EP0096489A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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Inorganic foams
Assignee: Imperial Chemical Industries Ltd
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Filing: 1983-05-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2003-05-18
Abstract
Abstract Strong rigid foams comprising one or more layer minerals useful as insulation and fire-protection materials contain cells of which the mean diameter is below 60 microns, 90% have a diameter below 100 microns and substantially all are of diameter below 150 microns are made by gasifying an aqueous suspension of the layer mineral(s) to produce a wet foam or froth containing bubbles of gas of which the diameters are as stated above and removing water from the wet foam or froth.
Inventors
- 👤 Graham Vincent Jackson
- 👤 William Neville Eugen Meredith
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:51
CPC Classifications
C; C04; C04B; C04B38/00; C04B14/00; C04B14/02; C04B14/04; C04B14/10; C04B38/02; C04B38/10
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
47 words
A rigid foam of cellular structure comprising one or more layer minerals wherein the mean cell diameter is less than 60 microns, substantially all of the cells are of diameter below 150 microns and at least 90% of the cells have a diameter less than 100 microns.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
47 words
A rigid foam of cellular structure comprising one or more layer minerals wherein the mean cell diameter is less than 60 microns, substantially all of the cells are of diameter below 150 microns and at least 90% of the cells have a diameter less than 100 microns.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
A rigid foam as claimed in Claim 1 wherein at least 90% of the cells are of diameter below 50 microns.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
21 words
A rigid foam as claimed in Claim 2 wherein substantially all of the cells have a diameter less than 100 microns.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
34 words
A rigid foam as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the majority of the cells of diameter below 100 microns have a diameter within about 20 microns of the mean cell diameter.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
21 words
A rigid foam as claimed in any one of the preceding claims of density from 50 to 500 kg/m 3 .
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
26 words
A rigid foam as claimed in Claim 5 wherein at least 90% of the cells have a diameter within the range 5 microns to 100 microns.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
20 words
A rigid foam as claimed in any one of the preceding claims wherein the layer mineral is a kaolin-containing clay.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
17 words
A rigid foam as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in the form of prills.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
75 words
A process for the production of a strong rigid foam which comprises gasifying an aqueous suspension of a layer mineral to produce a stable wet foam or froth containing bubbles of gas of which the mean bubble diameter is less than 60 microns, at least 90% have a diameter less than 100 microns and the maximum diameter is below 150 microns, and removing at least part of the water from the wet foam or froth.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
75 words
A process for the production of a strong rigid foam which comprises gasifying an aqueous suspension of a layer mineral to produce a stable wet foam or froth containing bubbles of gas of which the mean bubble diameter is less than 60 microns, at least 90% have a diameter less than 100 microns and the maximum diameter is below 150 microns, and removing at least part of the water from the wet foam or froth.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
34 words
A process as claimed in Claim 9 wherein the suspension is gasified to produce a wet foam or froth containing bubbles of gas of which at least 90% have a diameter below 50 microns.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process as claimed in Claim 10 wherein the maximum diameter of the bubbles of gas is below 100 microns.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
30 words
A process as claimed in Claim 9, 10 or 11 wherein gasification of the suspension is continued until the density of the wet foam or froth reaches a minimum value.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
29 words
A process as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 12 wherein the suspension is gasified in the presence of a foaming agent which is an alkylamine salt.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
35 words
A process as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 13 wherein the wet foam or froth is subjected to a prilling operation to produce a dry rigid foam in the form of prills.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
37 words
A process as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 14 wherein the layer mineral is a clay and after the removal of water from the wet foam or froth the foam is sintered by heating.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
20 words
A process as claimed in Claim 15 wherein the foam is heated at a temperature above 1000°C to sinter it.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process as claimed in any one of Claims 9 to 16 wherein prior to gasification of the suspension the layer mineral is subjected to a beneficiation treatment.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process as claimed in Claim 17 wherein the layer mineral is a clay and the beneficiation treatment comprises the removal of quartz and/or aggregates from the clay.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
A process as claimed in Claim 18 wherein the benefication treatment comprises reduction of the quartz content of the clay to below 20% by weight of the clay.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
24 words
A process as claimed in Claim 19 wherein the quartz content of the clay is reduced to below 10% by weight of the clay.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
19 words
Use of a rigid foam as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 as an insulation material.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
20 words
Use of a rigid foam as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8 for the fire-protection of substrates.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
GB1042591A
Cited
FR1482214A
Cited
FR1565375A
Cited
US3737332A
Cited
US4130687A
Cited
GB2067174A
Cited
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