Thermal insulation is used for preventing heat losses or heat gains in various applications. In industries that process combustible products, inorganic-materials-based thermal insulation may, if proven sufficiently heat resistant, also provide heat protection in fire incidents. The present study investigated the performance and breakdown temperature of industrial thermal insulation exposed to temperatures up to 1200 °C, i.e., temperatures associated with severe hydrocarbon fires. The thermal insulation properties were investigated using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and by heating 50 mm cubes in a muffle furnace to temperatures in the range of 600 to 1200 °C with a 30 min holding time. The room temperature thermal conductivity was also recorded after each heat treatment. Upon heating, the mineral-based oil dust binder was released at temperatures in the range of 300 to 500 °C, while the Bakelite binder was released at temperatures in the range of 850 to 960 °C. The 50 mm test cubes experienced increasing levels of sintering in the temperature range of 700 to 1100 °C. At temperatures above 1100 °C, the thermal insulation started degrading significantly. Due to being heat-treated to 1200 °C, the test specimen morphology was similar to a slightly porous rock and the original density of 140 kg/m³ increased to 1700 kg/m³. Similarly, the room temperature thermal conductivity increased from 0.041 to 0.22 W/m∙K. The DSC analysis confirmed an endothermic peak at about 1200 °C, indicating melting, which explained the increase in density and thermal conductivity. Recently, 350 kW/m² has been set as a test target heat flux, i.e., corresponding to an adiabatic temperature of 1200 °C. If a thin layer of thermally robust insulation is placed at the heat-exposed side, the studied thermal insulation may provide significant passive fire protection, even when exposed to heat fluxes up to 350 kW/m². It is suggested that this is further analysed in future studies.

Processing highly flammable products, the oil and gas (O&G) industry can experience major explosions and fires, which may expose pressurized equipment to high thermal loads. In 2020, oil fires occurred at two Norwegian O&G processing plants. To reduce the escalation risk, passive fire protection may serve as a consequence-reducing barrier. For heat or cold conservation, equipment and piping often require thermal insulation, which may offer some fire protection. In the present study, a representative thermal insulation (certified up to 700 °C) was examined with respect to dimensional changes and thermal transport properties after heat treatment to temperatures in the range of 700 °C to 1200 °C. Post heat treatment, the thermal conductivity of each test specimen was recorded at ambient temperature and up to 700 °C, which was the upper limit for the applied measurement method. Based on thermal transport theory for porous and/or amorphous materials, the thermal conductivity at the heat treatment temperature above 700 °C was estimated by extrapolation. The dimensional changes due to, e.g., sintering, were also analyzed. Empirical equations describing the thermal conductivity, the dimensional changes and possible crack formation were developed. It should be noted that the thermal insulation degradation, especially at temperatures approaching 1200 °C, is massive. Thus, future numerical modeling may be difficult above 1150 °C, due to abrupt changes in properties as well as crack development and crack tortuosity. However, if the thermal insulation is protected by a thin layer of more robust material, e.g., passive fire protection to keep the thermal insulation at temperatures below 1100 °C, future modeling seems promising.

It has recently been demonstrated that 50 mm thick industrial grade thermal insulation may serve as passive fire protection of jet fire exposed thick walled steel distillation columns. The present study investigates the performance of thermal insulation in conjunction to 3 mm, 6 mm, 12 mm and 16 mm steel walls, i.e., where the wall represents less heat sink, when exposed to 350 kW/m² heat load. Regardless of the tested steel plate thicknesses, about 10 min passed before a nearly linear steel temperature increase versus time was observed. Thereafter, the thinnest plates systematically showed a faster temperature increase than the thickest plates confirming the wall heat sink effect. To study thermal insulation sintering, 50 mm thermal insulation cubes were heat treated (30 min holding time) at temperatures up to 1100 °C. No clear sign of melting was observed, but sintering resulted in 25% shrinkage at 1100 °C. Thermogravimetric analysis to 1300 °C revealed mass loss peaks due to anti-dusting material at 250 °C and Bakelite binder at 460 °C. No significant mass change occurred above 1000 °C. Differential scanning calorimetry to 1300 °C revealed endothermic processes related to the anti-dusting material and Bakelite mass losses, as well as a conspicuous endothermic peak at 1220 °C. This peak is most likely due to melting. The endothermic processes involved when heating the thermal insulation may to a large part explain the 10 min delay in steel plate temperature increase during fire testing. Overall, the tested thermal insulation performed surprisingly well also for protecting the thin steel plates.

In September 2020, a fire at a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the Arctic areas of Norway received national attention. In an unengaged air intake, the heat exchanger designed to prevent ice damage during production mode, was supplied hot oil at 260 °C. In sunny weather, calm conditions, and 14 °C ambient temperature, overheating of the unengaged air intake filters (85% glass fiber and 15% polyester) was identified as a possible cause of ignition. Laboratory heating tests showed that the filter materials could, due to the rigid glass fibers carrying the polymers, glow like smoldering materials. Thus, self-heating as observed for cellulose-based materials was a possible ignition mechanism. Small-scale testing (10 cm × 10 cm and 8 cm stacked height) revealed that used filters with collected biomass, i.e., mainly pterygota, tended to self-heat at 20 °C lower temperatures than virgin filters. Used filter cassettes (60 cm by 60 cm and 50 cm bag depth) caused significant self-heating at 150 °C. At 160 °C, the self-heating took several hours before increased smoke production and sudden transition to flaming combustion. Since the engaged heat exchanger on a calm sunny day of ambient temperature 14 °C would result in temperatures in excess of 160 °C in an unengaged air intake, self-heating and transition to flaming combustion was identified as the most likely cause of the fire. Flames from the burning polymer filters resulted in heat exchanger collapse and subsequent hot oil release, significantly increasing the intensity and duration of the fire. Due to firewater damages, the plant was out of operation for more than 1.5 years. Better sharing of lessons learned may help prevent similar incidents in the future.