Global Insulation Conference & Exhibition 2018
25 - 26 September 2018, Vienna, Austria
The 13th Global Insulation Conference has taken place in Vienna, with 160 delegates, 21 exhibitors, 17 presentations and the Global Insulation Awards Gala Dinner at the Palais Pallavicini. The 14th Global Insulation Conference will take place in September 2019, at a location to be announced.
View the conference image gallery
The conference was started by Martin Wiesweg of IHS Markit, who gave an overview of European and global insulation trends. He pointed out that Europe is growing economically quite well, apart from Italy, and is growing at a steady rate, post-crisis, of about 3%, while Asia and the US are both growing strongly. Supply-side risks are currently supporting the oil price, with a recent record oil price of $81/barrel during the conference. Venezuela and Libya have dropped oil production, while sanctions on Iran will also take supply off international markets. Gulf producers will increase production to take advantage, while the US is expected to increase production through full utilisation of already-installed fracking rigs. Martin suggested that the oil price is likely to be maintained at its current level for the foreseeable future. He pointed out that EPS and XPS have around 32% of the market for insulation materials in Europe. New styrene monomer production capacity is coming on stream in the next few years, but prices are expected to remain more or less steady. Global EPS production capacity is much higher than demand, leading to very low profitability in the sector. Insulation markets are only now, in 2018, gaining back the size that they had prior to the global financial crisis starting in 2007.
Andreas Guertler of the European Industrial Insulation Foundation started his presentation by reminding delegates that insulation is by far the best way to increase energy efficiency and to reduce environmental impact and anthropogenic global warming. The EiiF has a mission to promote industrial insulation in Europe and has 60 insulation-producing members in the region. The foundation undertakes audits of industrial plants and components and is able to assess the payback time for the use of insulation, which is on average less than two years and is commonly less than 12 months. An Ecofys study showed that Europe could save 620pJ (equivalent to the annual energy use of the Netherlands) by effectively insulating its industrial plants. The EiiF is now promoting a 'do it yourself' inspection, so that anyone can assess their insulation needs, even if they are not 'qualified or interested' in insulation.
Edmar Meuwissen of the EUMEPS European EPS association introduced a multi-criteria comparison of insulation materials given by Daniel Savi of Büro für Umweltchemie. Edmar reminded delegates that EPS was one of the first materials that was subject to life cycle analysis, leading to the award of environmental product declarations (EPDs) which look at the environmental impact of all aspects of the production and use of a product. Edmar suggested that this environmental information will in future be included in building information modeling (BIM) systems. Daniel then suggested that radar/spider graphs can be used to more effectively compare multiple criteria, even though charts may be more demanding to read than a single number, and different observers may come to different conclusions when viewing the same graph. The criteria used as ‘good’ in the spider graphs for insulation were low embodied energy, low global warming potential, low summer smog potential, low acid rain potential, low investment cost, application suitability, low potential risk and energy saved by recovery. The upshot of his study was that different insulation materials are suited to different applications.
Stephen Long of EUMEPS next spoke about the crucial topic of the circular economy for insulation materials in Europe. "The transition to a more circular economy, where the value of products, materials and resources is maintained in the economy for as long as possible, and the generation of waste is minimised, is an essential contribution to efforts to develop a sustainable, low-carbon, resource-efficient and competitive economy." Stephen pointed out that the EU's action plan on plastics will change the regime for plastics, away from incineration and towards real recycling (rather than any use which is a downgrade in material value). Legacy additives (such as HBCD fire retardants) may become an issue in recycling of plastics in the future. Extended producer responsibility (EPR) will certainly focus minds on the recyclability of plastic-based insulation materials that are currently being produced. Norway has a voluntary EPS collection and recycling scheme, established in 1995, which is successful and financially self-supporting. At the moment, only about 9% of EPS from construction and demolition waste streams is recycled, with 58% going to energy recovery and 32% going to landfill. Stephen showed a photograph of a mobile ETICS-recovery plant, based on a Lindner shredder. Finally, Stephen concluded, "humans are the key problem, not plastics."
Anas Nabil of Misr University of Science and Technology, Egypt, next gave an update on the current status and future trends in the Egyptian insulation industry. Local producers supply 95% of national demand, and are also export-oriented, sending product to 82 countries world-wide. The largest importers of Egyptian insulation are Kenya, Oman, India, Nigeria, the UAE and Syria.
