A curable aqueous composition is disclosed comprising a carbohydrate, a crosslinking agent, and an amine base, wherein the curable aqueous composition has a pH adjusted by the amine base. Further disclosed is a method of forming a curable aqueous solution.

A device and a method for applying a liquid fire retardant onto hemp fibers and into hemp insulation batting using a multiple needle construction, which can act as an insulation substitute to be used in building structures that does not irritate the skin or contain harmful, toxic elements and is a quicker and a more efficient method with a reduction in drying time.

A method for producing a composite glue composed of a hydrophobic aerogel according to the present invention includes: (S1) mixing step; (S2) hydrolysis step; (S3) condensation step; (S4) aging step; (S5) high-temperature pulse washing step; (S6) drying step; and (S7) composition step. The obtained composite glue composed of a hydrophobic aerogel is high-viscosity glue made by blending the hydrophobic aerogel with an inorganic fiber, and the related product not only has good properties of cold resisting and heat insulating, but also is light and has appropriate strength, excellent flame retardancy, and excellent water repellency.

The present invention relates to a method for producing an aerogel blanket exhibiting excellent hydrophobicity at high temperatures and an aerogel blanket produced thereby. The present invention uses a mixture of silica sol and a hydrophobic aerogel powder as an aerogel precursor and thus can achieve hydrophobicity in the internal structure as well as on the surface of the aerogel included in the aerogel blanket. Accordingly, the aerogel blanket can attain high hydrophobicity and thus can exhibit excellent hydrophobicity retention ability even in high-temperature applications.

Heat-insulation materials that can be placed along the lines of heat sources, heat-insulation structures using the same, and processes for producing the same. A heat-insulation material, that includes: fiber sheets that each have fibers and an aerogel and that have different sizes; and at least one covering material that covers the fiber sheets, or at least one elastic material that includes the fiber sheets. The at least one covering material may include a first covering material and a second covering material.

Provided is a silica sol, a silica aerogel blanket using the same, and a method for manufacturing the same, wherein a hydrophobizing agent, a base catalyst, an organic solvent, and water are included in a catalyst composition when manufacturing the silica aerogel blanket, so that a wet aging step which is performed under high-temperature conditions and increases the amount of a solvent used, and a surface modification step which uses a large amount of an organic solvent and an expensive surface modifier, resulting in a process that is complex and long and thus inhibiting economic feasibility and productivity, can be omitted.

Provided are a flexible insulated air duct and a modular flexible insulated air-duct system; the flexible insulated air duct includes an air-duct main body (1); the air-duct main body (1) includes an inner air-duct layer (5) and a heat-insulating layer (4) integrally formed on the inner air-duct layer (5); the inner air-duct layer (5) is arranged inside the heat-insulating layer (4), and the heat-insulating layer (4) is a rubber/plastic material. The modular flexible insulated air-duct system made by assembling a main air duct (7), a branched air duct (8), and a connecting air duct (9) may be rapidly connected on-site using a zip fastener to form an air-duct system having any configuration.

A heat-insulating sheet includes a fiber sheet having spaces therein and silica xerogel held in the spaces. The heat-insulating sheet includes a high-compressive region and a low-compressive region. A compression rate of the high-compressive region of the heat-insulating sheet with respect to a pressure of 0.25 MPa applied to the high-compressive region is greater than or equal to 30% and less than or equal to 50%. A compression rate of the low-compressive region of the heat-insulating sheet with respect to a pressure of 0.25 MPa applied to the low-compressive region is greater than or equal to 1% and less than or equal to 5%. This heat-insulating sheet has large thermal insulation as a whole.

A method for producing a composite glue composed of a hydrophobic aerogel according to the present invention includes: (S1) mixing step; (S2) hydrolysis step; (S3) condensation step; (S4) aging step; (S5) high-temperature pulse washing step; (S6) drying step; and (S7) composition step. The obtained composite glue composed of a hydrophobic aerogel is high-viscosity glue made by blending the hydrophobic aerogel with an inorganic fiber, and the related product not only has good properties of cold resisting and heat insulating, but also is light and has appropriate strength, excellent flame retardancy, and excellent water repellency.

A modular, aerogel-based vacuum insulated pipe section comprising an outer conduit; an inner conduit concentrically disposed within the outer conduit with aerogel insulation and a condensable gas being disposed in the insulation space between the concentric conduits. As a stand-alone pipe section, the insulation space is at a pressure within the range of from about 100 microns Hg to about 1000 microns Hg. However, in operation, when a cryogenic fluid is traversing the inner conduit, the condensable gas condenses and the pressure within the insulation space is further reduced to range of from about 1 microns Hg to about 5 microns Hg. The vacuum insulated pipe section further includes a coupling arrangement disposed on a first end of the inner conduit and a second end of the inner conduit, the coupling arrangement configured to engage or mate with a corresponding end of another modular vacuum insulated pipe section.