Is rock wool insulation board asbestos?

Due to the deepening of energy conservation and environmental protection requirements and awareness, rock wool insulation boards are often used in the field of building insulation. Rock wool insulation board is widely used because of its excellent thermal insulation and fire resistance. However, due to the application of building materials, rock wool and asbestos have similar functions and names, and both have the characteristics of fire prevention, heat insulation and corrosion resistance. Friends who are unfamiliar with these two materials may compare and confuse the two materials, and really do not know the difference between rock wool and asbestos, thinking that they are both as harmful and toxic as asbestos, which will increase the possibility of cancer. , that is, these two materials are "carcinogens" should be banned, do not pollute the environment and harm the body. Friends who have such concerns can understand that people’s health takes the lead after all. However, rock wool insulation boards are indeed very different insulation materials from asbestos. They are very different in raw materials, production processes, and fiber thickness. Rock wool is not a "carcinogenic" material, and the difference between rock wool and asbestos is still very big. .

What is the difference between rock wool and asbestos? Asbestos is the abbreviation of asbestos fiber. Humans have used asbestos much earlier than rock wool. It has been proven that the use of asbestos can be traced back to ancient Egypt. Asbestos fibers were also found in Paleolithic pottery workshops in Finland. Asbestos is made of silicate minerals as raw materials. Asbestos is made of serpentine, amphibole, actinite, tremolite and other original natural ores. After mechanical action, it is dispersed into fluffy and soft fibers. . Asbestos fibers are very fine, 0.02-2 microns. Longer asbestos fibers can be used to manufacture fire-resistant textiles, such as asbestos tapes, asbestos cloths, etc.; shorter fibers can be used to manufacture asbestos cement products, asbestos sound insulation materials, asbestos thermal insulation materials, etc. . However, after research and testing, on October 27, 2017, asbestos fibers appeared in the list of carcinogens published by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Asbestos fibers can cause diseases such as asbestosis and pleural mesothelioma. Many countries have already Chosen to prohibit the use of this dangerous substance.

However, the discovery and use of rock wool was much later. Rock wool was discovered on the island of Hawaii. After the volcanic eruption, the residents of the island discovered strands of soft rocks after melting. This is the human effect on rock wool fibers. Initial awareness. Rock wool is made of high-quality basalt, dolomite and other natural ores as raw materials. Rock wool fiber has good thermal insulation, thermal insulation and high temperature resistance properties. It can be made into various thermal insulation products such as felt, strip, pipe, granular and board according to different purposes. It is widely used in nuclear power plants, power plants, chemical plants, Large-scale furnace insulation, building exterior wall insulation, roof and curtain wall insulation, isolation belts, etc. The fiber diameter of rock wool is 2 to 6 microns. The expert group of the International Agency for Research on Cancer has determined that rock wool is not a carcinogen and can be used with confidence. Generally, rock wool insulation boards are applied to the exterior walls of buildings, and people rarely come into direct contact with them during use, so we don’t need to talk about the color change of "cotton".