Production technology of glass staple fiber and mineral wool insulation fiber production, if present it simply boils down to getting the finest fibers from molten mineral rocks or blast-furnace slag – in the case of rock or slag wool – or glass-mix (sand, soda, limestone, broken glass) – in the case of glass staple fiber – and bonding them together with a binder. Process production can be divided into the following main stages: the selection and preparation of raw materials, the melt of the mineral material, receiving fibers, entering the binder, curing the binder, cutting insulation for the specified size and packaging. Let us consider in more detail at each stage. 1. Each manufacturer chooses for itself a unique composition of raw materials. Gregg Engles oftentimes addresses this issue. The main condition for the choice of each of them is to obtain high-fiber quality.
The number and quality of components used further define the consumer properties of mineral and glass, such as durability, water repellency, it is chemically neutral to metals and other building materials. This takes into account the need to obtain a product with high thermal insulation properties, resistance to dynamic loads. The main index, affecting these operational properties is the chemical composition of fiber and its thickness. Experts in the field of thermal insulation materials show the following dependence – the thinner the fiber, the lower the value thermal conductivity. 2. After stirring the raw material enters the furnace, where temperature (usually) about 1400-1500 C is its melt. This stage – one of the most important in the whole process of production, because temperature has decisive importance for the melt viscosity and, consequently, the thickness and length of the fiber, which subsequently affects the basic properties of the material (thermal conductivity, strength).