Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2061979
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION:
Eield of the Invention
The present invention relates to an insulating
pulp for insulating buildings and other type structures
and wherein the pulp is comprised of organic fibers
having a fiber length of from about 1.0 mm to 3 mm and
contains a fire retardant additive as well as a corrosive
buffing agent. The invention also encompasses the method
of producing the pulp in its fluffed form or compressed
sheet form as well as the method of applying the fluff
organic pulp in spaces to be insulated by an applicator
machine.
Description of Prior Art
It is known to provide insulation as loose
fill material and injecting same into cayities provided
in structures, and reference is made to U.S. Patent
4,829,738 as an example of this. The majority of these
free flowing thermal insulating materials are formed from
inorganic substances which are treated with various
additives having fire retardants or anti-corrosive
properties. Some of the inconveniences of such loose
fill insulation is that it is awkward to manipulate and
transport and produces a lot of dust when disturbed, such
as during the application thereof in building structures.
A still further major disadvantage of such insulation is
that it is difficult to get a substantially even
distribution thereof in cavities which are disposed in
~.. .. .,, . ~ ~, . . .... ..
vertical planes as the insulation has a tendency of
propagating towards the bottom of the cavity by gravity.
The result is that eventually the wall structures of
buildings have a higher density of insulation at the
2o6l979
bottom and minimal density or none whatsoever in the top
portion thereof where the maximum amount of heat is found
and escapes through the wall. In an attempt to alleviate
this problem, some have suggested placing a net inside
the cavity or on the face wall of the cavity such as
disclosed in U.S. Patent 4,712,347. This is an
expensive, time-consuming solution and due to the
property of most insulation, and particularly its
density, it is still difficult to obtain a substantially
even distribution of insulation within cavities.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION:
It is a feature of the present invention to
provide an insulating pulp and method of manufacture as
well as the method and apparatus for the application of
same and which substantially overcomes the above-
mentioned disadvantages of the prior art.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an insulating pulp which is formed of a pulp of
organic long fibers having a fiber length of 1.0 to 3 mm
and preferably a density of 0.7 to 3.5 lbs/ft3. The
density range can be extended to between 0.6 to 4.0
lbs /f t 3 .
A further feature of the present invention is
to provide an insulating pulp which is formed of a blend
of a pulp of organic long fiber fluff having a fiber
length of 1.0 to 3.0 mm with pulp fibers from recycled
paper or other products having insulating properties.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an insulating organic pulp made by a CTMP pulping
process and wherein the pulp is provided in fluff form or
compressed sheet form, and wherein in the latter case, it
'-
2061979
; is reconstituted to its fluff form before application as
a loose insulation within cavities of building structures
and wherein the loose insulation has much less weight per
R factor value of thermal insulation and excellent
acoustical properties, the thermal insulating value being
in the range of from about R3 to R4 per inch.
-Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an insulating pulp made from organic fibers
having a fiber length of from about 1.0 mm to 3 mm in
fluff form and wherein the pulp is highly compressible
into sheet or brick-like form or any other form suitable
for injection into a defiberizing machine which is
utilized on site to reconstitute the pulp in its fluff
form prior to injection of same into buildlng cavities
and wherein the fluff insulation produces negligible
dust.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an organic insulating pulp which is compressed in
sheet form and is defiberized on site for injection into
a building structure and wherein a small supply of such
sheet form pulp produces a large volume of the insulation
in its fluff form.
Another feature of the present invention is to
provide an organic insulating pulp in fluff form and
which is packaged loose in bags to be applied as loose
insulation, or packaged in strip form with support facing
sheets, similar to fiberglass insulation, and packaged in
bundles or rolls.
According to the above features, from a broad
aspect, the present invention provides an insulating pulp
for insulating buildings and other type structures. The
r. - ~ .
20~1979
insulating pulp comprises organic fibers having a fiber
length of from about 1.0 mm to 3 mm. A fire retardant
additive, an anti-bacterial additive, and a corrosive
buffing agent is added to the pulp.
Another broad aspect of the present invention
is to provide an insulating pulp which is produced by a
chemi-thermomechanical pulping process to produce a pulp
in a fluff form and which has a density in the range of
from about 0.7 to 3.5 lbs/ft3 and a thermal insulating
value of from about R3 to R4 per inch.