Stephan Lang of Stuttgart University next spoke on insulation concepts for ultra-high temperature (>1200°C) energy storage units. Molten silicon and boron metals are some of the most energy-dense materials (utilising both sensible and latent heat) and these can be used to store waste-heat-derived energy, or to use negative-cost electricity from renewables when supply is greater than demand. However, these materials must be insulated so that the stored energy is not lost over time. Graphite-, zirconia-, fumed-silica-, alumina- and aerogel-based insulation were assessed for temperature stability, costs and thermal conductivity. Fumed silica board and graphite fibre mat were chosen as the most cost-effective insulation materials, but Stephan suggested that other, more cost-effective insulation materials might yet be discovered and put to work in this application.
Ben Naden of PRA World next spoke about insulating polymer foams, and how their performance can be improved through the homogenisation and reduction of the pore size of the foams. Due to the Knudsen Effect, conductivity reduces dramatically at pore sizes of less than a micron in diameter, irrespective of the gas used to fill the pores (so that air can be used instead of other more expensive gases like argon or krypton). A solidified polymerised high internal phase emulsion (PolyHIPE) based on styrenics or methacrylate can be ‘tuned’ to provide excellent insulation properties. Higher levels of surfactants can give smaller and more homogeneously-sized bubbles, however, the bubbles must be actively reduced in size through the introduction of high levels of shear energy during mixing (and surfactants can cause curing to fail). Silverson high-shear mixing gave low void diameters, while ultrasonic shear gave even lower pore sizes.
Marc Fricke and Wibke Lölsberg of BASF Performance Materials next spoke about two new insulation materials that have been launched onto the markets: Slentite organic aerogel board and Slentex. Aerogels are gels that contain air, in nano-porous matrices, which reduce convection in cells using the Knudsen Effect, and also by maximising the path for heat to be transported through the material. Slentex is an exterior-use inorganic silica-aerogel hydrophobic flexible blanket with high fire safety, and low lambda value of ≤19mW/mK. Slentite boards have thermal conductivity of 18mW/mK, for interior use, which allow water vapour to diffuse, leading to 'active climate management,' while also demonstrating high compressive strength.
Gala dinner and Global Insulation Awards 2018
The Global Insulation Awards 2018 took place at the end of the first day of the conference, at the opulent Palais Pallavicini in the heart of Imperial Vienna. The Global Insulation Company of the Year was Knauf Insulation, and Supplier of the Year was Qubiqa. The ‘plant of the year’ was Isobasalt of Austria. The ‘product of the year’ was Hardrock Multi-Fix (DD) from Rockwool, and the Technical Innovation of the Year prize went to the ‘ISOVIP’ switchable VIP (vacuum insulation panel) from ISOVER. The Global Insulation ‘personality of the year’ was awarded to Anne-Beatrice Schäfer of Johns Manville, a well-known and always cheery presence in the industry over many years.
Conference second day
On the second day of the conference, Grazyna Mitchener of PolyChemTech spoke about polymeric nanofoams - such as the Slentite polyisocyanurate-based product and the Sumteq Sumfoam polystyrene-based product. Grazyna suggested that products will be developed more quickly in the future, but that product lifetimes will be shorter as well. Varying the temperature, solvent and the supercritical liquid used for foam formation can lead to control over the pore size and shape and hence the insulation properties of the foam. Polymeric nanofoams can also exhibit a variety of other interesting characteristics, including transparency/translucency, flexibility and light weight. Cellulose-, gliadin- (wheat protein), apple-pectin-, or chitin-based nano-foams demonstrate insulation properties and due to their biological origins are highly sustainable. Recyclability is a challenge for current nanofoams, while fire-resistance is also currently an issue.
Henrik Raunkjaer of Tentoma A/S next spoke on the reduction of the environmental impact of the insulation packaging process. Packaging is required to convey the product to the customer without damage, while simultaneously compressing the product to reduce transport costs. Henrik pointed out that a shrink wrap applies too much plastic to the product and shrinks it down to the size of the product, while a stretch-wrap machine applies too little plastic to the product, stretches it and allows the plastic to reduce back to its 'normal' size. Stretch film and equipment costs are slightly higher than for shrink-wrap, but due to using less plastic and not requiring an oven to shrink the plastic, the total cost is lower (while allowing a higher line speed and smarter branding).
