Across the world, the need to reduce the energy consumption is rife, because the high demand for electricity puts immense pressure on power plants, which already burn heavy amounts of fossil fuels. This releases harmful gases into the atmosphere, which are the cause of all the air pollution, global warming, and climate change outcry. One of the most effective ways to reduce the requirement for electricity is thermal insulation, for keeping things that need to be cold, cold, and those that need to be hot, hot. With advancements in technology, thermal insulation is being made from silica aerogel, instead of the conventional fiberglass, mineral wool, polystyrene foam, polyurethane foam, and cellulose.
Therefore, with the growing demand for this material for thermal insulation, the silica aerogel market is growing around the world. An aerogel is a gel, in which, instead of a liquid, is a gas, therefore is extremely lightweight. Silica aerogels with a thermal conductivity of 0.015 watts per meter Kelvin, which is quite low, are generally made into thermal insulation. Additionally, the material also effectively transmits solar radiation, which is why its use in the construction industry is also increasing. Similarly, its transparent nature results in its usage in skylights, thereby making building designs more innovative.
Building insulation, oil and gas, aerospace and defense, industrial, and transportation are the major applications of silica aerogel. Among these, the oil and gas industry has consumed the material in the highest amount till now, owing to stiff challenges it withstands, in the form of arctic environment, oil sands, and deep/ultra-deep waters. The sector is also subject to stringent environmental norms, because of which the focus on better insulation systems has risen. This, in turn, is leading to a high requirement for silica aerogel in this sector, which is further strengthened by the rising exploration and production (E&P) activities around the world.
In the coming years, the usage of this material in the construction sector would witness the sharpest rise, with the focus increasing on green buildings and smart cities. Effective insulation is an essential requirement for a building to be certified as per the green standards, which is pushing the consumption of silica aerogel. Apart from using only the electricity produced on site, the idea behind a green building is also to use as less energy as possible. With effective insulation, the power consumed by heating and cooling systems decreases significantly.
Another reason for the growing demand for this material is its eco-friendly nature. The raw materials that go into its production are abundantly available on earth, and they don’t even lead to harmful emissions. Further, silica aerogel is also easily recyclable, which is also resulting in its rapidly increasing popularity. For instance, after their job is done, building insulation blankets made of silica aerogel can be reprocessed into additives or composites, for use in plastering and coating applications.
North America presently accounts for the highest consumption of this material, majorly because of the extensive research and development (R&D) being carried out to find new application areas for it. Among the numerous firms carrying out this R&D is the Glenn Research Center of the National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA). In the coming years, the fastest silica aerogel market growth would be experienced in Europe, with the Europe Union implementing targets to reduce all buildings’ carbon emission by 20% by 2020.
Thus, with a high focus on energy efficiency, the use of silica aerogel, primarily for insulation purposes, will rise in the near future.
