17th Global Insulation Conference and Exhibition - 2024

Above: the 'Ladies of Insulation' 2024, pictured at the conference.

The 17th Global Insulation Conference, Exhibition and Awards has successfully taken place in Munich, Bavaria, with 150 delegates from 33 countries, 18 presentations and 12 hours of networking time. The event will next place in November 2025 in Baveno on Lago Maggiore, near Milan, Italy.

In 2024, Yassine Touahri started the conference by pointing out that there is a mixed picture in the global insulation industry: activity is down, but pricing is holding. Power and gas prices have previously peaked due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, but have now largely normalised. Producer cost pressures have largely been passed on to consumers, and the operating margins of the main insulation producers remain strong. Any recovery in housing may only come in 2025 and in other construction sectors it may come in 2026. French state debt, US election results and the ever-volatile Middle Eastern situation will also affect growth. Yassine suggested that energy inflation may return from 2025, which will inevitably impact industry profitability. However, ownership is strongly concentrated among a small number of players, and price discipline will help to maintain margins. Energy efficiency will drive renovation and consumption of insulation in both Europe and North America. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), stipulates that primary energy usage must decrease, very dramatically in some cases: probably at rates that are beyond the bounds of physical possibility. The targets imply renovation of around 3% of the worst-performing non-residential buildings in Europe each year, which is unlikely as the current level is only around 1%. “Many more insulation plants will need to be built.” However, there is a severe lack of skilled labour to do the renovation work, and the cost of ‘deep renovation’ is also putting off householders and voters, provoking a backlash and delays to legislation. He suggested that construction materials companies are starting to move into attractive adjacent industries, in order to effectively provide solutions and systems to architects and constructors. Yassine suggested that Kingspan will increase its offering in the mineral wool sector. Saint-Gobain is breaking down the walls between its product ‘silos’ to promote its systems, while Knauf, Etex and Rockwool are all looking likely to major on labour-saving prefabricated systems in the future. He concluded that insulation has a central role to play in the battle against climate change, which suggests strong growth.

Grazyna Mitchener of PolyChemTech Ltd next spoke about the role of big data and AI in the insulation industry. She started by saying that the insulation industry has three main roles: heat transfer reduction, fire-resistance and sustainability. AI can process a huge amount of data in a short time, and to suggest something new, it needs new data. Grazyna railed against paper records, and instead promoted structured, complete, digital and interrogatable data. Formulation designs, raw materials data, lab results, trails results and other data can be useful. Using a company’s own confidential experimental data with open science data for example including carbon footprints, analysed using AI, can lead to innovations. Grazyna pointed out that although the carbon footprint of a bio-based insulation may initially be low, depending on its origin, the performance over its lifespan is of greater significance. New databases can be used to generate energy balances for new formulations, depending on the energy concentration in the individual ingredients. In addition, Grazyna showed how ‘AI’ analysis of experimental data can lead to optimisation of current insulation, if not - yet - to new insulation materials.

Frank Yang of Liatris Inc. next spoke about bio-based insulation, an industry that Frank suggested is currently worth around US$41Bn/yr, with a CAGR of 25%, derived from mass timber, cellulose, sheep wool, cork, bamboo, eucalyptus, grasses, mycelium and hemp-based materials, from companies such as Bamcore, Plantd, hempitecture, and TimberHP. Risks for bio-based insulation include moisture absorption, flammability, pest and mould susceptibility and supply-chain quality. Customer hesitancy to use biomaterials due to performance and durability concerns is another major limiting factor in widespread adoption. Liatris uses commodity materials, clay, cellulose and aerogels, and novel processes including nano-cellular foaming and nano-cellular phosphorylation to achieve non-flammability, to produce moisture- and mould-resistant high-performance insulation. Casting, moulding, 3D printing and extrusion foaming could all be used to produce the final product.

Troels Mathiesen of Tentoma started by saying that, “without good packaging, even great insulation materials loose value.” Troels outlined a stretch-film-based solution for six-sided waterproof packaging, using films with up to 50% recycled materials, which can in turn be recycled. Since they are stretch- rather than shrink-based films, no heat is required for shrinking meaning that energy consumption is up to 90% lower than other packaging options, at about 0.03kWh per packed unit.

Alessandro Gullà of AWS Corporation then spoke about the use of wet electrostatic precipitators (WESP) for the removal of phenol, dust and formaldehyde in mineral wool production, comparing their performance against panel filters. A quencher and scrubber is typically used to capture larger particles before the gas is sent to the WESP. He suggested that WESP has high efficiency removal of a variety of pollutants, alongside low pressure drop, albeit at a higher Capex compared to a filter unit.

Zheng Lu of the Technical University of Denmark next reviewed the climate mitigation potential of bio-based insulation materials. Mineral-and plastic-based insulation materials have high embodied energy, but they have high insulation performance. Bio-based materials have a range of embodied energy totals (flax has zero, coffee is extremely high), but typically at lower levels than non-bio-based materials. Some cotton-based materials have very good insulation performance. Embodied carbon also varies, and for coconut-based materials can be negative. Longevity of the materials can have a strong effect on overall efficacy. Zheng concluded that cellulose and straw bales are promising alternative insulation materials for climate-change mitigation.

Tom Redant of Hammer-IMS next spoke about quality control of insulation using ‘M-ray’ scanners, which are used before and after the curing oven for mineral and glass wools. ‘M-rays’ are radio waves that are reflected by solid surfaces - an insulation material laying above the reflector changes the relay time, depending on the density of the insulation and allowing basis-weight determination. Tom demonstrated that 100% coverage of the width of the material can be achieved using eight scanning sensors, although four could be used in a lower-specification system.

