How Does Aerogel Sheet Manufacturer Work?

Lead Performer: Amsen Technologies LLC – Tucson, AZ
DOE Total Funding:  $200,000
Project Term: June 28, - March 27,
Funding Type: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 1

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Project Objective

Materials with a high R-value per inch greatly facilitate retrofitting of existing buildings and enable higher performance new construction. Aerogels have an R-value per inch of 10 or higher, which places them among the best insulators for buildings. However, the production and application of aerogels in building construction is limited by their high materials costs and laborious and expensive manufacturing. As a result, costs for aerogel manufacturing do not decrease with production volume, limiting their widespread adoption. This project focuses on the development of production methods of aerogels that reduce the energy, time, and production cost scaling of drying.

Through this project, Amsen Technologies will develop a new aqueous-based APD process to dry low-cost aerogel insulation made from cellulose microfibrils (CMF), a cheap and naturally abundant biopolymer. Amsen will also reduce the use of alcohols in the manufacturing process and strengthen the aerogel network through organic and inorganic crosslinking. Phase I will include developing the unique APD process and evaluating the aerogel insulation in terms of morphology, microstructural features, thermal conductivity, thermal stability, and mechanical durability. Prototype aerogel insulation will be produced and evaluated in terms of R-value and cost.

Project Impact

A key barrier to widespread adoption of aerogel building insulation is cost, which this project seeks to address. Improving the energy performance of the U.S. building envelopes is critical to reducing total building energy use. Improved building envelope performance also improves occupant comfort, health, and well-being. As the lightest and the most porous fabricated material known thus far, aerogel products have large market potential. To date, demand from other insulation-using industries such as oil and gas, aerospace, refrigeration, automotive, and performance coatings has already propelled the growth of the global aerogel insulation market, which is projected to reach $2 billion by . Successful development of the aqueous-based APD process for the production of low-cost CMF aerogel insulation could add to the building insulation market and further increase all market adoption.

Contacts

In the construction sector, composite thermal insulation systems based on polystyrene or mineral wool are currently well established. Mineral insulating materials with the addition of aerogels are a promising alternative, as they have very low thermal conductivity, can be functionalized, modeled and manufactured in various shapes in the casting process. However, the manufacturing process for the thermal superinsulators is currently still very cost-intensive and possible in a high-priced batch process. The aim of the "Aerolight" project is to develop a cost-effective manufacturing process for aerogels and new formulations. Aerogels are thus to be made usable in various applications in the field of thermal insulation systems, lightweight concretes and sandwich elements for facades and roof elements.

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In order to drive forward the energy transition and achieve the EU's climate protection targets, energy and resources must be saved. 75 percent of all buildings in the EU are not energy-efficient by today's standards. At the same time, flexible, functional and cost-effective materials for thermal insulation are currently lacking in the building sector. Aerogels open up new possibilities in the development of high-performance mineral thermal insulation materials.

Sustainable and recyclable

The fine structure of the aerogel firmly encloses air molecules, resulting in a unique insulating effect. The nanopores in the aerogel thereby restrict the heat-conducting air molecules in their freedom of movement to such an extent that no energy is transferred to other air molecules. The aerogel thus becomes a high-performance insulator with very low thermal conductivity, which leads to greater energy efficiency during the service life of the building or product fitted with it. The mineral-based insulating materials do not require any petroleum-based starting material. Since the silicate-based aerogel is mineral, it can be reused as an insulation material after a recycling process.

Aerogels have so far been produced on a silicate basis from aqueous or alcoholic solutions by gelation and subsequent drying processes. Fraunhofer UMSICHT, together with its industrial partner Proceram, developed a completely new manufacturing process for aerogels that combines various production steps with the help of supercritical CO2 and thus significantly reduces production costs. The result: spherical particles with low particle density and good flowability. The technology used enables a modular design of the production plant and thus easy scalability of the process. The newly developed production process also saves on other educts such as chlorine-containing hydrophobing agents and mineral acids. The process was successfully transferred to pilot plant scale, and up-scaling to industrial scale is now being prepared. A pilot plant with a capacity of t/year is scheduled to go into operation in at the project partner Proceram. The process technology innovation will enable various sectors and in particular the construction industry to exploit the outstanding material properties of aerogels for mass products in the future.

Aerogel particles with a wide range of applications

The innovative insulating plaster with the addition of aerogels allows lower application thicknesses and jointless insulating layers, ideal, for example, for renovating old buildings to avoid thermal bridges. Further advantages lie in the material transport through the plaster, especially of moisture to the outside, in the longevity of the plasters, the low algae infestation and the fire resistance.

Furthermore, the researchers at Fraunhofer UMSICHT are optimizing the formulations of the aerogel particles, which allow a desired adjustment of the material properties. In this way, aerogel particles can be made usable as a versatile high-performance insulation material for further applications, for example in lightweight construction.

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