M AT E R I A L M AT T E R S

New thermal insulation coating systems utilize properties of silica aerogel

Researchers with materials producer Cabot Corp. (Billerica, Massachusetts) and paint manufacturer Tnemec Co. (Kansas City, Missouri) have combined their expertise to develop a new class of fluid-applied thermal insulation coating systems that utilize the properties of silica aerogel particles to deliver the performance of a thermal insulator with the flexibility of a coating. These waterborne, highly thermally insulative coatings (HiTICs) provide an option for insulating surfaces that typically are not insulated because of oddly shaped geometry, severe service environments, or concerns that corrosion under insulation (CUI) may occur. Silica aerogel is a solid, porous material traditionally formed when liquid is drawn from a silica gel under high temperature and high pressure through a process known as supercritical drying. This process slowly removes the liquid and replaces it with a gas without collapsing the solid component, and the result is a fine, porous silicon dioxide (SiO2) structure. The manufacturing process allows control of the materials porosity, pore size, and distribution. According to the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, aerogels are a class of materials that exhibit the lowest density, thermal conductivity, refractive index, and sound velocity of any bulk solid. Aerogel is often used for thermal insulation in a blanket form that is wrapped around piping and covered with cladding. The Tnemec HiTICs are formulated with surface-treated amorphous silica aerogel in particle form, manufactured by Cabot Corp., to lower the thermal conductivity of the surface to which the coating is applied. Each aerogel particle is composed of more than 90% air trapped within a highly porous structure that essentially resembles a birds nest comprised of nanometer-size silica strands, explains James Pidhurney, global commercial manager of Cabot Aerogels coatings business.The structures average pore size is ~20 nm, which is smaller than the mean path of air, so air molecules are contained within the pores between the silica strands and cant come into contact with one another and transfer energy to one another. If an aerogel particle is broken, the fragments still retain the porous structure and its properties.This makes aerogel twice as insulating as still air and very good at inhibiting conductive heat transfer, Pidhurney notes. The surface area of the aerogel particles is also hydrophobic, which make the particles very resistant to water infiltration. The ability to reduce heat transfer between objects, known as thermal insulation, is described as thermal conductivity. The aerogel particles have an extremely low thermal conductivity measurement of ~12 mW/(m-K), which is an indication of their high insulating capabilities. When the aerogel particles are used in large volumes (e.g., 70% by volume) in a coating formulation to displace resins that have a relatively high

Silica aerogel particles are composed of more than 90% air trapped within a highly porous structure. Photo courtesy of Cabot Corp.

The infrared photo illustrates the surface temperatures of the tanks. The tank on the left is coated with a standard coating and the tank on the right is coated with an aerogel-based HiTIC. The contents of both vessels are controlled to 60 C, however the tank with the HiTIC has a cooler surface temperature. Photo courtesy of Cabot Corp.

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2012, NACE International. Reprinted with permission.

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thermal conductivity measurement [e.g., 300 mW/(m-K)], the end result is a coating with a thermal conductivity measurement between 30 to 50 mW/ (m-K), which is up to 10 times more insulating than standard paint, says Pidhurney. When applied to piping, tanks, valves, and other steel structures in industrial facilities as part of a complete insulating coating system, the aerogelcontaining HiTICs, which can be formulated as acrylic or epoxy coatings, are able to lower surface temperatures to protect against the potential risk of burns from skin contact as well as reduce the substrates thermal conductivity to help maintain temperatures of stored or conveyed materials, says Andy Hoffman, Tnemec market support manager, Industrial Market. These aerogel-based coatings can be applied at a very high dry film thickness (DFT) per coat. The insulating capability of insulating coating systems with the HiTICs is comparable to bulk insulation in terms of their R-value/in. T h e R-value/in for the epoxy and acrylic HiTIC is 2.9 and 4.1, respectively. This compares to an R-value/in of 3.2 to 3.8 for loose-fill cellulose, 2.2 to 2.7 for loosefill fiberglass, and 3.0 to 3.3 for loose-fill rock wool.1 The HiTIC coating systems are able to withstand substrate temperatures up to 400 F (204 C) and can be spray-applied to surfaces with temperatures <200 F (93 C), Hoffman adds. For safe-touch applications, a typical insulating coating system includes an intermediate coat of
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A pipe flange is coated with the aerogel-based HiTIC. Photo courtesy of Tnemec.

an acrylic HiTIC with a DFT of 50 to 60 mils (1.3 to 1.5 mm). For thermal efficiency, an intermediate coat of a HiTIC would be applied at varying thicknesses depending on the projects conditions. In a laboratory demonstration using two small steel tanks filled with water, Cabot researchers tracked energy savings from the application of a HiTIC. One tank was insulated with 200 mils (5 mm) of the HiTIC epoxy and a control tank was coated with a standard coating. The water in the tanks was heated to a constant temperature of 60 C. The amount of energy required to maintain that temperature within each tank was monitored with temperature probes and kilowatt totalizers. Over the three days of testing, the insulated tank used ~45% less energy than the control tank. In addition, the insulated tank exhibited significantly lower surface temperatures. According to the Cabot researchers, these HiTICs show promise for situations where insulation is not used on highly conductive substrates due to the con-

straints of traditional cladded insulation products, which may include complex geometry that makes it difficult to wrap a structure with blanket-type insulation, or service or environmental conditions that make a structure susceptible to CUI. One potential application of the HiTICs, the researchers note, is insulating large, bulkliquid storage tanks to reduce condensation. These tanks, often hundreds of feet in diameter, experience consistent condensation that forms on the inside surface of the steel roof. This condensation causes corrosion to occur, which greatly reduces the life of the tank. Coating the exterior of the roof with a HiTIC could keep the internal roof surface temperature above the dew point and reduce the likelihood that condensation would form. Contact Hilary Banda, Cabot Corp. e-mail: Hilary.Banda@cabotcorp.com.

Reference

1 U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Savers: Loose-Fill Insulation, http://www.energysavers. gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index. cfm/mytopic=11650 (August 28, 2012). October 2012 MATERIALS PERFORMANCE 13

2012, NACE International. Reprinted with permission.