Asbestos Overview and Handling Recommendations: Part III. Asbestos substitutes: 2 Properties of typical Asbestos fiber substitutes

2 Properties of typical Asbestos fiber substitutes - Overview

From the previous discussions it is apparent that Asbestos can be substituted in most application areas by other fibrous materials. These can be natural or synthetic fibers. Primarily those fiber types listed in Table 17 come under consideration.

Table 17: Fiberous Materials for Asbestos Substitution

		Wollastonite
	inorganic fibers	Attapulgit
Natural Fibers		Sepiolite
		virgin wool
	organic fibers	cotton
		cellulose
		flax and hemps
		crystalline fibrous materials:
	inorganic fibrous	- steel
	materials	- carbon fibers
		- SiC-Whisker
		- polypotassium titanate
		amorphous fibrous materials:
		- textile glass fibers
Synthetic		A-glass, C-glass, D-glass,E-glass, R-glass,
fibrous		glass, Z-glass
materials		silicic acid fiber
		-non-textile glass fibers (insulating fibers)
		glass wool,
		mineral wool,
		ceramic wool
		polyester
	organic fibrous	polyaramide
	materials	polytetrafluoroethylene
		viscose
		polypropylene
		polyacrylnitale

Source: Schreiber: Asbest-Ersatzstoffe, in: IACS, Page 13.4

Applying the Asbestos property matrix shown in Table 16 to the potential Asbestos substitutes results in the property matrix for the substitutes presented in Table 18.

Table 18: Technical Properties of Asbestos Substitutes

Fibrous Materials	Mechanical Properties		Chemical Properties		Specific friction Characteristic	Thermal Stability in C Degrees				Insulation
	Tensile strength	E-Modulus	Alkaline	Acids		350	550	750	1250 and >	Thermal	Electrical
Inorganic amorphous
Fibrous materials
Textile glass fibers	+	(+)			?		+			+
A-Glass					+
C-Glass
D-Glass
E-Glass											+
R-Glass
Z-Glass				+
silicic acid fibers	+	(+)			(+)			+		+
non-textile glass fibers	(+)	(+)			?					+	+
ceramic wool				+					+
glass wool							+
rock wool and mineral
wool					(+)			+
Inorganic crystalline
fibrous materials
Steel	+	+	(+)		+ ?
Carbon fiber (highly resistant, highly modular)	+	+	+	+	+ ?				(+)
Carbon fibers (Pitch Type)	+	+	+	(+)
Carbon felt										(+)
Potassium titanate										(+)	(+)
Silicium carbide-Whisker	+	+	+
Organic fibrous materials
Polyester	+	+		+						+	+
Polyaramide (Arenka)	+	+	+	+	+	+				+
(Kevlar 49)	+		+	+		+				+
Polytetrafluoroethylen
(Teflon)	+		+	+		+				+	+
Polyacrylnitrile	+		(+)	+						+	+
Ployaramide (Nomex)	+		+			+				+	+
Viscose (Reyon)	+				+					+
Polypropylene	+		+	+						+

Legend + suitable (+) conditionally suitable ? possibly suitable
Source: Schreiber: Asbest-Ersatzstoffe, in: IACS

The main result of this section is that particularly for the quantitatively important applications of Asbestos, namely

• fire protection,
• thermal insulation,
• structural elements, construction products (Asbestos cement products),
• friction products,

substitutes are available which enable the replacement of Asbestos. The respective health risks of the substitutes must be specially investigated.

