 |
Neopor insulates using air and graphite
With Neopor, BASF provides an insulating material that offers significantly better thermal insulation than products that are currently available: For example, the new product can achieve the same insulating performance as BASF's classic Styropor® with up to 50 percent less raw material. Neopor is based on polystyrene and contains microscopic flakes of graphite that reflect heat radiation, thus improving insulation.
|
 |
The difference between the familiar insulating material Styropor and its new relative is immediately apparent: Neopor boards are gray, not white. In the raw state it exists as black granules which are then processed into a foam. Neopor uses the same principle as Styropor: It acts as an insulator because the air it contains does not conduct heat well. However, heat radiation also plays a part in thermal insulation and thick Styropor boards were previously necessary to combat this. In Neopor, tiny flakes of graphite reflect heat radiation and make the insulating boards almost impermeable to heat. Neopor therefore provides the same insulation as Styropor with up to 50 percent less material. As a result, the new rigid foam is particularly interesting for use in areas where there is no room for a thick layer of insulation. Examples include older buildings that did not originally provide for insulation and insulation installed on the inside of external walls, where use of the new material means that less living space is lost.
|
|
It also makes sense to use Neopor from an ecological viewpoint. The eco-efficiency analysis showed that Neopor is far better than other alternatives, both in terms of costs and the burden on the environment. Costs and resources can be saved and there is less impact on the environment because fewer raw materials are needed to achieve the same insulating performance. For example, ten liters of crude oil are needed to produce one Neopor board. But the same board can potentially save 1,200 liters of heating oil over a period of 50 years.
|
|
Innovation Award winners
Dr. Jürgen Fischer,
Dr. Guiscard Glück,
Dr. Klaus Hahn,
Frieder Hohwiller,
Dr. Dieter Naegele
|
|
|
|
|
|
