Mineral Wool Industry: Opportunities for Natural Gas Technologies. Topical Report January-July 1987

摘要

To quantify the opportunities for natural gas and identify technological advances needed to capture such opportunities, the mineral wool industry was analyzed with respect to the principal companies, their capabilities, and markets. The mineral wool industry is stable with a slightly declining market. Of its market segments, only commercial acoustic insulation (which is currently dominant) is likely to be affected by growth in the next ten years. The principal process is based on treatment of blast furnace slags in a cupola furnace using coke as the fuel and reducing agent. Expanded use of gas, as a substitute for coke, would eliminate environmental problems and expand the latitude of suitable raw materials. The study provides insights into the mineral wool industry and identifies factors that may constitute bases for future usage of natural gas.