Olaf Kirschnick, representing the company Dr. Paul Lohmann GmbH, next spoke on the role of metal salts in the insulation industry. Metals salts including formates, oxalates, tartrates, sulphates, citrates, oxides, carbonates and acetates, of metals such as potassium, aluminium and sodium, can act as additives, catalysts, stabilisers and process aids in insulation production. For the insulation market, metal salts can bring process optimisation and performance enhancement to PIR rigid foams, to aerogels and to cellulose insulation. Addition of metals salts to cellulosic materials can improve flame retardancy and thermal performance, improves mould-, microbe- and pest-resistance, and improves biodegradability.

Marco de Kok of SGS Intron Certificatie B.V. gave some details of certification procedures for the biogenic component of insulation materials. Under new EU rules, including the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), the use of recycled or bio-based materials will be rewarded. Under the EU Green Claims Directive, unsubstantiated claims such as ‘eco-friendly’ or ‘green’ will be banned, and all claims need to be backed up with data. Additional subsidies and tax reductions for using bio-based and recycled materials are rapidly increasing demand for the materials. For recycled content, SGS Intron audits the entire material supply chain, including calibration of measuring devices, as an independent third-party, to provide high-quality data for product claim substantiation under ISO 14021. C14 isotope analysis is used to determine the bio-based content of materials. Marco concluded that “third party certification increases trust in environmental claims.”

Rounding off the first day, Andreas Guertler of the European Industrial Insulation Foundation (EIIF) spoke about the new Insulation Energy Class Standard EN 17956. The standard defines energy efficiency classes in terms of the maximum allowed density of heat flow rate from different surfaces, for example 13W/m2 on a flat surface would be Class C.

Dinner

Conference delegates gathered at the local Bavarian brewery, the Münchner Stubn, for the Global Insulation Awards dinner. Knauf Insulation was once again presented with the ‘Insulation company of the year’ award, while Johns Manville received the ‘supplier of the year’ award. Global Insulation plant of the year went to the Joplin, Missouri, plant of Owens Corning, and the product of the year was presented to Kingspan’s HemKor hemp-based insulation product. Grenzebach won the Technical innovation’ award for its electric melters for mineral wool. Three ‘Global Insulation Personality of the year’ awards were presented, to Anne Beatrice Schaefer of Johns Manville, to Walter Siegel of Kaibel & Sieber GmbH, and to Manuela Mora of Italian company BOCEDI. Finally, the venue for the conference in November 2025 was announced as Beveno, on the shores of Lago Maggiore, near Milan, Italy.

Conference second day

On the second day of the conference, Irfan Özdemir of Heermann Maschinenbau spoke about cutting solutions for insulation, including horizontal and vertical bandsaws, angle saws, contour cutting and circular saws, and flying saws. Contour cutting machines can cut very fancy shapes, for example into pipes, while the horizontal bandsaw is caused to cut thin sheets from larger blocks. The company also - besides cutting solutions - provides pre- and post-saw material handling options.

Next, Maximilian Hanf of Grenzebach BSH GmbH spoke about the path towards CO₂-neutral production of insulation materials. He pointed out that in the EU carbon emissions are due to be cut by 55% compared to 1990 by 2030, although the targets are likely to be missed, even if the current trend is still downwards. Max said that the raw materials for mineral wool only account for 4% of the costs of production, whereas binders account for 45% and energy is 35%. Water and waste water is 5% of the cost and other consumables cost 10% of the total. Historically, electric melters were common for low capacity plants in the 1970s to 2000, with coke cupola furnaces common after 2000. Coke is subject to pricing fluctuations and has previously been imported from Russia, a source currently unavailable. He showed a graph indicating that CO₂ costs will increase past Euro180/t by 2030. A coke cupola furnace creates 0.6t of CO₂ for each tonne of mineral wool produced - leading to a colossal potential bill for carbon emissions in the future. Grenzebach has ejected the coke cupola from its product portfolio, and instead is promoting gas cupola and electric melter solutions. Hydrogen-fired furnaces may be possible in the (far) future. The advantages of the electric melters include the use of energy from renewable sources, long refractory life, low CO₂ and NOx in the exhaust gases, less iron drainage and no additional requirement for briquetting and oxygen. 

Sebastian Hohmann of Grenzebach spoke, after a long networking and coffee break, about flexible wood fibre insulation. Dried wood fibres are combined with very fine bi-component (bico) fibres, with core and sheath made of different synthetic materials and of length 3-32mm, to form an homogenous mix, and are then formed into a mat of up to 3.1m width. Products can be 40-300mm thickness, with density of approximately 50-60kg/m3. The mat is then consolidated in a curing oven to activate the binder, in individually heated and ventilate zones. The cooled mat passes through a trimming and flying cross-cut saw to create final board sizes, before packaging and palletising. Plant capacities range from 3-10t/hr. Likely future developments include a wider variety of fibres, different curing oven heating solutions, more options for different product sizes, and more robotic handling. Sebastian laid out the possibilities for sample board production and testing using customer raw materials, at the company’s test centre in Bad Hersfeld. 