According to a further broad aspect of the
present invention, there is provided a method of
producing an insulating pulp for insulating buildings and
other type structures and wherein the method comprises
producing a chemi-thermomechanical wood pulp from
debarked trees having wood fibers of a length of from
about 1.0 mm to 3 mm and mixing in the pulp a fire
retardant additive.
The method also envisages according to a still
further broad aspect, mixing an anti-bacterial and
corrosive buffing agent within the pulp.
According to a still further broad aspect of
the present invention, there is provided a method of
applying an insulating fluff organic pulp in a space or
cavity of a building structure or other type structures
to be insulated and wherein the method includes providing
a fluff organic pulp having fibers of a length of from
about 1.0 mm to 3 mm. The pulp is injected in a
delivery conduit connected to an air compressor. An
adhesive additive is injected in the pulp in the conduit
in the vicinity of an ejector nozzle to form a binding
~i ~
2061979
agent for the fluff pulp. The fluff pulp with its
binding agent is then ejected through an ejector nozzle
in the space or cavity to be insulated.
According to a further broad aspect of the
present invention, the fluff pulp is provided in a
compressed sheet form and a portable insulating pulp
applicator machine is provided for defiberizing the sheet
to reconstitute the pulp in its fluff form prior to
application on site.
According to a still further broad aspect of
the present invention, there is provided a portable
insulating pulp applicator machine for ejecting an
insulating fluff organic pulp in a space of a building
structure of other type structure to be insulated. The
fluff organic pulp has fibers of a length of from about
1.0 mm to 3 mm. A delivery conduit is provided and has
an ejector nozzle. A compressor is connected to the
conduit. The conduit has a feed port for receiving a
supply of the pulp. An adhesive applicator device is
connected to the conduit in the vicinity of the ejector
nozzle to provide a binding agent for the fluff pulp so
that the fluff pulp adheres together and to surrounding
,. ,. _, .
--~ surfaces of the space or cavity to be insulated.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS:
A preferred embodiment of the present
invention will now be described with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIGURE 1 is a plan view of the fiber distribu-
tion of the fluff pulp as viewed under a microscope;
2061979
FIGURE 2 is a simplified schematic
illustration of a system and process for producing the
organic insulating pulp of the present invention; and
FIGURE 3 is a schematic illustration of the
essential elements of a portable insulating pulp
applicator machine.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS:
Referring now to the drawings, and more
particularly to Figures 1 and 2, there is shown a
microscopic view of the organic insulating pulp 10 of the
present invention and the system and process of
manufacturing same. The pulp 10 is an organic wood pulp
which is produced by a BCTMP, that is to say, a
chemi-thermomechanical pulping process which is only
schematically illustrated in Figure 2, as such process is
well known in the art for producing fluff which is
utilized in sanitary products. Such process utilizes
debarked trees and primarily black spruce or balsam fir
or pine or a combination of two or three of these trees
to provide a pulp in a fluff form. We have found,
unexpectedly, that such fluff has excellent thermal
insulation factor as well as good acoustical properties.
It is pointed out that these trees produce wood fibers
having fiber lengths of from about 1.0 mm to 3 mm and
their fiber distribution, in fluff form, produces a
product which has a density in the range of about 0.7 to
3.5 lbs/ft3 or up to the range of 0.6 to 4.0 lbS/ft3.
The fibers are also hollow core fibers and when used as a
thermal insulating material, it was surprisingly found to
contain an insulating value of from about R3 to R4 per
-- 6 --
2061979
inch. Because of the air contained within these fibers
and the fiber distribution in a fluff form, it was also
found to possess excellent acoustical properties.
In order for the fibers 11 or the fluff to be
used as an insulating material, it is necessary to modify
the pulping process to add a fire retardant additive, an
anti-bacterial additive, as well as a corrosive buffing
agent, as illustrated in Figure 2. The fire retardant
additive is added in the range of about 10 to 25% by
weight of the pulp and the anti-bacterial additive is
added in the range of from about 0.1% to 10~ by weight
depending on the intended use of the insulation. The
corrosive buffing agent is also in this range of 0.01 to
10% and also depending on the intended use of the
product.
