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

SBIR 第二阶段：用于不燃建筑和其他高温应用的批量生产的柔性隔热材料

• 批准号: 2136493
• 负责人: Lida Lu
• 金额: $ 99.95万
• 依托单位: LIATRIS INC.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-03-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2136493&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Mass; Produced

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.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是利用热能管理来同时提高建筑物的可用性，舒适性和安全性，最初侧重于满足不可燃烧的建筑物绝缘材料的可能性市场需求。该项目将着重于开发轻巧，易于安装，不可燃烧的绝缘产品，该产品也友好且无毒。结构火灾占美国所有火灾的37％。这些大火造成了123亿美元的财产损失和80％的民用火灾死亡。美国西部的野火在“极端”容易发生的野火区中有2200亿美元的住宅建设，这加剧了这种情况的紧迫性。矿物质羊毛是当今唯一可用的隔热产品，但需要个人保护设备进行安装，最近被归类为致癌。完全不可燃烧的建筑物绝缘是一个高增长市场，所有类型的非易燃绝缘材料的更广泛的市场都代表了一个重要的机会。 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收缩（从而最大程度地提高了绝缘性能，并最大程度地减少材料和加工成本）。这种方法利用了易于使用的材料，例如粘土和二氧化硅，以及潜在的可再生纤维素生物量，以生产一种环保，高性能的绝缘产品，用于非可燃建筑物，易于安装，轻量级和无毒。成功地将这种方法扩展到现有制造设备上可以解决重大的物质研究挑战，从而创造有机无机纳米复合材料，用于隔热材料，具有竞争力的成本 /性能比与现有产品（例如玻璃纤维，矿物质羊毛和塑料泡沫）相比。 II期项目可能会导致第一种用于热绝缘的工业工程复合材料，这是完全不可燃烧的。柔性聚合物和辐射阻滞添加剂的整合也将有助于用于高温工业管道感染，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重大限制。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是使用该基金会的知识分子功能和广泛影响的评估来评估的珍贵的支​​持。