Biological Self-Assembled Porous Ceramics as High Temperature Insulation in Steam Transport Pipes

Biological self-assembled porous ceramics could serve as a substitute for asbestos in thermally insulating applications, such as steam transport pipes in coal-fired power plants. To become a viable alternative to asbestos, a biologically self-assembling ceramic would have good thermal stability up to 650℃, have low thermal conductivity, and be nontoxic and light weight. Ball clay was chosen as the base for the ceramic. By adjusting the amounts of water, yeast, salt, and sugar in the slurry, the sample with the lowest density was found, as it would be most likely to yield the highest porosity, and thus lowest thermal conductivity.