SBIR Phase II: Mass Produced, Flexible Insulation for Non-Combustible Buildings and Other High-Temperature Applications

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目的广泛影响是利用热能管理，同时提高建筑的可负担性、舒适性和安全性，最初的重点是满足市场对不燃建筑隔热材料的迫切需求。该项目将重点开发一种重量轻、易于安装、不燃、环保无毒的绝缘产品。建筑火灾占美国所有火灾的37%。这些火灾造成了123亿美元的财产损失和80%的平民火灾死亡。在美国西部，价值2200亿美元的住宅建设处于“极端”野火易发地区，这增加了这种情况的紧迫性。矿棉是目前唯一可用的不燃绝缘产品，但安装时需要个人防护设备，最近被列为致癌物。完全不燃建筑绝热材料是一个高增长的市场，所有类型的不燃绝热材料的更广泛市场代表着一个重要的机会。该二期项目旨在经济有效地为新建和改造建筑增加节能、不燃建筑的供应，同时也解决能源使用最密集的高温工业市场。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目旨在扩大一种新型纳米复合绝缘产品的规模，该产品使用无机气凝胶基绝缘材料的专有发泡工艺，以最大限度地减少收缩（从而最大化绝缘性能的孔隙度，并最大限度地降低材料和加工成本）。这种方法利用现成的材料，如粘土和二氧化硅，以及潜在的可再生纤维素生物质，为不燃建筑生产一种环保，高性能的绝缘产品，易于安装，重量轻，无毒。成功地将这种方法扩展到现有的制造设备上，可以解决一个重大的材料研究挑战，创造出与现有产品（如玻璃纤维、矿棉和塑料泡沫）相比具有竞争力的成本/性能比的隔热有机-无机纳米复合材料。二期工程可能会产生第一个完全不燃的工业工程隔热复合材料。柔性聚合物和防辐射添加剂的集成还可以用于高温工业管道保温，这是一种关键的节能应用，大多数现有产品由于辐射损失而受到严重限制。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is utilizing thermal energy management to simultaneously improve the affordability, comfort, and safety of buildings, with an initial focus on meeting urgent market demand for non-combustible building insulation. This project will focus on developing a lightweight, easy-to-install, non-combustible insulation product which is also eco-friendly and non-toxic. Structure fires represent 37% of all fires in the US. These fires caused $12.3 billion in property damage and 80% of civilian fire deaths. Wildfires in the Western US, where $220 billion in residential construction is in “extreme” wildfire-prone areas, add to the urgency of this situation. Mineral wool is the only non-combustible insulation product available today but requires personal protective equipment for installation and was recently classified as carcinogenic. Fully non-combustible building insulation is a high growth market, and the broader market for all types of non-flammable insulation represents a significant opportunity. This Phase II project seeks to cost-effectively increase the supply of energy-efficient, non-combustible buildings for both new and retrofit construction, while also addressing high-temperature industrial markets which have the most intensive energy use.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to scale up a novel nanocomposite insulation product using a proprietary foaming process for inorganic aerogel-based insulation that minimizes shrinkage (thus maximizing porosity for insulation performance and minimizing material and processing cost). This approach leverages readily available materials such as clay and silica, as well as potentially renewable cellulose biomass, to produce an environmentally friendly, high performance insulation product for non-combustible buildings which is easy to install, lightweight, and non-toxic. Successfully scaling this approach on existing manufacturing equipment may solve a significant materials research challenge, creating organic-inorganic nanocomposites for thermal insulation with a competitive cost / performance ratio versus incumbent products such as fiberglass, mineral wool, and plastic foams. The Phase II project may result in the first industrially-engineered composite material for thermal insulation which is fully non-combustible. The integration of flexible polymers and radiation blocking additives would also enable use for high-temperature industrial pipe insulation, a critical energy-saving application where most existing products have significant limitations due to radiation loss.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.