Characterization of fibers as rockwool for insulation obtained from canary islands basalts

Abstract

Glass fibers in the shape of wool were obtained at laboratory scale from three samples of basaltic rocks from the Tenerife Island. The rockwool is widely used as thermal and acoustical insulation. The ability of these rocks to be fiberized was studied by means of the viscosity curves and can be quite improved by adding calcium and magnesium. The experimental fibers obtained from the rocks directly or mixed with either CaCO₃ or CaMg(CO₃)₂ ye characterized in terms of chemical composition, microstructure and thermal and mechanical properties. These properties were compared with the ones determined for four commercial samples of rockcwool, founding that they are very close. This gives good prospects to these fibers from Canarian basalts as insulation material.