A veritable tag-team of presenters from Ahlstrom - Ilya Belyakov, Tanya Brück, and Maxence Décamps - then spoke on the use of specialised glass fibre tissue to improve face and back liner performance of mineral wool and glass wool insulation (with products for foams coming to market in 2025). Ilya mentioned that advanced tissues are available, with different coatings, colours, fibre mixes and multilayering. Tanya spoke on bio-based Kraft paper facing for insulation products, which include Spantex moisture- and vapour-barrier foils, which have anti-mould and and anti-fungal properties. ‘Flame-gard’ flame-resistant papers self-extinguish when the flame is removed, with no restarting. Maxence then outlined the options for combining Kraft fibres and glass fibres in hybrid designs that fill the gaps between paper and glass veils.

Hamed Saber of the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu next spoke on the evaluation of the thermal performance of reflective insulation assemblies. Low-emittance surfaces, reflective insulation, should face air-spaces such as windows, curtain walls, skylights and attics, for maximum effectiveness. Hamed show a variety of computational tools that can be used to assess thermal performance of reflective and radiant insulation, in air-spaces, in steel framing, and in attics, despite the current limitations of the available ISO and ASHRAE industry standards.

Carles Ibáñez Brugués of the ICL Group next spoke about bio-based flame retardants for polyurethane foams. The company is a specialist in bromine and phosphorous chemistries and associated areas, particularly flame retardants. A new phosphorous-centred bio-based flame retardant has been developed, with 79% bio-content, with very low viscosity, in the form of a low-colour transparent liquid. The ‘Fru-414’ retardant is now available for lab trials and pilot runs.

Christina Eicheler of the Technical University of Munich next spoke on insulating plasters based on hollow micro glass bubbles. Critically, the sprayable plaster would be 100% mineral-based, allowing its recycling and reuse, fireproof, and would display the possibility to have multiple layers, with a binding layer, an insulating layer and a waterproof layer. Christina concentrated on the nature of the binder, which needs to have good workability and a reduced CO₂ footprint. Gypsum was considered as the binder, the problem being that it is not waterproof. However, an alpha-hemihydrate mixed with a ground granulated blast furnace slag, with a minor amount of cement as an activator, and a pozzolan as a ‘stabiliser’ shows good durability once hardened. Such a ‘GCSP’ binder has previously been used in the old Soviet Union. The ratios of the mixtures are not trivial - they must be accurate for highest performance and also depend on the compositions of the ingredients. Ultimate strength is in the region of 20N/mm2.

Samuel Gounden of Tenova Pyromet gave the last presentation at the conference, on electric furnaces for mineral wool production. Typical energy consumption for an electric furnace is 1-1.3MWh/t of mineral wool. Each furnace is designed from scratch, depending on the raw materials and the required outputs. Samuel pointed out that a very wide range of raw materials can be used for mineral wools, including a variety of slags and other minerals. The company’s electric furnaces also have the ability to turn down and also ramp-up from the rated nominal value, allowing flexibility in the face of varying demand. The furnace also features a ‘SlagFlo’ hydraulically actuated water-cooled copper element to control slag flow. “Power is nothing without control,” he stated, outlining the ‘AutoFurn’ control system and furnace information systems, which allow for remote control of the furnace. The company has been supplying electric furnaces into the mineral wool industry since 1973.

A lively, informative and provocative discussion then took place among all participants on the future of the global insulation industry.

Prizes and farewells

After the conference programme, delegates gathered for a farewell party, where the prizes for the best presentations were awarded, as voted-for by the delegates. In fourth place was Christina Eicheler from the Technical University of Munich for her presentation on insulating binders, while Yassine Touahri of OnField Research was third for his paper on global insulation industry trends. Sebastian Hohmann of Grenzebach was second with his paper on wood fibre insulation plants, but the winner of the prize for the best presentation was Samuel Gounden of Tenova Pyromet with his paper on the long history and evolution of electric furnaces for the production of mineral wool.

Delegates strongly praised the event for its superb networking opportunities, for the technical content of the presentations and for its smooth organisation and friendly atmosphere.

The 18th Global Insulation Conference, Exhibition and Awards will take place in Baveno, on the shore of Lago Maggiore, close to Milan, Italy, in November 2025.

What did the delegates say?

• Loved the Bavarian Evening
• Great athmosphere!
• Thank you. Another brilliant event.
• Thank you for your excellent work
• Great for making contacts
• Good energy level and pace
• Next year again!
• Good people, positive vibe overall. Excellent hosts!
• It is a good opportunity to explore the latest advancements in insulation technology, network with experts from around the world, and contribute to a more sustainable future.
• I will recommend to assist this conference to my department and manufacturing colleagues. And even more now that you will come to visit us in Italy. Thank you for the organization.
• Great organisation of the event! Structured and good atmosphere. Will definitely come back
• Wery well organized event, good coverage of industry trends and great networking!
• Good atmosphere, well managed and presented, good concept, well done
• Thank you very much, I will for sure attend next years Event!
• Wonderful opportunity to meet all people involved in insulation sector in the same place.
• Awesome event. Great privilege to have been part of it.
• Nice one
• Very happy and delighted that we were able to join last minute and it was immensely important for [us] to listen and learn. This was all about getting educated and networking for us.
• Compact , fruitful for networking nice open panel discussion with all audience participation
• Great event! Very happy to be here!
• So great, I will definitely attend next year's
• Will take part again
• Thanks to organizers! Thanks to attendees
• Very well chosen location
• Great work from all of you. Thanks

Global Insulation Conference & Exhibition 2022
9 - 10 November 2023, Chicago, US

View the Global Insulation Conference photo gallery

The combined 21st Global Gypsum Conference and 16th Global Insulation Conference has successfully taken place in at the Westin Lombard Hotel on the outskirts of Chicago, USA, with 430 delegates from 44 countries, nearly 60 exhibitors and a combined programme of 30 papers over two days.

