Ceramic fibre vs Stone wool

The 640 °C handover: stone wool to its limit, ceramic fibre beyond. Buying RCF below 600 °C means paying fibre prices — and carcinogen-class handling controls — for a job wool does.

Specification

Side by side

	Ceramic fibre (RCF / AES blanket)	Stone wool (mineral wool)
Max service	1200 °C	640 °C
Density	96–128	80–150
Standards	ASTM C892 · EN 1094-1 (AES low-biopersistence grades per Note Q)	EN 14303 · ASTM C547 (pipe) / C592 (wired mat) / C612 (board)
Forms	blanket, modules, paper, rope — furnace and exhaust territory	wired mats, pipe sections, slabs, loose wool; the workhorse core of removable covers up to ~600 °C

Computed equivalence · DN100

Thickness for the SAME heat loss

Duty	λ Ceramic fibre	λ Stone wool	Ceramic fibre thickness for EQUAL loss to 50 mm of Stone wool
100 °C	0.060	0.041	88 mm vs 50 mm
250 °C	0.060	0.052	61 mm vs 50 mm
400 °C	0.061	0.067	45 mm vs 50 mm

Bisection on the cylindrical conduction equation; λ at mean temperature per each material's published curve. Full per-material tables: Ceramic fibre · Stone wool.

The whole field at this duty

All materials, DN100 at 100 °C

Material	λ W/m·K	Loss W/m	Surface	Saving €/m·yr	t CO2/m·yr
Stone wool (mineral wool)	0.041	31	25 °C	€125	0.5
Glass wool	0.038	29	24 °C	€126	0.5
Ceramic fibre (RCF / AES blanket)	0.060	44	27 °C	€119	0.4
Aerogel blanket	0.023	18	23 °C	€131	0.5
Calcium silicate	0.056	42	26 °C	€120	0.4
Expanded perlite	0.061	45	27 °C	€118	0.4
Cellular glass	0.047	35	25 °C	€123	0.4
Microporous (fumed-silica) panels	0.022	17	23 °C	€132	0.5
Elastomeric foam (FEF)	0.040	30	24 °C	€125	0.5
PIR / PUR rigid foam	0.028	21	23 °C	€130	0.5
E-glass needle mat	0.045	34	25 °C	€124	0.5
Silica needle mat / fabric	0.055	41	26 °C	€120	0.4

DN100 pipe at 100 °C, 50 mm insulation, per metre of pipe; bare loss 287 W/m. λ at mean temperature; € and CO2 per metre·year at €0.05/kWh, 8000 h, 82% efficiency. Method: ASTM C680 simplified (h=10).

FAQ

Questions on this topic

Is ceramic fibre better than stone wool?

The 640 °C handover: stone wool to its limit, ceramic fibre beyond. Buying RCF below 600 °C means paying fibre prices — and carcinogen-class handling controls — for a job wool does.

How much thinner can ceramic fibre be than stone wool?

At 100 °C duty, 88 mm of ceramic fibre matches 50 mm of stone wool (computed for a DN100 pipe, ASTM C680 simplified). The ratio shifts with temperature because both λ curves rise at different rates.