A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain, and brick.
Graphite is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on a large scale for uses in pencils, lubricants, and electrodes. Under high pressures and temperatures it converts to diamond. It is a good conductor of both heat and electricity.
Glass is a non-crystalline solid that is often transparent, brittle and chemically inert. It has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics.
Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a relatively high water content, typically formed by the hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the unusual property of greatly expanding when heated sufficiently. It is an industrial mineral, suitable "as ceramic flux to lower the sintering temperature", and a commercial product useful for its low density after processing.
Fiber or fibre is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often incorporate fibers, for example carbon fiber and ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene.
Aluminium oxide (or aluminium(III) oxide) is a chemical compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula Al2O3. It is the most commonly occurring of several aluminium oxides, and specifically identified as aluminium oxide. It is commonly called alumina and may also be called aloxide, aloxite, or alundum in various forms and applications. It occurs naturally in its crystalline polymorphic phase α-Al2O3 as the mineral corundum, varieties of which form the precious gemstones ruby and sapphire. Al2O3 is significant in its use to produce aluminium metal, as an abrasive owing to its hardness, and as a refractory material owing to its high melting point.
Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.
Fiberglass or fibreglass is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cloth. The plastic matrix may be a thermoset polymer matrix—most often based on thermosetting polymers such as epoxy, polyester resin, or vinyl ester resin—or a thermoplastic.
Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils.
Slag is a by-product of smelting (pyrometallurgical) ores and recycled metals. Slag is mainly a mixture of metal oxides and silicon dioxide. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous, ferroalloy or non-ferrous/base metals. Within these general categories, slags can be further categorized by their precursor and processing conditions. "Slag generated from the EAF process can contain toxic metals, which can be hazardous to human and environmental health".
Calcium silicate is the chemical compound Ca2SiO4, also known as calcium orthosilicate and is sometimes formulated as 2CaO·SiO2. It is also referred to by the shortened trade name Cal-Sil or Calsil. It occurs naturally as the mineral larnite.
In materials science, a refractory is a material that is resistant to decomposition by heat or chemical attack that retains its strength and rigidity at high temperatures. They are inorganic, non-metallic compounds that may be porous or non-porous, and their crystallinity varies widely: they may be crystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, or composite. They are typically composed of oxides, carbides or nitrides of the following elements: silicon, aluminium, magnesium, calcium, boron, chromium and zirconium. Many refractories are ceramics, but some such as graphite are not, and some ceramics such as clay pottery are not considered refractory. Refractories are distinguished from the refractory metals, which are elemental metals and their alloys that have high melting temperatures.
Glass wool is an insulating material made from glass fiber arranged using a binder into a texture similar to wool. The process traps many small pockets of air between the glass, and these small air pockets result in high thermal insulation properties. Glass wool is produced in rolls or in slabs, with different thermal and mechanical properties. It may also be produced as a material that can be sprayed or applied in place, on the surface to be insulated. The modern method for producing glass wool was invented by Games Slayter while he was working at the Owens-Illinois Glass Co.. He first applied for a patent for a new process to make glass wool in 1933.
IARC group 3 substances, chemical mixtures and exposure circumstances are those that can not be classified in regard to their carcinogenicity to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This category is used most commonly for agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances for which the level of evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans and inadequate or limited in experimental animals. Exceptionally, agents (mixtures) for which the evidence of carcinogenicity is inadequate in humans, but sufficient in experimental animals may be placed in this category when there is strong evidence that the mechanism of carcinogenicity in experimental animals does not operate in humans. Agents, mixtures and exposure circumstances that do not fall into any other group are also placed in this category.
Beryllium oxide (BeO), also known as beryllia, is an inorganic compound with the formula BeO. This colourless solid is a notable electrical insulator with a higher thermal conductivity than any other non-metal except diamond, and exceeds that of most metals. As an amorphous solid, beryllium oxide is white. Its high melting point leads to its use as a refractory material. It occurs in nature as the mineral bromellite. Historically and in materials science, beryllium oxide was called glucina or glucinium oxide, owing to its sweet taste.
Rice hulls or husks are the hard protecting coverings of grains of rice. In addition to protecting rice during the growing season, rice hulls can be put to use as building material, fertilizer, insulation material, or fuel. Rice hulls are part of the chaff of the rice.
Building insulation materials are the building materials that form the thermal envelope of a building or otherwise reduce heat transfer.
Wool insulation is made from sheep wool fibres that are either mechanically held together or bonded using between 5% and 20% recycled polyester adhesive to form insulating batts, rolls and ropes. Some companies do not use any adhesives or bonding agents, but rather entangle the wool fibers into in high R-Value, air capturing knops that hold themselves together. Natural wool insulation is effective for both thermal and acoustic insulation. The wool is often sourced from the less expensive black wools of the UK and Europe. Batts are commonly used in the walls and ceilings of timber-frame buildings, rolls can be cut to size for lofts, and ropes can be used between the logs in log homes. Wool knops are installed loosely in attics or in walls as a blow-in-blanket system utilizing a fiber mesh to hold the wool in place during the blow in process.
A geopolymer is an inorganic, typically ceramic-like, material that forms covalently bonded, non-crystalline (amorphous) networks. Many geopolymers may also be classified as alkali-activated cements or acid-activated binders. They are mainly produced by a chemical reaction between a chemically reactive aluminosilicate powder, and an aqueous solution that causes this powder to react and re-form into a solid monolith. The most common pathway to produce geopolymers is by the reaction of metakaolin with sodium silicate, which is an alkaline solution, but other processes are also possible.
Asbestos is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere by abrasion and other processes. Inhalation of asbestos fibres can lead to various dangerous lung conditions, including mesothelioma, asbestosis, and lung cancer. As a result of these health effects, asbestos is considered a serious health and safety hazard.