Yassine Touahri first gave a forecast for insulation and gypsum wallboard. He suggested that there would be weak demand due to high interest rates and energy prices, partly due to geopolitical instability. Prices have been passed on to consumers so far, but this ability may decrease into 2024. “Pricing discipline will be crucial to avoid a significant drop in profit.” Yassine pointed out that buildings are responsible for around 35% of CO₂ emissions, and will need to be decarbonised by 2050 to achieve net zero. Half of buildings in Europe were built more than 50 years ago, and are very energy inefficient: energy-focussed renovation will be a huge focus and growth-driver in the coming years. Skilled labour shortages are the main hurdle for the US, while cost-of-living factors are impacting in Europe, since real-world wages have decreased markedly over the last few years. “Building products companies are converging to become solutions providers,” allowing higher pricing and better margins. They are endeavouring to complete their product portfolios, to become customer-centric companies with added-value solutions. Silos between divisions have been partially broken down. Saint-Gobain, Kingspan and others are on the road to becoming full-service providers.

Maarten Hendriks of New West Gypsum Recycling next gave a universe-wide and 15 billion-year overview of gypsum recycling. He pointed out that Europe’s target of becoming net-zero by 2050 is “completely unachievable.” However, every little bit that we can achieve – starting with gypsum recycling – will reduce the rate at which the world is degrading.

Tristan Suffys of Eurogypsum and Jörg Ertle of Etex (current president of Eurogypsum), next announced the association’s ‘roadmap’ towards climate neutrality. Tristan pointed out that the Paris agreement of 2015 is a legally-binding international treaty which aims to limit global warming to only 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Emissions should peak by 2025, and should have reduced by over 40% by 2032. However, the 1.5°C limit will be crossed in the early 2030s, and overall, there is little hope of emissions dropping in the foreseeable future. At the same time, there is a legal objective for the EU to reach ‘climate neutrality’ by 2050. Other challenges include housing shortages, ageing infrastructure, rapid urbanisation, productivity and skills gaps and resource scarcity. Joerg announced that the European industry will reduce resource and energy use through manufacturing transformation, will switch to renewable energy sources, and will use a higher share of recycled and alternative materials. He pointed out a few case studies: Knauf’s Hobro plant in Denmark which supplies waste heat to the neighbourhood; Saint-Gobain’s Fredrikstad electrified plant in Norway; and the Etex Auneuil plant in France which uses alternative fuels. He reminded delegates that plasterboard is responsible for only 1 - 2% of the emissions from the production of construction materials in the EU, although significant energy is still used for the drying of the boards. Through its partner associations and the companies active in the industry sector, many innovations are currently being pursued to achieve climate neutrality by the mid-century deadline.

Terry Weaver of USA Gypsum spoke about developing and expanding the recovery and end markets for recycled gypsum drywall in North America. A number of factors are driving the recycling of construction and demolition (C&D) materials, including the cost of landfilling, restrictions in FGD gypsum and in escalating mining costs. Landfills have also been subject to lawsuits concerning H2S content of cells from wallboard. Terry suggested that there may be as much as 15Mt of wallboard C&D material produced each year, although reliable figures are difficult to find. According to one set of figures, 13Mt of material goes to landfill, 1.9Mt is used as soil amendment material, with only 0.3Mt going back into manufactured materials - a 4% recycling rate. Barriers to recycling include the lack of recycling infrastructure, transportation and logistics challenges due to low material amounts and long distances; and problems with recycling of specialty boards with special additives. At the same time, the off-takers require consistent quality supply, leading to a chicken-and-egg situation. The patchwork of state and federal approaches can also be challenging for recycling. The ‘elephant in the room’ is asbestos contamination and this requires systematic abatement, and thorough documentation - contamination must be avoided by all industry participants at all costs and a good quality assurance programme is crucial.

Robert Morrow brought delegates up to date with the gypsum supply situation. Back in the 1990s, Canadian gypsum quarries supplied the east coast and Gulf plants, while Mexican quarries supplied the west coast. FGD gypsum was becoming important. Thailand was a major gypsum shipper back in those days, to the Middle East and Asian producers. Canadian gypsum shipments have been replaced by those from Spain, while Thailand has reduced its supplies, to be replaced by Oman as the supplier of choice. Looking into the future, coal-fired stations are being closed in North America and Europe, to be replaced by gas, leading to a dramatic reduction in FGD gypsum supply. ‘A race for supply’ may be imminent - if it hasn’t already started.

Anders Andersen of Qubiqa next spoke about the use of ‘digital twins’ which allow simulation and emulation of physical production systems. This allows the testing and optimisation of material flows, capacities and bottlenecks. They can also help to speed up installation and commissioning. Training of operators can also commence on a digital model, rather than in the real world. Morton Seeberg of Qubiqa then suggested that digital twins could be used to predict maintenance - akin to how some smartwatches build a model of the health of the wearer - and to optimise machinery operation to reduce energy usage and to extend machinery lifetime. It is currently challenging to create a digital twin of a complete line due to the availability of computing power, but this will be possible in the future as computer costs reduce further.