Flavia Almeida, from va-Q-Tec, pointed out at the start of her presentation on sub-micron pore size polystyrene foams that only aerogel and VIPs are considered as ‘high-performance’ insulation, with very low lambda values, allowing the use of slimmer insulation to provide the same U-value. Reducing the pore size and/or the gas pressure in the individual pores in a foam will increase its insulation value. Flavia introduced the SumFoam product, which is a sub-micron-pore-size polystyrene foam with open porosity, low density and lower production costs than aerogels. The material can be used as a core material in VIPs, as a component in insulating plaster and for other technical insulation.
Sabrina Huesmann and Christian Raestrup of Münstermann next spoke about the design of curing ovens for glass and stone wool. Christian gave details of a case study in Scandinavia, which requested the capability of drying both high- and low-density materials, of varying thicknesses and widths: Münstermann was tasked with designing an oven to accomplish the task. Sabrina suggested that the first step is to test prospective samples in the company's test rigs. Each mineral wool sample will have a signature response to a curing airflow in terms of resistance. Sabrina pointed out that a curing oven will have a series of chambers where airflow and temperature can be individually set, to ensure that curing set-points are achieved throughout the thickness of a product, while reducing energy consumption to as low a level as possible.
Stefan Krause of ISE next spoke on 'FiberVIP,' a high-density, thin, cost-efficient vacuum-insulated glass fibre VIP for various applications. Glass fibre core VIPs demonstrate good insulation levels, but have previously had only limited service life. Stefan described a project to develop an innovative glass fibre core with a modified foil envelope, in order to increase service life. The objective was the reduction of the rise of inner pressure due to internal gas and water release caused by the glass fibre core and to generate a 'getter effect' (ability to absorb humidity) of the fibres due to a special chemical treatment. Borate-, alkali-silicate- and other borosilicate-glasses were investigated for the production of the glass fibres, while new foil concepts were developed, in order to reduce the gas permeability of the envelope. Preliminary measurements suggest future success.
Nurten Göz of Isidem Insulation, Turkey, next spoke about indirect testing methods for fire testing of insulation materials. Nurten pointed out that the fire response classification in Europe is bewilderingly complicated, despite efforts to streamline and rationalise the systems over many years. Responses of insulation to heat include flammability, heat release, droplet formation and smoke generation, which will vary independently for a variety of materials.
Alexander Frenzl of Netzsch-Gerätebau gave the penultimate presentation at the Conference, on quality control of insulation materials. Alexander outlined the operation of the Netzsch automatic heat flow meters, which can calculate and report the thermal conductivity of insulation materials.
Mark Brims of BSC Electronics Pty Ltd finally spoke about the practical results of measuring fibre diameter (for example mineral wool fibres) using the Diamscope instrument. In the instrument, a custom optical system captures and analyses images of fibres dispersed in water using a powerful LED strobe using light pulses a few microseconds long. A careful analysis of fibre diameter data can allow the optimisation of production and/or product performance.
Farewells and prizes
At the final Farewell Party, a number of awards were presented. Grenzebach and Netzsch were awarded a joint prize for the best exhibition stand. Peter Görtz of Kaibel & Sieber and Katherine Ratlif of Stepan were the most influential users of the Slido system for conference questions. Grazyna Mitchener of PolyChemTech was awarded third place in the ‘best awards’ prizes, with Alexander Frenzl of Netzsch in second place. The prize for best presentation went to Flavia Almeida of va-Q-tec for her paper on sub-micron-pore-size polystyrene foams.
The conference was voted the best-ever Global Insulation Conference, based on quantitative analysis of delegate questionnaire responses. The 14th Global Insulation Conference will take place in September 2019 at a location yet-to-be-announced.
Delegate comments 2018:
- Excellent gala dinner - I hope to attend the conference next year too.
- Congratulations to the organising team. [You] really made us feel comfortable and welcome.
- The event was smoothly organised and just the right size and duration.
- It was nice to get connected to the key players in the insulation industry.
- The networking was outstanding.
- Very good mix of presentations.
- Thanks for the great organisation!!
