrices in situ. This does not only reduce processing times vastly (down to just two hours), but also increases the process scalability and efficiency as well as the freedom in design. Hence, Armacell promises a more economical and tailored solution for its customers.
In addition to its flexibility, the ArmaGel HT insulation blanket is thin and light-weight, allowing for easy handling, cheap transportation as well as simple assembly and replacement, which decreases machine down times and labor costs. Furthermore, the absence of any substantial dust formation upon machining allows for a simple and straight forward cutting of the blankets into tailored shapes. Therefore, it is an ideal material for thermal and sound insulation of “pipes, vessels and ducts (including elbows, fittings, flanges etc.) in offshore, industrial (typically oil and gas) and process equipment” for applications up to 650 °C.
Due to the absence of any toxic constituents, the aerogel blankets are environmentally safe and can be disposed on landfills, while their hydrophobicity and breathability significantly diminishes the risk of corrosion under insulation.
Most importantly, ArmaGel HT blankets exhibit great thermal and acoustic insulation properties, their thermal conductivities being comparable to those of commercially available aerogel blankets manufactured by their direct competitor Aspen Aerogels (USA), which can be seen in the figure below. Therefore, the market entry of Armacell could intensify the competition in the aerogel blanket market, which is currently being dominated by Aspen aerogels (especially in the US).
Although insulation blankets are just one of many applications for aerogel materials, they have certainly been one of the most widely used aerogel products so far. Hence, it’s good news that new competitors are entering the market to revive competition and accelerate innovation cycles, making the manufactured goods accessible for a large consumer base. We are confident that such developments will further motivate research and entrepreneurship in the versatile field of aerogel materials and therefore propel aerogels to common everyday materials.
Read more at:
https://corporate.armacell.com/en/armagel/
https://insulatenetwork.com/armagel
Edits:
* The thermal conductivity curve for ArmaGel HT have been updated according to the latest product TDS.