Richard Caron and Bill Poust, both from JBT, presented on the topic of Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs). The company has produced AGVs for almost 40 years but has only been active in the gypsum sector for the past seven. They said that, with a shortage of labour in many markets, the case for AGVs is greater than ever. As well as replacing drivers leaving the workforce, they improve safety by reducing human error, as AGVs operate using laser bumpers, with front and rear warning and stop points that automatically change with speed. These are used in conjunction with JBT’s Natural Feature Navigation (NFN) tool, a 3D map of the environment around the vehicle, constantly updated by inventory management software. Flexible AGVs, coordinated wirelessly with the stacker and human operators, allow the optimum delivery of wallboard to trucks, saving operators time and money. The speakers made it clear that JBT’s primary interest is reducing return on investment periods to as short as possible, minimising the number of AGVs required to do the job.

Watlow’s Tim Bruewer then spoke about the electrification and decarbonisation of thermal processes in gypsum. Tim pointed out that electrical heating apparatus has been used by industry for nearly 100 years and that we need to ‘leverage the technology of the past to change the future’ due to increasing raw material and fossil fuel costs, as well as costs to emit CO₂. While it is technically possible to use electrically-produced heat in all parts of a wallboard plant, the economics of doing so will ultimately depend on the prevailing conditions around individual plants. However, regardless of running costs, electrically-heated grinding mills, calciners and dryers offer greater uptime than gas-fired counterparts. The temperature can be controlled more effectively, for example across dryer decks, and there is less thermal lag. The lack of fuel means that the risk of explosion is eliminated and less space is required. Watlow offers a wide range of thermal air heaters, from 5MW to 200MW. These can easily reach 250 - 350°C – and can go as high as 900°C. The company has seen a major increase in enquiries from the gypsum sector in the past 1 - 2 years.

Luis Castano, IAC, provided an engaging presentation on the evolution of baghouse design, as well as some hints for users to improve the operation of their baghouses. Luis contended that baghouses are not seen as important within wallboard plants, but they ‘have the power to stop production and cause major headaches.’ Luis took the audience from the first ‘shaker’ baghouses, through the reverse air cleaning processes of the 1950s to the most modern processes. However, since the 1990s, there has been something of an innovation plateau. IAC’s suggestions for ways to move forward include low-cost Smart Pulse Jet systems. These use a strong elastomer as the moving part of the valve, rather than thin rubber membranes and springs. This offers shorter pulse duration that results in more effective cleaning. Smart Pulse Jet systems last for 10 million pulses, or 10 years of continuous use if used every 30 seconds. IAC also suggests the use of its Baghouse Monitoring System for tracking hopper levels, input, pressures, temperatures, valves, fan vibrations and more. This enables status updates and warnings to chosen devices via a continuous wireless link. It will pay for itself by averting just one or two incidences of lost production / equipment damage.

ScrapeTec Trading’s Wilfried Dünnwald outlined his company’s dust mitigation and reliability enhancement technology for conveyor belts. He explained that transfer points inflict most of the damage on belts due to the impact of dropping material and resulting acceleration and friction. There is also the potential for significant loss of material, which is dangerous, costly and time-consuming to clear up. To mitigate dust loss, many conveyor belt users add skirts. However, as these make physical contact with the belt, this introduces a significant new source of wear. ScrapeTec’s solution is the AirScrape, which is placed just a few millimetres above the belt. Using the Venturi effect, the AirScrape sucks air from outside the belt, meaning that dust cannot escape. Wilfried also discussed the TailScrape for the tail end of the belt, which operates along the same principle, as well as the DustScrape filtration box and PrimeTracker, which keeps conveyor belts well aligned.

Dennis Schattauer of Grenzebach next spoke about the company’s Ultra High-efficiency Dryer (UHED). He reiterated the fact that energy is becoming more expensive, with gas prices perhaps 3-4 times as expensive than prior to 2022, if gas is available at all. At the same time CO₂ emissions are being targeted. “Production needs to become more independent from fossil fuel sources.” Grenzebach did not reinvent the wheel, but smartly arranged the technology in combination with heat recovery, “respecting the relevant physics.”  The ‘UHED’ offers up to a 30% reduction in energy demand, with up to 50% water recovery. A high temperature section is used as the only heat source - which potentially could be electrically-heated or use energy from heat pumps. The number of decks in the drier is increased, with heat recovery for use in lower temperature sections, resulting in overall thermal energy consumption of 400kCal/kg H₂O. The increased thermal efficiency of the dryer also leads to a reduction in electrical consumption in the drier. The UHED also offers the advantages of reduced calcination of board edges due to lower maximum temperatures, a reduced risk of board jams since boards do not need to be conveyed edge to edge, and the fact that heat exchangers can be cleaned without stopping the entire production, due to a new modular design. Two of the UHED driers have been sold to a global player in the gypsum industry, with the first delivery due in 2024.

Michael Chen, Schenck Process FPM presented a grinding and calcining system for natural gypsum, synthetic (FGD) gypsum and waste wallboard. Schenck has modified existing Raymond brand products such as the Imp Mill and the Stucco Conditioning Dust Collector but the main work has been carried out on its Static Classifier. The complete set-up has a throughput of 0.5 - 60t/hr and can pulverise gypsum from 50mm to a fineness of 5μm. Chen explained that switching from an FGD source to a natural one in the Imp Mill presented challenges for the existing system such as generating more fines. The team addressed this by optimising the mill via its hammer arrangement and speed for fine end particle size control. It then modified the classifier design to cope with the airflow variation and used it to control the product top size amongst other changes. The New Advanced Static Classifier had been successfully prototype tested in the laboratory. For wallboard-quality particle size distribution it produces similar results to a turbine classifier, can produce a better coarser size cut than a turbine and it can be used for the wallboard stucco calcination process. Chen finished by explaining how the Imp Mill can co-grind waste wallboard with both natural and FGD gypsum.

