Silica fibers are fibers made of

sodium silicate Sodium silicate is a generic name for chemical compounds with the formula or ·, such as sodium metasilicate (), sodium orthosilicate (), and sodium pyrosilicate (). The anions are often polymeric. These compounds are generally colorless tra ...

(water glass). They are used in heat protection (including

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

substitution) and in packings and compensators. They can be made such that they are substantially free from non-

alkali metal The alkali metals consist of the chemical elements lithium (Li), sodium (Na), potassium (K),The symbols Na and K for sodium and potassium are derived from their Latin names, ''natrium'' and ''kalium''; these are still the origins of the names ...

compounds. Sodium silicate fibres may be used for subsequent production of

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , commonly found in nature as quartz. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one of the most complex and abundant f ...

fibres, which is better than producing the latter from a melt containing SiO₂ or by acid-leaching of glass fibres. The silica fibres are useful for producing wet webs, filter linings and reinforcing the material. They can also be used to produce

silicic acid In chemistry, a silicic acid () is any chemical compound containing the element silicon attached to oxide () and hydroxyl () groups, with the general formula or, equivalently, . Orthosilicic acid is a representative example. Silicic acids are ra ...

fibres by a dry spinning method. These fibres have properties which make them useful in friction-lining materials.Canadian Patent: CA 1142312, Application Number: 343548 Inventors: Hillermeier, Karlheinz (Germany), Seeberger, Ernst (Germany) Owners: AKZO N.V. (Netherlands)

References

*Water-Containing Water Glass Fibers: United States Patent: 4,471,019, Sep. 11, 1984 *Manufacturing Silica Fibers. United States Patent, 4,332,601, Jun. 1, 1982. Arno Wegerhoff, Woerth and Karlheinz Hillermeier, Wuppertal. All of Fed. Rep. of Germany Glass types {{glass-material-stub

See also

References