20/04/2015 EURIMAProductionProcess

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ProductionProcessHowGlassWoolismade

HowStoneWoolismade

20/04/2015 EURIMAProductionProcess

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Todaysmineralwoolinsulationproductsarehightechversionsoftheirpredecessorswhichhavebeenusedinbuildingsforgenerations.Glassandstonewoolinsulationarefibrebasedproductsthatdeliveroutstandingthermalperformance.Botharemadefromplentiful,locallysourced,renewablenaturalresourcessandandbasaltrockarethebasicrawmaterialsofmineralwool.EurimamembersresponsibleapproachtoproductionmakesmineralwoolinsulationanessentialcomponentofEuropesmovetoasustainableconstructionsector.

InputsTherawmaterialsaremeasuredandsenttoameltingfurnace.Forstonewoolthisistherockorrecycledmaterialplusenergy.Manufacturersareworkinghardtoincreasetherecycledcontentofmineralwoolwhilstmaintainingthehighqualityoftheirproduct.

Forglasswooltherawmaterialsaresand,limestoneandsodaash,aswellasrecycledoffcutsfromtheproductionprocess.Recycledwindow,automotiveorbottleglassisincreasinglyusedinthemanufactureofglasswoolanditnowACCOUNTS forupto85%.Thereuseofoffcutsandrecycledmaterialshashelpedtosteadilyreducetheenergyinputrequiredtoproduceglasswool.

FurnaceTherawmaterialsaremeltedinafurnaceatveryhightemperatures,typicallybetween1,300Cto1,500C.Thesmokecreatedduringthisprocessisfilteredandfluegasesarecleanedtominimiseanyenvironmentalimpact.

20/04/2015 EURIMAProductionProcess

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SpinningThedropletsofmeltexitingthefurnacearespunintofibres.Dropletsfallontorapidlyrotatingflywheelsorthemixtureisdrawnthroughtinyholesinrapidlyrotatingspinners.Thisprocessshapesitintofibres.

BindingSmallquantitiesofbindingagentsareaddedtothefibres.Thestructureanddensityoftheproductwillbeadaptedaccordingtoitsfinalusage.

CuringThemineralwoolisthenhardenedinacuringovenataround200C.

CuttingThemineralwooliscuttotherequiredsizeandshape,forexampleintorolls,batts,boardsoritcanbecustomisedforusewithotherproducts.Offcutsandothermineralwoolscrapsarerecycledbackintotheproductionprocess,whichfurtherreducesinputsandenergyrequirements.

PackagingDuetoitsimpressiveelasticity,mineralwoolcanbecompressedduringpackagingtoreduceitsvolume.Thismakesitcheaperandeasiertohandleandresultsinlowercarbonemissionsduetotransportation.

GasesandwasteGasesemittedduringtheproductionprocessarecleanedinfiltersandafterburnerstominimisetheenvironmentalimpact.Wateruseintheprocessisgenerallyconfinedtoclosedcircuitsystems.Thishasthetwofoldadvantageofreducingfreshwaterconsumptionandavoidingthedischargeofdirtyorpollutedwater.

Mineralwoolmanufacturerspositivelycontributetoindustrialsymbiosis,i.e.theconvertingofresidualwastefromoneindustryintotherawmaterialforanotherthroughtheuseofwastemetallurgicalslag,spentblastingsandandcullet(wasteglass).Thisbothreducestheenergyandrawmaterialrequiredformineralwoolproductionandreducesthewastecreatedbyotherindustries.

Insulation:Environmentallyresponsibleproduction

Positivecarbonfootprint:InsulationsexceptionalthermalperformancepropertiesmakeourbuildingslessdependentonenergyforeachtonneofCO emittedinmanufacturingmineralwool,around200tonnesaresavedduringtheproductslifetime.

EnergyefficiencyTherehasbeenasteadydecreaseinenergyinputsassociatedwiththeproductionofglassandstonewool.Manufacturingmineralwoolrequiresonlyhalftheenergyneededtomanufactureothertypesofinsulation.

WastereductionDeclininglevelsofwastearebeingsenttolandfillbecausestreamlinedproductionprocessesrequirelessrawmaterialsandbecauseoftheincreasingamountsofrecycledmaterialsbeingusedinthemanufactureofmineralwool.

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20/04/2015 EURIMAProductionProcess

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TheEuropeanmineralwoolindustryeffortstotacklenegativeenvironmentalconsequencesoftheproductionprocesshavebeenrecognisedbytheEuropeanauthorities.

Lifecycleanalysis(LCA)ofmineralwoolinsulationmeasuresthetotalenergyandrelatedgreenhousegasemissionsexpendedwhenmakingtheproductandbalancesthemagainstthesavingswhichflowfromtheenhancedenergyefficiencyofbuildingsfittedwithinsulation.LCAanalysisconsiderstheacquisitionoftherawmaterials,theproductionprocess,transport,INSTALLATION ,useandrecyclingordisposalofinsulation.Thetrulyimpressiveenvironmentalcredentialsofinsulationisclearlydemonstratedbysuchanalysis.Mineralwoolsoverallcarbonfootprintisoverwhelminglypositive[insertafigurehere]thankstotheunbeatablecombinationofoutstandingthermalperformance,industrycommitmenttorecyclinganduseofreadilyavailableandabundantrawmaterials.