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Aspen Aerogels, Inc.Final Report2.DE-FG36-06GO16056AAI # R-07013IntroductionThe overall goal of this project was to reduce domestic energy consumption and bolster USexports by developing a revolutionary thermal insulation material – aerogel – for industrial steamsystems. This goal was pursued according to a three-pronged approach:1. development of a set of performance objectives, and the formulation of a basic materialarchitecture that would meet those objectives.2. product improvements to meet the performance targets and process development reducethe cost of the base material to the point where it was economically competitive with theother players in the market.3. commercial activities to achieve industry acceptance, including the development ofcomplimentary products, literature and training materials, and conducting demonstrationprojects. Partners in these field demonstrations of aerogel insulation included AirLiquide, ProTherm, Sproule Manufacturing, ExxonMobil, Archer-Daniels Midland, andNewport Naval Station.Aerogel, formed of intricate networks of nanoporous silica, possess the lowest thermalconductivity of any known solid. Although this material has been used everywhere fromplanetary spacecraft to particle accelerators, it is only recently that it has become cheap enoughand strong enough to be considered for industrial applications. Industrial steam distributionsystems loss energy via heat loss through pipes, valves, traps, and other line components.Thermal losses in this area alone accounts for 977 trillion Btu/year, more than 1% of totaldomestic energy consumption.In 2006, Aspen Aerogels competitively won an R&D award from the Department of Energy’sIndustrial Technologies Program to deliver an aerogel-based pipe insulation (ABPI) to marketwith the goal of reducing the energy loss in these systems. This work culminated in thedevelopment and commercial deployment of Pyrogel XT, Aspen Aerogels’ best selling flexibleaerogel blanket insulation. To date, this product has delivered more than 0.5 TBTU of energysavings to the nation. It is applied to pipes similarly to incumbent technologies such as mineralwool, fiberglass, calcium silicate, perlite, and various foams; however, Pyrogel XT deliversbetter thermal performance, improved durability, and faster installation times than theincumbents. The record-low thermal conductivity of aerogel, coupled with a strong geometriceffect in systems with radial heat flow, enables the insulation to provide equal thermal resistancewith 65-95 percent less material. Furthermore, the correspondingly smaller surface area losesless heat through radiation and convection, even at the same touch temperature (typically 120140 F).Pyrogel XT relies on the same field-proven design architecture as existing pipe insulationproducts. It consists of one or more layers of insulating material applied to the hot pipe surface.These layers are sold in standard thickness increments of 5mm and 10mm. The insulation is thenencapsulated by a weather and abrasion resistant overwrap, and mechanically secured in placewith circumferential fasteners. Tight fitting lap joints between adjacent parts prevents waterinfiltration and thermal shunting. In certain circumstances, mastic, caulk, or pressure-sensitivetape can be applied to the joint areas to increase the level of protection. However, Aspen’s9

Aspen Aerogels, Inc.Final ReportDE-FG36-06GO16056AAI # R-07013aerogel blankets are both durably hydrophobic, and water vapor permeable. This ensures that ifwater does penetrate the envelope, it will neither damage the insulation, nor get trapped inside.The benefits of ABPI to the US industrial sector include: Reduced Energy Usage: Aerogel’s low conductivity allows thinner insulation; thinnerinsulation provides less surface area; and less surface area reduces heat loss. For typicalpipe insulation applications, the magnitude of this savings will range from 5-40%,representing a considerable costs savings to the plant operator, and a reduction indomestic energy consumption estimated at 149 trillion Btu per year by 2030.Lower Material Costs: Although aerogel is likely to remain more expensive per unitvolume than fibrous products, its 30-90% lower conductivity means that far less materialmust be used for a given level of thermal protection. This means that aerogel is the lowcost solution for pipe diameters below 6”.Lower Installation Costs: The combination of a thin material and high strain-to-failuremeans that aerogel can be rolled on-site to conform to all but the smallest pipe diameters.This enables a one-step installation process in which the aerogel is pre-bonded to themetal sheathing, and the integrated unit is snapped into place and secured. Labor savingsfrom this aspect alone are typically to be in the range of 30-50%.Smaller Logistical Footprint: Aspen’s flexible blanket form of aerogel allows thematerial to ship as a flat stack or on a spool, as opposed to the industry standard of preformed annular parts nested in a box. Between that and its intrinsically lower materialvolume, ABPI requires considerably less shipping and subsequent handling on the jobsite. For example, on a 4 inch pipe requiring 2 inches of calcium silicate insulation, thirtypallets (48x48x60 inches) are required for every linear mile. Aerogel would provide thesame level of thermal protection with just 4 pallets.Lower Total Cost-of-Ownership: Lower installation costs, lower shipping costs, andconsistent thermal performance of the material of its lifecycle translate to lower cash outof-pocket for steam system operators wishing to upgrade their thermal protection. That,coupled with dramatic and enduring energy savings, has produced the type of totalownership-costs to garner the rapid and widespread adoption of Pyrogel XT.Long Term Water Resistance: Unlike calcium silicate, fiberglass, and some foams,Pyrogel XT is durably and strongly hydrophobic. In addition, its porous structure andvapor transmission characteristics allow it to dry out rapidly, even after prolongedsubmersion. This has been illustrated convincingly through performance testingperformed during the execution of this project.Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI): Because of Pyrogel’s ability to wick water awayfrom hot pipes, the wet and warm conditions that often lead to corrosion can beprevented. Further, aerogel’s chemical stability and composition ensure that it will notdecompose into corrosive by-products. It may even be possible, later in the developmentstages, to dope the aerogel material with corrosion inhibitors like sodium silicate, makingit an active defense against CUI.Passive Fire Protection: A variant of Pyrogel XT, Pyrogel XTF, can also be used forsituations in which the thermal insulation must also act as passive fire proofing.Pyrogel XTF, which is artificially colored gray to make it visually distinct fromPyrogel XT, uses a slightly modified fibrous batting to maintain its structural integrityeven during a severe, 2000 F fire event.10

