JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #108 - October 2016 - 15

basalt BUSINESS

Present and future of basalt fibre technology,
manufacturing and market development
This article describes the current state of technological development
of basalt fibre, the new generation of process equipment, certain
production cost issues, the increased volume of basalt continuous
fibre (BCF) production, and the use of BCF materials.
Dr. Sergii OSnOS
CEO, Basalt Fiber Materials
Technology Development Co.

T

he first article "Past,
present and future of
continuous basalt fibre",
published in JEC Composites
Magazine No. 35, June
2007  [1], analysed works in
the field of basalt continuous
fibre (BCF) in Ukraine at the
time of the USSR era, and
then in the period to 2007.
Since 2007, works in the field
of technology and BCF equipment development have continued, new BCF production
facilities were created, the
scope of BCF materials was
extended, and the production
and sales volumes significantly
increased.
The object of this article is to
assess the current production
and use of BCF, the development of process equipment,
and to promote the creation
and development of production, sales, and a wide use of
BCF and BCF-based materials.

Features and benefits of BCF
A65-70% of the characteristics of basalt continuous fibre
(BCF) are defined by the raw
materials and 35-30% by the
production technologies, the
operation of process equipment, the lubricants used, and
the competence of technical
staff. These criteria were the
subject of developments to
improve BCF characteristics.
Two laboratories studying basalt rock samples were established, a research method for

basalt deposits and samples
of basalt rock were developed
and optimized to assess the
producibility degree of continuous fibres, many deposits
from around the world were
studied, and a basaltic rock
database was created to facilitate the production of continuous fibres with the required
characteristics [2].
The theoretical bases of BCF
production, the experience
gained, laboratory equipment, BCF experimental-in-

dustrial equipment, and research methods in the field
of basalt can be used to assess
these fibres' suitability for
BCF industrial production, to
define process-dependent parameters such as melting and
melt characteristics, to obtain
primary fibres and to assess
their characteristics.
The work conducted in this
field makes it possible to define certain BCF characteristics and indicators. Table 1
shows the characteristics of

Tab. 1: Characteristics of BCF compared to glass and carbon fibres

Capability

BCF

E-glass fibre

S-glass fibre

Carbon fibre

Tensile strength, MPa

3000 - 4840

3100 - 3800

4020 - 4650

3500 - 6000

Elastic modulus, GPa

79.3 - 93.1

72.5 - 75.5

83 - 86

250 - 450

Elongation at break,
%

2.5 - 3.1

4.7

5.3

1.5 - 2.0

Filament diameter,
mµ

6 - 21

6 - 21

6 - 21

5 - 15

Tex

60 - 4200

40 - 4200

40 - 4200

60 - 2400

Application
temperature, °C

-260 to +700

-50 to +350

-50 to +300

-50 to +600

*Price, USD/kg

2.5 - 3.0

1.1 - 1.8

2.0 - 3.5

25 - 50

No108 October 2016

/ jec composites magazine

15
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of JEC COMPOSITES MAGAZINE - Issue #108 - October 2016
