BASALT
For many years there has been talk of the use of basalt for reinforced polymer composite materials, although in reality the market still seems reluctant to take off. It must be said that basalt fibre producers are making progress on technical and market barriers with large- scale applications.
The field of application is wide from the construction, aeronautical and nautical sectors. In addition to its thermal properties, the combination of strength, impact and chemical inertness also made basalt attractive for applications in the composite industry. Therefore, it is not clear why glass fibre reinforced basal composites (BFRPs) have not yet managed to enter the market significantly, although recently it seems that the situation is changing.
The first patent for the production of basalt fibre dates back to 1923 and military applications were studied in the 1950s and 1960s (especially in the former Soviet Union).
A few years ago, a report claimed that the global basalt fibre market in 2020 would reach $200 million US dollars. One of the reasons that may have led to this trend growth is the increasing use of basalt fibre in hybrid composites, the demand from the automotive sector and the attractiveness of basalt’s recyclability coupled with its strength (which is said to be greater than that of glass E). The thermal properties of basalt fibre also affect applications for insulation.
The Report • December 2020 • Issue 94 | 63
New opportunities are opening up for BFRP applications that require high and/or wide-ranging service temperatures. Impact resistance significantly differentiates basalt fibre from glass and carbon. A study by the Institut für Textiltechnik der RWTH (Aachen, Germany), demonstrated a 35% higher specific energy absorption capacity of a basalt hybrid fabric (HYWF) with polyamide resin compared to HYWF/ polyamide glass and 17% higher than HYWF carbon/polyamide.
Basalt fibres offer better corrosion and fire resistance than that provided by glass. A recent study confirmed higher tensile modulus, tensile strength and interlaminar shear strength, 40% higher specific strength and 20% higher specific stiffness for Basalt Fibre/Epoxy Test Panels than Glass Panels E/epoxies made with the same resin and manufacturing process.
Basalt fibre has low water absorption, a very important feature in nautical construction. It is also electrically non-conductive and, being a natural material, it is also intrinsically more recyclable than other reinforcing fibres, a factor that is of considerable importance for the nautical industry today. A switch from carbon fibre to basalt appears to be easier to make than switching from E-glass to basalt, but both are doable. As far as carbon fibre is concerned, cost savings are typically the primary justification for moving to BFRP; applications for which carbon fibre exceeds the performance requirements can be met at the cost-performance point offered by basalt. Equally important in some applications are the different ways of damaging carbon and basalt. While carbon fibre tends to “shatter” catastrophically and sometimes in multiple places, basalt fibre exhibits a softer mode of failure. The relative cost of the fibre of basalt has decreased as production methods have become more efficient, but it is still more expensive than E-glass.
Although a substantial breakthrough in the BFRP has not yet materialized, progress appears to be taking place on all necessary fronts: efficiency and production capacity, global presence, product design and development and regulatory activity.
BASALT RODS
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