Patent WO-2005009911-A2 (WO)
Inventor: JAKES PETR
IPC: C03B5/26
Filed: 2004-07-21
Abstract: The apparatus for preparing a homogeneous silicate melt, intended for placing in a microwave oven, comprises a melting chamber (3) with an outlet (5) for the outflow of the melt into the superheating chamber (4), where the superheating chamber (4) consists of a vessel whose outlet (6) is arranged at the bottom of the vessel and is furnished with a raised overflow rim (7) situated with an offset below the lowest point of the outlet (5) of the melting chamber (3), while the outlet (6) from the superheating chamber (4) leads into a vertically or horizontally arranged oblong fiberizing tank (8) furnished with its own heating, in the bottom of which there is an outlet. The outlet (6) of the superheating chamber (4) in the direction of the fiberizing tank (8) can have an offset outlet rim ( 10). The outlet of the fiberizing tank (8) can consist of a set of nozzles (9) for drawing the continuous mineral or glass fibres. The melting chamber (3), superheating chamber (4) and fiberizing tank (8) are made of ceramic material, for example sintered alumina, or sintered alumina in combination with Si02. The nozzles (9) are formed of ceramic elements or elements made of ceramic metals, passing through and projecting from the bottom of the fiberizing tank (8). They can be made of a refractory ceramic material selected, for example, from the group comprising the oxides A1, Mg, Cr, Zr, the silicides Mo and the nitrides Si, W, Ti and A1. The nozzles 9 can be furnished with a means for heating them. The melting chamber (3) and superheating chamber (4) are positioned in a microwave oven in the area of the microwave radiation, while the fiberizing tank (8) with its own heating is arranged outside this area. The subject of the invention is also a method of uninterrupted production of continuous mineral or glass fibre where the crushed raw material, for example basalt, is exposed to microwave radiation at a frequency of 2450 MHz, whereby it is melted, the molten material, above the area of sedimentation of unmelted remains, continuously passes through into a separate space in which it is heated again by microwave radiation to a temperature of at least 200°C higher than the temperature of the liquidus melt, and from that space it flows continuously across the overflow rim into the column-shaped space beneath it, outside the area of operation of the microwave radiation, in which by electric or high-frequency heating the melt stabilizes at a temperature corresponding to the required viscosity, whereupon it is extruded into the outer space through at least one opening in the bottom, by means of hydrostatic pressure proportional to the overall depth of the melt above this bottom. The area of the openings in the bottom of the column-shaped space is heated to a temperature in the range of 1250 to 1700°C. A charge for the melting chamber (3) for preparing a silicate melt for the production of continuous mineral or glass fibre, which comprises crushed basalt of loose gravely consistency, can advantageously further include crushed recycle glass made from ordinary recycled bottle glass in quantities of 10 to 80% wgt., or 25 to 50% wgt. Or 25 to 35% wgt. And/ or phonolite. The invention further concerns the use of mineral fibre with a bonding agent for the creation of composite material for the surface finish of objects, for example plastic or metal pipes.