Table 19: Areas of Application for Fibers and Filling Materials as Asbestos Substitutes, their Price Range and Health Effects

	Health & Safety	Fire Proof	Thermal Insulation	Electrical Insulation	Gasket	Filtration	Friction linings	Construction Prod.	Chemical prod.	Price Range ¹⁾	Health Risk²⁾
Textile glass fibers	+		+	+	+		+		+	•	+
SiO2- fibers	+	+	+	+	+					- -	+
carbon fibers					+		+		+	- -	+
Non-textile glass
fibers	+		+		+	+	+	+	+	+•	-
Ceramic fibers	+	+	+	+						- -	-
Gypsum fibers			+						+	n.d.
Wollastonite	+		+	+			+	+	+	•	+ -
Attapulgit									+	n.d.	- -
Sepiolite									+	n.d.	-
Polyacrylnitrile						+	+	+	+	n.d.	+
ox. PAN	+		+			+	+		+	n.d.	+
Vinylal/Polyvinylalcoh.								+		n.d.	+
Polypropylene				+	+			+		n.d.	+
Polytetrafluoroethylene				+	+	+			nn.d.	+
Aramide	+	+	+		+		+		+	- -	+
Woo	+	+								+	+
Cotton	+			+					+	+	+
Cellulose-fibers					+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Flax and hemp								(+)		+	+
Mica					+		·		+	+	+
Talk					+				+	+	+
Bentonite							+		+	+	+
Diatomite							+		+	+	+

+ substitutes are available (+) restricted possible uses ¹⁾ ++substantially cheaper + cheaper • similar prices - more expensive - - much more expensive n.d. no data ²⁾ (Carcinogenic effects were defined based on the critical diameter range): + not critical - critical -- very critical n.d. no data

Source: Schreiber: Asbest-Ersatzstoffe, in: IACS. Page 13.9 - expanded -

Table 19 shows a summary of the application areas of Asbestos substitutes and information on their carcinogenic effects. In Germany, the recent controversial classification of glass fibers with particular characteristics as carcinogenic, according to the TRGS 905 of May 1995, could potentially influence application areas for glass fibers.

For detailed information, the substance catalogue of UBA and the substitute list of the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Accident Research (Bundesanstalt fur Arbeitsschutz und Unfallforschung) are referenced.

The current state on Asbestos substitution is presented in the following table. The product groups can generally be divided into two classes:

• Product groups with complete substitution possibilities;
• Product groups with partial substitution.

Table 20: Possibilities for Asbestos Substitution Product Groups Area of Use

Fibrous/filling material	Inorganic synthetic fibers	Inorganic natural fibers	Organic synthetic fibers	Organic natural fibers	Non -fibrous filling material - lamina (flakes) - particles
Health & Safety	Personal thermal resistant clothing	Thermal resistant glass	Flat textile prints	Materials for specific workplaces
Fire proof	Fire proof boards & surfaces	Spraying compounds, insulating plaster	Plastic masses, paints, cement and filters, fire proof mortar	Cardboard, cords, fleeces inorganic foam(pastic) material fire protection cushion	Textiles - fire extinguishing blankets - curtains	Protective clothing for fire fighting
Heating insulation	Boards & surfaces	Inorganic spraying compounds	Material for filling joints and cavities	Formed parts and moulding compounds	Textile products
Electrical insulation	Wire and cable	Insulating materials	moulding compounds	Household appliances
Gaskets	Static - flat gaskets	Dynamic packaging	Cylinder - head gasket	Heating gas gasket	Compensators
Filtration	Liquid filtration fine and sterile filter media, fil- tering aid media	Gas filtration/ ventilation process air dust collection	Respiratory filter for respirator	Diaphragms, separators
Friction Lining	Disk brake lining	Drum brake lining	Brake soles	Brake lining for industrial use	Clutch lining
Construction elements (Asbestos cement)	Small formatted flat boards	Small formatted corrugated board	Pipes for underground construction - pressure pipe - sewer pipe	Pipes for household and property drainage - ventilation - waste gas	Landscaping
Chemical products and others	Paint materials and filler	Adhesive materials, gasket compounds, cement	Special products with asphalt or tar matrix	Moulding compounds with plastic-matrix(duro plastic)	Moulding compounds with synthetic material(thermoplastic)

Note: Since Asbestos substitutes (other substitute products) are now available, the use of Asbestos products is therefore no longer necessary.

Source: Schreiber: Asbest-Ersatzstoffe, in: LACS, Page 13.14