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US 5,690,715 AGranted
Glass fiber manufacturing process and plant
OwnerHelmut Schiwekinventor
Life of this patent
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OwnerHelmut Schiwekinventor
Estimating the term…
In a process for producing insulating materials with environmentally safe binding components, a long-chain starch is used as binder, besides silicone. The starch is heated up to 50.degree. to 60.degree. C., held at this temperature and sprayed on the glass fibers separately from the silicone; 6 to 8% binder, consisting of starch and silicone, are used, then a spun-glass mat or slab may be shaped and dried at about 180.degree. C. A spun-glass mat (16), insulating mat or slab or adsorber is thus obtained which surprisingly is water-proofed and held together exclusively by starch, resin and silicone, which may be used without any problems and has a uniform bulk density throughout. In the plant (1) provided for that purpose, supply rings for water (9), for starch (10) and for silicone (11) are provided. The nozzles (13) for the supply ring 10 have a larger opening and separation edges. The premixing container (17) and the supply pipe (15) are heatable or heat-insulated. In a further embodiment, an emulsion is formed from silicone resin, silicone oil, a dust binder and the starch, is atomized at 18.degree. to 200.degree. C. and sprayed onto the passing stream of glass fibers.
A process for manufacturing glass fibers from sand, recycled glass and additives comprising providing a glass material mixture, melting the mixture into liquid glass, forming glass fibers from the liquid glass by pressing the liquid glass through openings in a turn table, spraying water on the glass fibers, spraying a binder on the glass fibers, and shaping the glass fibers under pressure into a mat structure, wherein the binder is a mixture of starch and silicone, wherein the binder is about 6 to 8 weight percent related to the glass fibers, wherein the starch is a long-chain starch, wherein the starch is heated to a temperature of 50 to 60 degrees Celsius, kept at the temperature and stirred until sprayed, and wherein spraying the binder further comprises spraying the silicone and spraying the starch onto the glass fibers simultaneously through separate nozzles.
An apparatus for manufacturing glass fibers comprising a liquid glass container having an outlet opening, a turn table having openings and positioned for receiving liquid glass from the container, a gas burner positioned for maintaining appropriate temperatures of glass fibers exiting the turn table, feed rings followed by nozzles positioned for directing water and binder onto the glass fibers, and a container connected to one of the feed rings for premixing one of the binder components, wherein the feed rings further comprise a first feed ring for spraying starch or resin onto the glass fibers, and a second feed ring for spraying silicone onto the glass fibers, wherein the nozzles of the first feed ring have enlarged nozzle openings and tear-off edges, wherein the container for premixing one of the binder components is heatable, and wherein a feed line extending from the container to the nozzles of the first feed ring is heat insulating.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.