A loosefill insulation installation has an insulation space, and insulation material in the insulation space. The loosefill insulation material is made from fiberglass fibers. A thermal resistance (R) per inch of installed loosefill insulation material is between 3.1 and 3.9 R per inch. The average density of the installed loosefill insulation material is between 0.6 and 1.0 pounds per cubic foot.

Provided is a binder that has satisfactory storage stability and can express an excellent bonding strength for a glass fiber or powdered glass (impart a satisfactory strength to a bonded body with the glass fiber or the powdered glass). The binder of the present invention includes: a polymer having a hydroxyl group; and an ammonium salt of an inorganic acid, in which: the polymer contains a specific structural unit derived from a monomer represented by the general formula (1) and a specific structural unit derived from a monomer containing a carboxylic acid (salt) group; a content of the structural unit derived from the monomer represented by the general formula (1) is from 5 mol % to 40 mol % with respect to 100 mol % of structural units derived from all monomers; a content of the structural unit derived from the monomer containing a carboxylic acid (salt) group is from 60 mol % to 95 mol % with respect to 100 mol % of the structural units derived from all the monomers; 2 mol % or more of the carboxylic acid (salt) groups in the polymer are neutralized with a volatile base and/or a nonvolatile base; 0 mol % to 35 mol % of the carboxylic acid (salt) groups in the polymer are neutralized with the nonvolatile base; and 0 mol % to 100 mol % of the carboxylic acid (salt) groups in the polymer are neutralized with the volatile base.

An inorganic fiber containing silica, alumina, one or more alkali metal oxides, and one or more of alkaline earth metal oxides, transition metal oxides, or lanthanide series metal oxides. The inorganic fiber exhibits good thermal performance at use temperatures of 1260° C. and greater, retains mechanical integrity after exposure to the use temperatures, is free of crystalline silica upon devitrification, is alkali flux resistant, exhibits low bio-persistence in an acidic medium, and exhibits low dissolution in a neutral medium. Also provided are thermal insulation products incorporating the inorganic fibers, a method for preparing the inorganic fiber and a method of thermally insulating articles using thermal insulation prepared from the inorganic fibers.

Mineral wool fibers having a mineral wool fiber composition are manufactured by introducing batch materials into a melter, melting the mineral batch materials in the melter to provide a melt and fiberizing the melt to form the mineral wool fibers. The batch materials comprise i) fibers having a first batch material composition which is different from the mineral wool fiber composition and consisting of scrap fibers which have broken at a bushing producing continuous fibers; and ii) one of more additional mineral batch materials.

Mineral wool fibers having a mineral wool fiber composition are manufactured by introducing batch materials into a melter, melting the mineral batch materials in the melter to provide a melt and fiberizing the melt to form the mineral wool fibers. The batch materials comprise i) fibers having a first batch material composition which is different from the mineral wool fiber composition and consisting of scrap fibers which have broken at a bushing producing continuous fibers; and ii) one of more additional mineral batch materials.

The present invention relates to a method of growing plants in a coherent growth substrate product, the method comprising: providing at least one coherent growth substrate product comprising man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF) bonded with a cured aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde; positioning one or more seeds, seedlings, cuttings or plants in contact with the growth substrate product; irrigating the growth substrate product;

wherein the aqueous binder composition prior to curing comprises; a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers.

The present invention relates to a method of growing plants in a coherent growth substrate product, the method comprising: providing at least one coherent growth substrate product comprising man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF) bonded with a cured aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde; positioning one or more seeds, seedlings, cuttings or plants in contact with the growth substrate product; irrigating the growth substrate product;

wherein the aqueous binder composition prior to curing comprises; a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers.

An inorganic material including SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, CaO, and Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 as components, in which the mass percentages of the components in terms of oxide in the inorganic material are set as follows: i) the total content of SiO.sub.2 and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 is from 40% by mass to 70% by mass; ii) the ratio Al.sub.2O.sub.3/(SiO.sub.2+Al.sub.2O.sub.3) (mass ratio) is in the range of 0.15 to 0.40; iii) the content of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 is from 16% by mass to 25% by mass; and iv) the content of CaO is from 5% by mass to 30% by mass, can be produced as an inorganic material having excellent melt spinnability and excellent radiation resistance.

An inorganic material including SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2O.sub.3, CaO, and Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 as components, in which the mass percentages of the components in terms of oxide in the inorganic material are set as follows: i) the total content of SiO.sub.2 and Al.sub.2O.sub.3 is from 40% by mass to 70% by mass; ii) the ratio Al.sub.2O.sub.3/(SiO.sub.2+Al.sub.2O.sub.3) (mass ratio) is in the range of 0.15 to 0.40; iii) the content of Fe.sub.2O.sub.3 is from 16% by mass to 25% by mass; and iv) the content of CaO is from 5% by mass to 30% by mass, can be produced as an inorganic material having excellent melt spinnability and excellent radiation resistance.

The present invention relates to an alumina fiber having the content of sodium oxide of 530 to 3,200 ppm and a mass ratio (A/B) of the content (A) of the sodium oxide to the content (B) of calcium oxide of 5 to 116.