MICROSTRUCTURAL AND ANALYTICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME COMMERCIAL AND EXPERIMENTAL MINERAL GLASS-FIBERS

Mineral fibres obtained from low cost raw materia such as igneus rocks and various slag materials can be used in several applications:for ex ample accoustic and thermal insulation, cement reinforcement and as sy nthetic soil for plant growing. The properties were investigated of si x types of mineral wool (available commercially on the European market ), and an experimental sample made from basalt of the Canary Islands. Chemical analyses showed little difference between the samples, except for Izolacja (Polish), which had a high iron content, probably due to the use of blast furnace slags in the process. The content of incompl etely melted particles was low, except for the Cultilene (Danish), Izo lacja samples and the Canarian experimental one. The two latter sample s also had a higher mean diameter. In no case was there any recrystall isation and the thermal stability was good up to about 500-degrees-C f or all the commercial fibres, except for Izolacja, whose binding polym er started to decompose at approximately 350-degrees-C.