Jeff Warren and Mark Flumiani of Gyptech next gave details on how to optimise the post-calcination processes. Jeff pointed out that post-calcination processing is not new, with ‘kettle hot pits’ dating back to at least 1924. “It’s in stucco’s nature to change, but if you don’t control it, you can’t optimise it,” said Jeff. Several different types of systems are used in the industry already, to optimise stucco physical performance, using the levers of temperature, residence time and humidity. These include rotary stucco coolers, conditioning screws, and even just silos. Mark spoke about the various methods of determining the mineralogical mix in a sample, including thermal gravimetric analysis, X-ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry, as well as using the Gyptech Stucco Analyser. Mark argued that the latter method is sensitive enough to allow optimisation of post-calcination processes, promoting the uniformity of produced materials, and the best mix of phases.

Derek Vaile of Kamengo told delegates how to avoid plugging of gypsum in bins and silos. The three root causes of plugging are poor bin geometry, compaction by the feeder and uneven discharge by the feeder. The bin outlet must be larger than the bridging dimension, while the bin outlet must exceed the piping or rat-holing dimension, in order to avoid funnelling. A variety of bin shapes are available, but a badly-designed feeder may inadvertently compress material, causing it to bridge in any case. Kamengo designed a new feeder, which withdraws material evenly along the entire opening of the bin, and avoids both bridging and piping. Combined with a well-designed bin shape, gravity will be enough to reliably discharge the bin even with problematic materials such as gypsum.

Global Gypsum/Global Insulation – Awards Dinner

At the end of the first day of the conference, delegates gathered for a drinks reception and Awards Gala Dinner. The locations for the following year’s event were also announced (Bangkok for Global Gypsum, Munich for Global Insulation). The outstanding band (‘Orchestra 33’) were joined onstage by Jake and Elwood – the ‘Blues Brothers’ - who gave a high-energy performance, which encouraged some memorable dancing from delegates (and organisers).

Second day

At the start of the second day, Andreas Schieler, Gebr. Pfeiffer discussed how his company’s vertical roller mill can handle abrasive materials such as natural or recycled gypsum due to the company’s experience grinding cement and granulated blast furnace slag. As he described it, “Nothing is for free.” Processing abrasive materials leads to wear of grinding components. Schieler broke this down into grinding wear, including the rollers and table, and jet wear, including more hard-to-predict wear that occurs elsewhere over time. Gebr. Pfeiffer’s approach for the lining and wear parts includes options such as chrome cast, hard faced or ceramic. Elsewhere, various grades of lining of the mill and classifier can be offered. He then mentioned Gebr. Pfeiffer’s Lift-and-Swing system that allows one access point for wear parts replacements, how the mill’s slower speeds result in less wear on grinding parts and pointed out the benefits of having an ‘all-in-one machine’ for grinding, drying, calcining and separating, with increased energy efficiency by recirculating process gases.

Stefan Welti of Claudius Peters Projects GmbH next spoke about the rearrangement of his company’s  ‘aftermarket’ division to become the Customer Service department, looking at spare parts, technical services and customer support. All activities are essentially involved in either after-sales, troubleshooting or optimisation (or in fact a combination of two or more of these). A ticketing system is in place to help the company track the progress of enquiries, while the CP Portal allows customers to monitor enquiry progress. The CP Service Gateway allows remote service and data analysis, and can avoid unplanned standstills. A new AI tool is being used to help with customer technical documentation, which can amount to perhaps 60,000 pages on larger plants. The final aim of the customer support department is to stay in close contact with the customer.

Mark Giese of Tenova - part of the Techint Group - spoke about electric furnace technology for mineral wool production. The company has been supplying electric arc furnaces for over 100 years. A coke- or gas-fired cupola for mineral wool production has high CO₂ emissions, but an EAF has only around 1% of emissions of coke-firing. Mark laid out a vision of low CO₂ insulation production, using an EAF, renewable charcoal, slag and recycled insulation as input materials, waste heat recovery, dust recycling, and carbon capture and storage. The use of hydrogen and electric transport also reduce carbon emissions. The recyclability of the product is also crucial to reduce its overall environmental impact. He gave details of how the mineral wool production furnaces are automated, with the graphite electrodes being managed without human intervention.

Dennis Schattauer of Grenzebach continued the topic of electric melting for mineral wool. Furnaces are becoming larger, and despite coke-fired ovens being used for the largest applications, Grenzebach has decided to stop offering them to the market, instead only offering gas and electrically-fired furnaces. In fact, the electric melters have advantages in infrequent maintenance, less complex waste gas treatment and lower CO₂ and NO_x emissions. Refractories are more complex, but last longer than in other furnaces (3 - 5 years). The EAF electrodes are consumables, but on the other hand, no additional briquetting or oxygen is required for operation. Dennis showed that electric melters will be the least expensive technology in 2025, using a forecast CO₂ permit cost of Euro150/t. Dennis mentioned that Grenzebach is working on a project to build a hydrogen-fired direct reduction hybrid melting plant.

