A technique to create 'safe' ceramic fibres
fine ceramic fibres have been in use in a variety of forms since a long time. Finer fabrics are strong, flexible and, unlike coarser fibres, they do not irritate the skin. But in recent times, the question of ceramic fibre use has returned to haunt us as a major health issue. Ceramic fibres finer than 1 micron in diameter are known to be carcinogenic and fibres finer than 3 microns can be inhaled.
Working towards achieving the desirable properties of finer ceramic fibres in an absolutely safe product, scientists and chemists at the Warwick Process Technology Group, University of Warwick, uk , seem to have addressed the problem. They have developed a process which can manufacture a range of these high-technology ceramic materials free from both dangerously fine fibres as well as coarse fibres that cause irritation ( Spectrum , September-October 1999).
The Fibres Research Group at Warwick uses the Sol Gel blow-spinning technique, which is configured to produce even finer fibres -- none less than 3 microns in diameter. They can make fibres of magnetic and conductive ceramics, as well as the high temperature refractory fibres usually associated with ceramic processing.
Because finesse is desirable in a range of forms, use of ceramic fibres has grown over the years. From lining the walls of high temperature furnaces to being used for making lightweight aircraft component, they can also be incorporated in a composite material combining with the normally brittle and hard ceramic to make a tougher and more easy-to-use form.
Materials made by this process can be treated to act as microwave shields as well as medical implants, including artificial muscles. Fine fibres have the best thermal insulation properties, good thermal shock resistance and do not crumple up when heated and cooled repeatedly. However, even the best material available today contains a large proportion of fibres, which can be respired. Some products even contain both dangerously fine fibres as well as coarse fibres that cause irritation. Making ceramic fibres through the latest technique may help avert the health risks posed by small fibres.
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