Aspen Aerogels, Inc.Final ReportDE-FG36-06GO16056AAI # R-070132.1.Energy Benefits, Economic Viability and Environmental BenefitsAnalysis of both the energy and economic benefits of ABPI are predicated on assumptions aboutthe type and distribution of steam piping within US industry. As shown in Figure 1, the totalpipe inventory was parsed into discrete bins according to diameter and steam temperature. Thisanalysis is based on Aspen’s and Protherm’s estimates of relative prevalence, where the unit ofmeasure is pipe length (in miles). This assumes that US steam systems are skewed stronglytoward sub-10 inch plumbing, and sub-600 F steam temperatures.Figure 1. Estimated US industrial steam pipe population by diameter and temperature.For each of the diameter-temperature bins, 3E Plus software was used to calculate energy lossper unit length for calcium silicate, mineral wool, and aerogel-based pipe insulation. Thecalcium silicate and mineral wool values were averaged on the assumption that their aggregateenergy performance (in a 50:50 ratio) is representative of the total industry, including fiberglass,perlite, and foams. Assuming line components are a negligible contributor, the incumbent heatloss per unit length was then integrated across diameter and temperature distributions, and setequal to the steam pipe energy losses (977 trillion Btu/year) called out in Ref. 2 . The result is anestimate of approximately 160,000 miles for the total length of steam piping in US industry.(Note that a completely different approach, based on the work in Ref. 3, arrived at a similarvalue, providing a reasonable level of confidence in the result.) This value was then divided upamong the bins to enable detailed energy and economics calculations for each combination ofdiameter and temperature.Market penetration was calculated by assuming that 80 percent of the overall steam pipeinsulation market could be technically addressed by ABPI, and of that only 50 percent was likelyto be captured. This yielded an asymptotic penetration of 40 percent.2.1.1. Energy BenefitsBased on these heat loss and market penetration analyses, the annual reduction in industrialenergy consumption was estimated. Aspen calculates that if aerogel insulation was applied to11

Aspen Aerogels, Inc.Final ReportDE-FG36-06GO16056AAI # R-0701340% of the 160,000 miles of U.S. industrial steam pipes, annual energy savings of 16 trillionBritish thermal units and energy cost savings of 117 million could be achieved by 2025.2.1.2. Environmental BenefitsThe primary environmental benefit of ABPI is the reduction in atmospheric emissions due tolower energy consumption in boilers. Using typical performance metrics for industrial boilers,cumulative savings of 3.5 million tonnes carbon equivalent CO2, and 85,000 metric tonnes ofSO2 and NOx were calculated. Secondary benefits could be claimed from the manufacturing ofaerogel instead of incumbent insulation materials, based solely on the fact that aerogel-basedinsulation requires one-third to one-tenth the material for a given application. All else beingequal, less material produced means less waste generated both during production, and for end-oflife disposal. However, since little is known about incumbent manufacturing processes, all elsemay not be equal. So, for the purposes of this exercise, the net environmental impact from themanufacturing and solid waste side is conservatively assumed to be zero.2.2.Industry Involvement and Commercialization PlanAt the start of the effort, the Aspen team developed a two-pronged commercialization plan tosaturate the addressable pipe insulation market by the year 2030. As shown in Figure 2, the firstcomponent of this plan was to reduce material costs. Reduced costs would allow ABPI tocompete in larger pipe diameters, where the geometric advantage of low conductivity is not asstrong. So for example, ABPI entered the market in 2007 being competitive in pipes smallerthan 6 inches, and temperatures under 350 F – only 18 percent of the total market (in units ofpipe length). Within two years, however, the cost-reduction activities would swell thecompetitive segment of the market to 52 percent.Figure 2. ABPI two-pronged market penetration strategy developed at the project start.The other prong of the commercialization plan was to increase ABPI performance and durabilityat high temperatures. Aspen Aerogels had already made significant gains in this regard, and thework performed under this project solidified this position.12

Aspen Aerogels, Inc.Final Report3.DE-FG36-06GO16056AAI # R-07013BackgroundLittle had changed in the industrial pipe insulation market in the last 40 years. Since theintroduction of polyurethane foams in the 60’s, no major new m

Aspen Aerogels, Inc. DE-FG36-06GO16056 Final Report AAI # R-07013 Page 1 of 56 Final Technical Report Aerogel-Based Insulation for Industrial Steam Distribution Systems