Karl Aicher and Sebastian Hohmann, Grenzebach started their presentation on flexible wood fibre insulation (WFI) batts by pointing out that wood does not have to be melted, thus giving it an immediate sustainability advantage over other types of insulation. Grenzebach sells process equipment to manufacture WFI and this talk introduced WFI batts as well as describing the production process. The speakers described how under the DIN EN 13171, European standard WFI insulation should comprise at least 80% wood fibres with the rest made up of binders and additives. Softwood chips from spruce, pine and fir trees are mainly used for the production, and wet and dry production processes can be used. The three main types of WFI are Rigid WFI Boards, Flexible WFI Batts and Blow-in BFI. Rigid WFI Boards products are sometimes treated with paraffin and are mixed with around 4% of polyurethane resin. Each of the different products have different applications in buildings, with boards having both exterior and interior applications, batts having thermal cavity and acoustic uses and blow-in having thermal cavity and loose fill applications. The speakers said that WFI batts have a similar R-value to standard mineral and organic insulation products but that a key advantage is that it has a high heat storage capacity leading to long temporal phase shifts in peak temperature. WFI’s environmental credentials are predicated on wood capturing and sequestering CO₂, giving the product a negative embodied CO₂ rating. Finally, the speakers detailed how WFI batts are manufactured. Wood chips are defibered, dried, mixed with bicomponent fibres (Bico fibres), formed into mats, cured, cut and packed.

Philip Kunkel, Fagus Grecon, compared a transverse and a full-scan measuring system, such as one the company sells, on a glass wool production line in order to determine which method would gather enough data to control material distribution confidently. The line studied had a speed of 3m/min, a width of 1200mm and a set point weight of 1.97kg/m2. Both methods studied gathered data for one hour, with the area broken down into five cross sections and the effects of differing time offsets examined. The full scan method covered the full area and gathered 5GB of data. In comparison the transverse approach covered only about 1% of the same area. The study found considerable variation in the quality of the data from the transverse method with the starting point of measurement having a significant effect on the measured material distribution. Hence, Kunkel argued that using a full-scan system could allow operators to reduce the set point weight to the lower quality levels as it could be measured more accurately, thereby saving material.

Benjamin Bizjan, University of Ljubljana, presented his work on measuring fibre micromechanical properties to optimise mineral melt composition for mineral wool. The research aims to improve understanding of melting and fiberisation process effects on fibre properties - such as elasticity, tensile strength, hardness and fracture mechanics – and then offer ways to optimise industrial production processes. A particular motivation is the so-called ‘weak link problem’ whereby mineral wool strength is only as good as the weakest fibres. Bizjan explained that the critical areas on a mineral wool production line for fibre strength are batch melting and homogenisation in the furnace (for fibre microstructure), melt fiberisation from the spinner wheel surface (for fibre diameter and shot content), fibre cooling, extension, and binder wetting airflow (for fibre diameter, heat transfer and mechanical load conditions) and fibre detachment and transport in coaxial airflow (for fibre length and surface fracture). The main methods of testing fibres are sentmanat extensional rheometry (SER), nanoindentation and imaging such as electron microscopy and spectroscopy. SER is a destructive test that uses rotational rheometry to measure tensile strength and Young’s modulus. Nanoindentation simultaneously measures Young’s modulus and surface hardness. Bizjan is putting together a composition optimisation methodology (or algorithm as he described it) to determine how different batch components can be processed with varying melt and fibre properties to achieve the best mechanical properties and production cost.

Peter Antolin, Trelleborg Slovenija delivered a succinct presentation on the key features and benefits of rubber forming belts for the gypsum wallboard sector. Trelleborg Slovenija asked its customers what they consider most valuable in belts and they reported the following: memory effect; elasticity; tracking; temperature resistance; abrasion resistance; and sustainability. The memory effect is how a belt returns to its original shape after deformation and, crucially, this can prevent the formation of cracks. Trelleborg’s belts can reach up to 80°C. Abrasion resistance is up to 248mm3 as standard but a wear resistant option can offer down to around 125mm3. In the standard abrasion tests, a lower figure represents better wear resistance. The company’s approach to sustainability is to offer longer-lasting belts.

Bo Johansson of Limab, next spoke on the next-generation of in-line surface inspection systems for gypsum boards. He pointed out that boards are measured in many places during the production process. Non-contact measurement is strongly favoured, supplying instant alarms of out of tolerance board or of defects, and is operator dependent. The FalconEye surface defect detection system has been available since around 2006, and Limab has decided to upgrade the system to a second generation offering to be available in 2024. The new system will have a maximum of four cameras and four image processing units, with two light sources per system, and a maximum width coverage of 2700mm. The system will typically detect defects down to 3x3mm, and height deviations down to 0.1mm. The system will detect a wide variety of defects including one-off and periodic defects.

Rosy Scodro and Piero Rizzi of COMEC updated delegates on the company’s system for the production of continuously-cast moulded gypsum panels. The gypsum mixture is poured directly onto the belt, without a paper facing. A moulded edge is applied to the solidifying stucco, and the panels are then loaded into a continuous panel dryer.

Griselle Montanez of Lanxess next spoke about controlling microbial growth in joint compounds. Compounds can be contaminated with microbes, which find enough nutrients to growth and to spoil the properties of the mix. Product recalls may occur and will cause loss of revenue and damage to the brand. Joint compounds are water-based and microbes grow happily in such a micronutrient-rich, neutral to alkaline environment. Bacteria and fungi tend to affect wet-state (‘In-Can’) products and filamentous fungi dry-state products. Preservatives cause cell death by reacting with various parts of the cell, and they can be added to intermediate products, to the consumer product or even to the process equipment prior to placement. A variety of biocides, bactericides and fungicides may be needed to combat the various microbial contaminants that are found in joint compounds (and joint compound factories), while the biocides themselves also have physical and chemical properties that must be carefully considered. Thermal, pH and chemical stability and water-solubility are crucial. Bioban and Preventol biocides have been found to be effective in reducing or eliminating microbial growth in joint compounds, even in powder form.

