JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #84 - October 2013 - 22

basalt

New projects for basalt

Basalt fibres were fabricated at the laboratory scale starting in the
1960s. These fibres have been manufactured at the industrial scale
since 1985, and industrial uses for them are multiplying. They are not
necessarily penetrating the market at a rapid pace, but there are more
and more applications and production projects for them.

New production units

G

iven that the earth's crust
consists of 80% basalt
rock, you might think that
basalt is a nearly inexhaustible
resource. This isn't quite true,
because the composition of
basalt varies from one place to
another. Basalt fibre manufacturers choose their supply to get
the best compromise between
melting temperature, mechanical
properties, and resistance to
acids and strong bases [1].
The history of continuous basalt
fibre started in the Ukraine when
it was still part of the former
Soviet Union, and that country
continues to lead the market
along with Russia and China.
Other countries do produce
the fibres, although in lower
volumes, sometimes using
customized formulations in small
batches [2]. Global basalt fibre
production is currently estimated at 15,000 metric tons per
year, of which 2,500 MT goes to
composites. With the number
of applications on the rise, new
projects are emerging [1] & [2].

New production capacities
should become operational in
the short or medium term (2013
summer/fall announcements).
It is difficult to say how much
of that will be set aside for
composites, as basalt fibre is used
extensively in heat insulation.
While you have to keep in mind
that announcements concern
nominal capacities (as for carbon
and glass) and that the ex-works
volumes are always lower, this
is still a positive sign for these
fibres, which have a good properties/cost ratio.

10,000 more metric tons
from China
Jilin Jiuxin Basalt Industry Co.,
Ltd. [3] has a project to create
four basalt fibre production lines
for a total 10,000 MT, one production line for composite rods,
and another for blanket yarn.
The project should be finalized in
October 2015. The production
facility, which is located in the
county of Huinan in the Jilin
Province's economic development zone, covers 125,000 m²,
including 91,500 m² dedicated
to buildings. The total amount of

22 jec composites magazine / No84 October 2013

the investment is 601.58 million
Yuan (USD 100.28 million). The
project sponsors hope to generate 44.59 million Yuan (USD
7.43 million) in annual sales
volume, for a profit of 11.88 million Yuan (USD 1.98 million).
In light of current production
capacities, this constitutes a huge
basalt fibre project.

3,000 metric tons in
Uzbekistan
Uzhimprom State Joint Stock
Company and China's Sichuan
Aerospace Tuoxin Basalt Co.
intend to jointly build a plant for
the production of continuous
basalt fibre worth about US$40
million [4] & [5]. The plant
will be established in Uzbekistan's Jizzak special industrial
zone (established by the Uzbek
President's decree) in the Jizzak
region. It should produce 3,000
metric tons of basalt fibre a year.
The feasibility study should be
completed by late 2013 and
construction should start in the
first half of 2014. The plan is
to finance the project through
direct investments of the Chinese
company and Uzbek bank loans.
The term of the zone's activity

is 30 years, with a possibility of
further extension. A special tax
system and customs benefits will
be delivered for a period of three
to seven years, depending on
the amount of investment in the
territory of the special industrial
zone.

The Icelandic project
Iceland is still suffering the
consequences of the financial
crisis that hit it so hard. The
country is wagering heavily on
its vast, cheap geothermal and
hydroelectric energy resources.
Thorsteinn Sigfusson, managing director of the Innovation
Center Iceland near Reykjavik,
is an advocate for basalt fibre
production in Iceland, and hopes
to see it established within two
years [6]. n
More information:
www.jeccomposites.com
References
[1] JEC composites Magazine no.68 -
October 2011, p. 22-24
[2] JEC composites Magazine no.76 -
October-November 2012, p. 22-24
[3] www.jl.gov.cn - September 2013
[4] http://en.trend.az - 4 September
2013
[5] The Times of Central Asia - 6
September 2013
[6] http://e360.yale.edu - 3 October
2013
http://www.jeccomposites.com http://www.jl.gov.cn http://en.trend.az http://e360.yale.edu
JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #84 - October 2013

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