Roofing system and insulation element for a flat roof or a flat inclined roof

The present invention relates to a roofing system for a flat roof or a flat inclined roof of a building with a thermal and/or acoustic insulation, consisting of a structural support, a deck, optionally a vapour control layer, a waterproof membrane and at least one insulation element being a bonded mineral fibre product made of mineral fibres, preferably stone wool fibres, and a cured aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an insulation element for a roofing system, made of mineral fibres, preferably stone wool fibres, and a cured aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde.

Flat roofs and flat inclined roofs are well known in the prior art, e.g. as membrane roof systems which are generally divided into the following types, according to the position in which the principal thermal insulation is placed: warm roofs, inverted warm roofs, roof gardens or green roofs, and cold roofs.

Membrane roof systems nowadays are often built as single ply roofing systems that are used to protect flat roofs or flat inclined roofs from all weather conditions likely to be experienced during their design life.

A typical single ply roof system comprises: a structural support, a deck providing continuous support, a vapour control layer (if required), thermal insulation, a waterproof membrane and a traffic or load resistant finish (if required for functional and/or aesthetic reasons).

Most flat roofs and flat inclined roofs these days are designed as so-called warm roofs. In such warm roofs the principal thermal insulation is placed immediately below the roof covering, namely the waterproof membrane. This keeps the deck warm during cold weather and manages condensation without the need for ventilation. A vapour control layer optionally is laid over the deck to control water vapour entering the insulation. This is a very reliable and cost-effective way to insulate a membrane roof to a high standard.

The three principal options for attachment of single ply roofing systems are mechanical fastening, adhesion/cold gluing, ballast whereby the insulation and the membrane may be either atached by the same or a different method. Various systems described in the prior art are useful for roofing systems for flat or flat inclined roofs of buildings, and making use of insulation elements of bonded mineral fibre products.

In certain instances, it is also known to use layers of mineral fibres, for instance glass fibres, as a non-woven fleece or tissue across the insulation elements whereby it is sandwiched between the insulation elements and the waterproof membrane. A panel formed of several insulation elements arranged side-by-side may have a layer of non-woven fleece or tissue extending across its entire area. The fleece or tissue may be adhered to the element(s) by an adhesive applied between the contacting surfaces. The fleece or tissue holds the board’s position in the panel and may improve the mechanical strength by enabling forces exerted on one element to be transferred to the adjacent element. The fleece or tissue has small pores, for instance having an average pore size or distance between adjacent fibres of less than 0,5 mm, for instance as little as 0,1 mm.

State of the art roofing systems make use of tissue and fabric faced or bitumen coated roof boards to provide an adequate surface of the insulation element layer for the gluing/bonding of the waterproof membrane. These systems can be used but may however have the disadvantage that adhesives may disperse into the insulation element layer. Such dispersed adhesive significantly decreases the insulation and/or damping characteristics of said insulation layer. Moreover, dispersed adhesive will result in higher glue consumption and uncontrolled adhesion strength thus causing higher system costs.

Finally, such adhesives which normally are organic adhesives reduce the fire resistance of the insulation elements, in particular in case of bitumen coated roof boards as they are mentioned above.

For example, WO 98/31895 discloses a roofing system comprising a mineral fibre core, a fabric overlying the core and united to the core by a resin to form a panel and a moisture/water impermeable sheet overlying the fabric, which is joined to the panel by an adhesive which penetrates into the mineral fibre core. Although this composite roof system is widely used for flat and flat inclined roofs it has several disadvantages as described before.

Another example of a roofing system is disclosed in WO 2013/034376. This roofing system comprises insulation elements for thermal and/or acoustic insulation comprising two layers, of which at least one layer is made of mineral fibres, especially stone wool fibres, and which second layer is made of at least one fabric and fixed to a major surface of the first layer by an adhesive, whereby the second layer is equipped with a filler, which gives a certain permeability to the second layer.

Because any loads on a warm roof are transferred to the structure through the thermal insulation, a rigid material is required. The choice is important because different products offer different support and require greater or less thickness to achieve a chosen thermal installation value. This must be taken into account while designing and planning of a roofing system for a flat or flat inclined roof of a building.

There are basically two classes of insulation products:

Cellular materials, like e.g. Polyisocyanurate (PIR), Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) or Extruded Polystyrene (XPS); fibrous materials, like e.g. mineral wool (MW) and in particular stone wool.

The later mineral wool products are well-known for their excellent thermal and acoustic properties, as well as their mechanical strength and superior fire resistance. Said products are also referred to as bonded mineral fibre products made of mineral fibres and a binder, respective requirements for such products are specified in European Standard EN 13162:2015 “Thermal insulation products for buildings - Factory made mineral wool (MW) products”.

Mineral fibre products generally comprise man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF) such as, e.g., glass fibres, ceramic fibres, basalt fibres, slag wool, mineral wool and stone wool, which are bonded together by a cured thermoset polymeric binder material. For use as thermal or acoustical insulation products, bonded mineral fibre mats are generally produced by converting a melt made of suitable raw materials to fibres in conventional manner, for instance by a spinning cup process or by a cascade rotor process. The fibres are blown into a forming chamber and, while airborne and while still hot, are sprayed with a binder solution and randomly deposited as a mat or web onto a travelling conveyor. The fibre mat is then transferred to a curing oven where heated air is blown through the mat to cure the binder and rigidly bond the mineral fibres together. The binder of choice has been phenol-formaldehyde resin which can be economically produced and can be extended with urea prior to use as a binder. However, the existing and proposed legislation directed to the lowering or elimination of formaldehyde emissions have led to the development of formaldehyde-free binders such as, for instance, the binder compositions based on polycarboxy polymers and polyols or polyamines.

