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Similar to carbon fiber and glass fiber, the production of continuous basalt fiber requires raw material standardization. There are significant differences in the quality and application effects of basalt fiber products from different regions. Even within the same region, variations exist in basalt from different parts of the same mine.

As buildings age, structural cracks have become a common and widespread issue. These cracks vary in type and form. Minor cracks not only affect a building's aesthetics and can lead to leaks, but more severe cracks can reduce the load-bearing capacity, stiffness, stability, integrity, and durability of the structure, potentially even leading to major quality incidents like total collapse. For minor cracks with low load-bearing requirements or small widths, basalt fiber plain weave fabric (BFRP) offers an economic and practical solution for reinforcement due to its superior cost-effectiveness.

Basalt fiber boasts superior chemical, physical, mechanical, and high-temperature resistance properties. Continuous basalt fiber can be processed into roving, yarn, geotextiles, woven fabrics, chopped strands, needle felts, sleeving, and more, which are then applied in various fields.

Basalt fiber boasts a simple manufacturing process and a single raw material. Crushed natural basalt ore is melted and homogenized in a high-temperature kiln (1400-1550℃), then cooled, drawn from a platinum-rhodium alloy spinneret, and finally wound into fiber. It exhibits excellent mechanical properties, temperature resistance, and chemical stability. Following ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber, carbon fiber, and aramid fiber, basalt fiber is another high-performance fiber that China is prioritizing for development. Due to its pure natural, additive-free, and low-cost raw material, and its production process that generates no waste gas, basalt fiber has earned the reputation of "turning stone into gold." In recent years, it has been widely applied in various fields, including transportation, construction, environmental protection, chemical engineering, military, and aerospace.

Basalt fiber is an inorganic silicate fiber that boasts natural compatibility with silicate materials like cement and concrete. This inherent compatibility gives it a significant technical advantage in areas such as asphalt overlays, cement reinforcement, and concrete reinforcement.

Currently, there are two main continuous basalt fiber manufacturing technologies developed independently in China: flame method and all-electric melting method.

As global demand for high-performance, eco-friendly materials continues to surge, basalt fiber, a novel inorganic fiber material derived from volcanic rock, is demonstrating vast application potential due to its exceptional properties. Today, Beihai Composites officially announces its commitment to driving the innovative application of basalt fiber felt across multiple key sectors, providing customers with safer, more efficient, and sustainable solutions.

In a significant stride for the materials sector, the basalt fiber industry is witnessing a wave of advancements and expansion. Recently, on April 14th, Xinjiang Tuoxin Basalt Industry Co., Ltd. successfully produced its first batch of basalt fibers after a technological upgrade. This revival, following a hiatus since 2016, was achieved through a “lease + technological transformation” model led by the Alar Economic and Technological Development Zone, with the introduction of CEEC (Xinjiang) New Materials Co., Ltd. The upgrade, which involved doubling the number of holes in the drawing equipment to 400 and adopting a dual - design, has significantly enhanced the annual production capacity to 1,200 tons.

https://www.basaltbest.com/The concept of producing fibers from basalt is not new. The first patent for basalt fiber manufacturing was issued in 1923, and during the 1950s and 1960s, extensive research focused on its military applications. Even leading glass fiber producers explored basalt’s potential at the time, though they shifted their R&D focus in the 1970s to higher-performance glass fibers like S-2. Over the decades, interest in basalt fiber composites has fluctuated, but in recent years, it has surged steadily.  

In recent years, the frequent occurrence of fire accidents in the external wall insulation system of buildings has exposed the major defects of incompatibility between fire prevention and energy saving of traditional insulation materials. Traditional materials such as rock wool board absorb water, expand and have low strength, while organic insulation materials (such as XPS, EPS) are flammable and have a short lifespan, which cannot meet the long-term safety requirements of high-rise buildings and green buildings. But the emergence of basalt fiber board is a good solution to this problem.