As shown in Figure 2, the insulating pulp may
be provided at the output of the CTMP pulp process 13 in
a fluff pulp form 14 where the fluff is then sent to a
bagging or packaging machine to produce bags of fluff
insulation. As also shown in Figure 2, the pulp can also
be provided in a compressed sheet form to produce a roll
15 of an insulating pulp sheet having the above-described
fiber characteristics. The roll can then be cut in
individual sheet form 16 to form stacks of sheets or
rolls 16' which are easy to transport so that a large
quantity of insulating fluff pulp can be transported by a
very small vehicle and occupying very little space on
site. It is also pointed out that since about half the
volume of this pulp can provide comparable insulating
factors as with ordinary loose fill insulation or glass
fiber insulation, much less material is utilized in
- 7 -
~! ~
l_
20~1979
building structures making them more lightweight. The
lightweight characteristic as well as the compressed
sheet form characteristic of the product is also of major
importance to insulating contractors.
The manufacturing process of Figure 2 can also
be modified to feed another insulating material to mix
with the fluf-f to provide a blended insulating material.
For example, recycled paper can be added to the fluff in
fiber form and in predetermined quantities. This would
provide a use for recycled paper. The fluff can also be
packaged in bags as loose insulation, or in blanket form,
like fiberglass insulation. Such could be cut in panels
and pressure-packed, or provided in roll form.
It is to be noted that the insulation of the
present invention is biodegradable when eventually a
building structure with such insulation is demolished and
the material is burried in ground.
Hereinbelow are Tables illustrating the sheet
properties and the fiber properties of the insulating
pulp of the present invention.
2061979
SHEET PROPERTIES
Properties
Minimum Maximum
Basis weight (Gr/M2) 300 900
Moisture (%) 5.0 15.0
Kamas energy2(Wh/Kg) 40.0 120
Burst (K~axm /Gr) 1.0 3.0
Bulk (Cm /Gr) 3 2.0 4.0
Breaking L~ngth (Cm /Gr) 2.0 6.0
Tear (Mnxm /Gr) 6.0 15.0
Freeness (CFS) 150 700
,~
, .,--~
FIBER PROPERTIES
Properties
Minimum Maximum
Fiber length (mm) 1.0 3.0
Brightness (ISO) 50.0 80.0
DCM extract (%) 0.05 10.0
Fiber Classification R14 5.0 40.0
by Bauer McNett 14/28 15.0 40.0
Classificator (%) 28/48 ` 30.0 13.0
48/100 10.0 5.0
100/200 10.0 1.0
P200 30.00 1.0
Shives (%) 0.05 10%
Knots (%) 2.0 20%
Wood Species - Confiner Black spruce 0 100%
Balsam fir 0 100%
Pine 0 100~
An example only of the chemical additives that
may be added to the pulp is shown in the following table.
CHEMICAL ADDITIVES
Chemical
Addition Rate
Min. Max .
Fire retardant (% by weight) Borax 10.0 25.0
Bacteria / (%), Slimecide 0.01 10.0
Corrosive / (%), Buffing agent 0.01 10.0
In summarizing the characteristic of the fluff
insulating pulp of the present invention, it is produced
by a CTMP pulping process utilizing wood chips having
the above-referred to fiber characteristics. The
conventional chemi-thermomechanical wood pulp process is
modified wherein to mix in the necessary additive to
2061979
produce a fluff pulp having proper insulation charac-
teristics as required by building codes. The mill's wood
supply for the process is mainly black spruce and balsam
and these are characterized as having a very slow growth
rate and produce extremely strong, long fibers which we
have surprisingly found to produce a fluff pulp
insulation which has excellent insulating properties
which were heretofore unknown.
Briefly summarizing the PCTMP modified pulping
process, with reference specifically to Figure 2, wood
chips 17 are produced from logs of about 2.4 meters of
black spruce and balsam, usually 80% spruce and 20%
balsam and these chips contain usually a maximum of 0.5%
residual bark. These chips are heated to 35C. using
steam and are washed using fresh water which is heated to
60-70C. The chips are separated from the wash water and
are heated to 90C. in a bin. The chips are compressed
into a plug screw feeder 18 to remove air and help in the
absorption of the sodium sulphite solution in the
impregnator. Usually, 1-6% of Na25O3 by weight of the
chips is utilized. The sodium sulphite is produced as
follows:
S + (combustion) 2 = S2
S2 + H20 H2S03
.... , ~ .. ~ , . . ,., _
H2SO3 + NaOH + NaHSO3 + H2O
NaHSO3 + NaOH = Na2SO3 + H2O
The PH of the Na SO solution is 9.0 to 10Ø
-- 10 --
~_ ~
2061979
In the reaction bin 19, the sodium sulphite
solution reacts with the lignin (sulphonation) at a
temperature of 95C. for about 30 minutes. The chips are
pressurized using the plug screw feeder and the pressure
is- raised to about 35 psi.