Jacob Heubeck of Gyptech introduced ‘Schrödinger’s Stucco,’ essentially the fact that taking a measurement of stucco properties will change it. Jacob suggested that the best place to take a measurement is immediately before the mixer, showing the least variability in bound crystal water. Prior to this point, the stucco will be in the process of more or less speedy change, when accurate measure will be difficult. Material samplers must be chosen carefully to take into account condensation/moisture, temperature and pressure. Sample size, preparation and selection are all important factors to consider to ensure representative sampling, while storage conditions are also critical. The Gyptech Stucco Analyser can be used to generate useful results.

Frank Yang, Liatris described how his company is starting to enter the high-performance inorganic insulation market by developing a new cost-effective aerogel composition made from cellulose, clay and silica. He said that it is a unique time for innovation in the building materials market due to the Inflation Reduction Act in the US and other factors promoting sustainable construction. The company received US Department of Energy funding in 2021 and plans to develop a clay-cement composite insulation with an R-value of 5/inch from 2024, an aerogel product with an R-value of 8/inch and a cost of ≤US$1/board foot from 2026 and an industrial product from 2028. Liatris produced its first product prototype in March 2023. It was certified to ASTM E136 in April 2023 with an R-value of 4.2/inch and described as ‘fully non-combustible.’ It is preparing for pilot production and is now forming industry partnerships such as with Sto to scale-up the business and bring its products to market.

Jan M Bradford, RIMA International looked at how the US-based insulation sector can embrace sustainability. She conceded that the US lagged behind Europe in this area but that progress is expected soon and that “transparency is the new norm.” With this context she described various building materials talking points since the 1980s, such as asbestos use, defective imported wallboard from China, volatile organic components (VOC) and the ‘Red List’ of chemicals and materials harmful to humans. She then went on to detail various methodologies such as Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), Product Category Rules, the ISO 14000 – Environmental Management Standards, Environmental Product Declarations (EPD), energy usage and embodied carbon to show the different ways insulation manufacturers can be more open with their data. Bradford used the example of Low-Density Polyurethane (LPDE) resin to show how using life cycle inventory (LCI) and LCA reporting had shown that the energy usage and global warming potential of the manufacturing process had improved between 2011 and 2019. She finished by pointing out that Marin County in California has successfully introduced its Low Carbon Concrete Code requiring the replacement of ordinary Portland cement (OPC) with supplementary cementitious materials, that General Services Administration (GSA) projects have low embodied carbon concrete standards and that the Buy Clean Task Force, which accounts for 80% of US Federal Government construction materials spending, has also started prioritising low-carbon products including insulation.

Johnnie Erichsen, Tentoma gave a run-down of how his company’s Ro-Ro StretchPack product uses a biaxial stretch machine using four gripper arms to wrap a tubular stretchable PE film with 600 – 2000kg stretch power on each gripper arm to achieve a 0 – 75% stretch of the film for packaging. The packaging equipment is more expensive to install than some competing products and the PE film it uses can cost a little more. However, the savings on film consumption and energy consumption can compensate for this. Other advantages Erichsen outlined included dust and waterproofing, increased throughput and the ability to print the film for branding. The Ro-Ro StretchPack can accommodate product sizes of up of 200 - 19000mm in length, 300 - 2200mm in width and 10 - 1400mm in height. A variety of stretch factors can also be set. Erichsen rounded off his talk by showing how Tentoma’s packaging lines can be installed for both insulation and wallboard plants, with simplex and duplex options.

Finally, Martina Pellegrino, Bocedi SRL presented her company’s packaging technology using a case study at a Fermacell fibre-gypsum panel plant in Spain. A Stretch hood FB2000XXL packaging line was installed at the site in 2023. The customer wanted to automate the end of line packaging process, pack different load sizes with just one machine, to protect and stabilise the loads for storage and transport, add branding to the packaging, reduce plastic consumption, use recycled materials, and use a single supplier. Pellegrino described how this was accomplished. Notably the machine installed can pack load sizes from 500mm x 500mm to 3600mm x 1800mm, to a height of 1500mm and uses four different film reels. A variety of stretch hood overlay options are also available such as wrapping around product pallets or partial coverings.

Plaudits and Farewells

At the end of the conference programme, delegates once again gathered together for a farewell send-off. Delegates had voted for their favourite presentations, with the votes normalised to the attendance in each paper. Derek Vaile of Kamengo was in third place in the gypsum section, for his paper on bin hang-ups, Dennis Schattauer of Grenzebach was second for his paper on the Ultra High-Efficiency Dryer and Jacob Heubeck of Gyptech was in first place for his paper on ‘Schrödinger’s Stucco.’ In the insulation papers, Jan Bradford of Fifoil Company was third for her paper on sustainable design impacts, Martina Pellegrino of Bocedi was second for her paper on stretch-hooding, and Karl Aicher and Sebastian Hohman of Grenzebach were in first place for their paper on flexible wood fibre insulation batts.

The event was praised by delegates for its networking and business opportunities, and smooth organisation. The Global Insulation Conference will next take place in Munich on 16 - 17 October 2024, while the 22nd Global Gypsum Conference will take place in Bangkok on 13 - 14 November 2024.

Image gallery for the the 17th Global Insulation Conference and Exhibition which took place place on 16 - 17 October 2024 in München, Germany.

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Image gallery for the the 15th Global Insulation Conference and Exhibition which took place in Chicago, US on 9 - 10 November 2023.