High-performance heat-insulating materials

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9506244-B2
Application number	US-201214232453-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 12, 2012
Priority date	Jul 13, 2011
Publication date	Nov 29, 2016
Grant date	Nov 29, 2016

Abstract

The present invention relates to a heat-insulating material, in particular in the form of a solid foam, based on mineral particles of submicron porosity, this material incorporating two different ranges of porosities, advantageously including a first range consisting of (macro)pores with diameters of between 10 microns and 3 mm, and a second range consisting of submicron pores with diameters greater than 4 nm and less than 1 μm, the pore volume of said submicron pores being at least 0.5 cm 3 /g and the mass per unit volume of said insulating material being less than 300 kg/m 3 .

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat-insulating material, formed from mineral particles comprising submicron pores,
wherein the heat-insulating material incorporates two different ranges of porosities, including:
a first range of macropores having diameters of between 10 μm and 3 mm; and
a second range of submicron pores having diameters greater than 4 nm and less than 1 μm, the pore volume of said submicron pores being at least 0.5 cm 3 /g, and
wherein the heat-insulating material has a mass per unit volume of less than 300 kg/m 3 .

2. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the heat-insulating material is predominantly inorganic.

3. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the heat-insulating material is obtained from a mixture comprising:
an aqueous foam or water;
mineral particles of submicron porosity, wherein said particles are incorporated into the aqueous foam or the water in the form of a dispersion/suspension and said particles have a specific surface area S of greater than 5 m 2 /g; and
optionally at least one additive selected from the group consisting of an organic binder, a mineral binder, a surfactant, and a reinforcement.

4. The heat-insulating material of claim 3 , wherein the mixture further comprises a pore-forming agent.

5. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the mineral particles are based on silicon oxides and/or derivatives thereof, and/or a clay, and/or the mineral particles are based on dolomites and/or carbonates.

6. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the mineral particles are silicates or carbonates of an alkali metal or an alkaline-earth metal.

7. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the pore volume of the submicron pores is from 0.5 to 3 cm 3 /g and the pore volume of the macropores is greater than 1 cm 3 /g.

8. The heat-insulating material of claim 7 , wherein the pore volume of the macropores is greater than 3 cm 3 /g.

9. The heat-insulating material of claim 7 , wherein the pore volume of the macropores is from 5 to 15 cm 3 /g.

10. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , having a heat conductivity of less than 40 mW/m·K.

11. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the mineral particles are clay particles.

12. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , wherein the mineral particles are carbonate particles of an alkali metal or an alkaline-earth metal.

13. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , having a heat conductivity of less than 35 mW/m·K.

14. The heat-insulating material of claim 1 , having a heat conductivity of less than 30 mW/m·K.

15. A process, comprising:
heat-insulating a wall of a building with the heat-insulating material of claim 1 ,
wherein the heat-insulating material is in the form of a panel, or in the form a layer applied to a board, or impregnated or spread onto a web, or combined with a fiber matrix or another layer or in the form of granules, blocks, layers, projections, moldings.

16. A process for manufacturing the heat-insulating material of claim 1 , the process comprising:
forming a mixture comprising mineral particles having a specific surface area S of greater than 5 m 2 /g and having a pore volume of at least 0.5 cm 3 /g in the porosity range between 4 nm and 1 micron;
forming a foam comprising the mineral particles;
putting the foam in form; and
at least partial drying of the foam.

17. The process of claim 16 , wherein the mixture further comprises at least additive selected from the group consisting of a pore-forming agent, a surfactant, an organic binder, an inorganic binder, a rheological agent, and a reinforcement.

18. The process of claim 16 , further comprising, after the drying:
heat treating the heat-insulating material.

19. The process of claim 16 , wherein a foaming is performed by direct foaming of the mixture or by incorporating the mixture into a preformed aqueous foam.

20. The process of claim 16 , further comprising, after the drying:
hydrophobizing the heat-insulating material.

Assignees

• Goletto Valerie
• Louapre David
• Parneix Caroline
• Saint Gobain Isover

Inventors

• Goletto Valerie
• Louapre David
• Parneix Caroline

Classifications

• C04B2201/32

  for the thermal conductivity, e.g. K-factors · CPC title

• C08J2205/048

  Bimodal pore distribution, e.g. micropores and nanopores coexisting in the same foam · CPC title

• C08J2205/042

  Nanopores, i.e. the average diameter being smaller than 0,1 micrometer · CPC title

• C04B26/06 Primary

  Acrylates · CPC title

• C08J2205/044

  Micropores, i.e. average diameter being between 0,1 micrometer and 0,1 millimeter · CPC title