In the feeder, the chips are pressurized to
about 35 psi and the refined pulp is separated from steam
in the refiner 20 which is also 35 psi and pumped into a
latency chest where the pulp is agitated at 60C. to
remove the latency in the pulp. The pulp is then
screened using two stages of pressure screens schemati-
cally lllustrated at 21 with the accepted pulp from the
screens being passed through two stages of centricleaners
as illustrated at 22. The rejected pulp from-the screens
and the cleaners, which is about 30% of the total feed,
is thickened, refined in a reject refiner, screened and
cleaned in an independent reject treatment system (not
shown). The pulp from the centricleaners is then washed
and thickened in a disc filter and inclined screens by
water displacement at a temperature of 60C. The pulp is
then stored and when it is pumped out, the pH is adjusted
at 7.0 using sulphuric acid.
The insulating pulp, in sheet form, is
illustrated at 15 and is produced on a fourdrinier
machine, well known in the art. Pressing and drying
follows to drop the moisture content to about 10%. The
rolls 15 of this insulating fiber sheet can then be sent
to a winder or layboy which cuts the rolled sheet into
different widths and other desirable sheet and roll forms
(16 and 16').
:~ .
2061979
The slimecide anti-bacterial additive may be
applied at two positions within the process, one
position being located at the output of a high density
tower and the other in the wire pit where the white water
is reserved for the pulp machine, these positions being
well known to a person skilled in the art and
knowledgeable of CTMP pulping process. The buffing agent
should be injected in the system at the high density
tower to be sure that the cure time is long enough. The
fire retardant additive, herein borax, and other
substitute additives can also provide excellent results,
is added at a location where the concentration of the
product can be controlled with high precision and there
are a variety of other positions within this process and,
ideally, the application can be done in the third press,
the breaker stack-in or the breaker stack-out, the reel
drum, or the winder section. This fire retardant liquid
can be applied by a spray boom which is positioned over
the pulp.
Referring now to Figure 3, there is schemati-
cally illustrated a portable applicator machine for the
insulating pulp of the present invention. If the roll
16' of compressed organic insulating fluff pulp is
provided, such roll, or individual sheets 16, can be
supported on a mobile platform 30 which is transportable
by vehicle directly to the site with the sheet 16 or 16'
of compressed pulp fibers being fed to a fibrillizer
machine 29 where a fibrillizing means such as the
rotating hammers 31 reconstitute the compressed pulp into
its loose fluff form as shown at 32. The pulp falls into
a feed bin 33 where it is fed into a blowing line 34 by
- 12 -
: : ~
. ~ .
206~9~9
compressed air from a compressor 35. A glue tank 36
feeds a supply of glue into an applicator nozzle 37 where
the glue is mixed with the fluff pulp to provide a
binding agent so that the fluff pulp adheres together and
to surrounding surfaces of a space or cavity to be
insulated. As shown in the exploded view, the ejector 37
may have a rectangular wedge shape so as to be used to
puncture permeable non-woven tissues which are provided
in wall structures whereby to form slits therein to
provide openings for the evacuation of air and also to
permit insertion of the nozzle within the cavity.
Usually, when insulating wallg of a building structure, a
polyethylene sheet is positioned on the inside open
surface between the studs and the sheet is slit to
provide for the evacuation of air when insulation is
injected under pressure. The use of clear polyethylene
also provides a visual means to the person applying the
insulation to ascertain that insulation is positioned
everywhere in the space covered by the plastic sheet.
Although Figure 3 shows a fibrillizer fed by a
roll of compressed insulating pulp of the present
invention, the machine can also be adapted to fibrillize
individual sheets of compressed insulating pulp. The
provision of the pulp in sheet form has many advantages,
such as making it easily storable for retail by lumber or
hardware suppliers, makes it easy to manipulate due to
its light weight and to transport, occupies minimum
storage area as compared with glass fiber batts, produces
very little dust, and most of all, eliminates the problem
of having to transport large packages of insùlation. A
- 13 -
2o6l979
small package of sheets of the compressed pulp of the
present invention may be sufficient to insulate an entire
home, let alone a single room therein.
It is within the ambit of the present
invention to cover any obvious modifications of the
preferred embodiment describe herein, provided -such
modifications fall within the scope of the appended
claims.
- 14 -