Another group of non-phenol-formaldehyde binders are the addition/-elimination reaction products of aliphatic and/or aromatic anhydrides with alkanolamines. These binder compositions are water soluble and exhibit excellent binding properties in terms of curing speed and curing density.

Since some of the starting materials used in the production of these binders are rather expensive chemicals, there is an ongoing need to provide formaldehyde-free binders, sometimes also referred to as non-added formaldehyde binders (NAF) which are economically produced.

A further effect in connection with previously known aqueous binder compositions from mineral fibres is that at least the majority of the starting materials used for the productions of these binders stem from fossil fuels. There is an ongoing trend of consumers to prefer products that are fully or at least partly produced from renewable materials and there is therefore a need to provide binders for mineral wool which ar©, at least partly, produced from renewable materials.

A further effect in connection with previously known aqueous binder compositions for mineral fibres is that they involve components which are corrosive and/or harmful. This requires protective measures for the machinery involved in the production of mineral wool products to prevent corrosion and also requires safety measures for the persons handling this machinery. This leads to increased costs and health issues and there is therefore a need to provide mineral fibres products using binder compositions with a reduced content of corrosive and/or harmful materials.

In the meantime, a number of binders for mineral fibres products have been provided, which are to a large extend based on renewable starting materials. In many cases these binders based to a large extend on renewable resources are also formaldehyde-free. However, many of these binders are still comparatively expensive because they are based on comparatively expensive basic materials. Moreover, up to now they don’t provide adequate strength properties to the final mineral fibre products over time.

Roofing systems for a flat or flat inclined roof are to be constructed for a lifetime of 30 years and more and thus require durable materials. Since the loads on such roofs are transferred to the structure through the thermal insulation, the bonded mineral fibre products need to be capable of withstanding most of the loading cases, especially pressure loads, like e.g. occasional, light, foot traffic during the construction but in particular for respective inspection purposes during later services, and moreover in respect to all weather conditions and in particular wind loads, likely to be experienced over time. Consequently, mineral fibre products for insulation of roofing systems require a certain robustness which is a matter of density, and which is why such products density typically ranges from e.g. 70 kg/m ³ up to around 250 kg/m ³ providing certain strength properties, also over time.

Insulation elements of bound mineral fibre products making use of the above-mentioned phenol-formaldehyde resins or urea extended phenol-formaldehyde resins are known to be superior when it comes to loss of strength over time, i.e. due to ageing, and have thus been used for decades. The use of prior art formaldehyde-free or non-added formaldehyde binders (NAF) has proven to be feasible for light-weight products with bulk densities of less than around 60 kg/m ³ , products that are installed in e.g. cavities or spaces which will subsequently be covered and where there’s no need for the products to take-up any loads or provide any specific mechanical resistance. However, these formaldehyde-free binders are seen critical in case of such insulation elements having to withstand loads and mechanical stress for the fact that they are relatively prone to ageing, thus losing their robustness over time.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a roofing system with mineral fibre elements being applicable for such roofing systems and avoiding the use of expensive and/or harmful materials for the binder and/or expensive and/or harmful binders per se.

A further object of the invention is to provide mineral fibre elements being applicable for roofing systems without using expensive and/or harmful materials for the binder and/or without using expensive and/or harmful binders per se. In accordance with the present invention the roofing system comprises an insulation element of mineral fibres having a cured aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde, wherein the aqueous binder composition prior to curing comprises a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins and a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers, and wherein the insulation element has a bulk density between 70 kg/m ³ and 250 kg/m ³ .

Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention the insulation element for the roofing is made of mineral fibres, preferably stone wool fibres, and a binder, wherein the aqueous binder composition prior to curing comprises a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins and a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers, and wherein the insulation element has a bulk density between 70 kg/m ³ and 250 kg/m ³ .

It has been found that it is possible to obtain an insulation element made of mineral fibres and the binder as mentioned before which provides the necessary mechanical stability to be used in a roofing system for a flat or flat inclined roof whereby the insulation element does not contain a harmful binder and being free of phenol and formaldehyde on the one hand and whereby the binder has a high ageing resistance and only a low loss of strength during the lifetime of the roofing system. Furthermore, the amount of binder may be reduced compared to the binders without formaldehyde being used in the prior art, such as e.g. existing NAF binders.

In one embodiment, the insulation element may have any of the preferred features described for the roofing system.

Preferably the insulation element has a loss on ignition (LOI) within the range of 2 to 8 wt.- %, preferably between 2 and 5 wt.-%. The binder content is taken as the LOI and determined according European Standard EN 13820:2003. The binder includes oil and other binder additives.

According to a preferred embodiment the roofing system is provided with insulation elements with a compression strength between 50 and 130 kPa measured in accordance with European Standard EN 826:2013.

According to another embodiment the roofing system is provided with insulation elements with a delamination strength between 20 and 50 kPa measured in accordance with European Standard EN 1607:2013.

Such insulation elements of bonded mineral fibre products are known for their superior fire resistance and are typically, if not otherwise treated or covered with coatings or facings, classified in Euroclass A1 according to European Standard EN 13501-1:2018.

In one embodiment, the mineral wool product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1,4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross-linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight of 500 or less.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1 .4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R— [C(O)R ₁ ] _x in which:

R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a C ₁ -C ₁₀ alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1 .4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1 .4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from polyamines.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1 .4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• mono- and oligosaccharides.

In one embodiment, the mineral wool product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers selected from

• P-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers, such as N-(2- hydroxyisopropyl)amide-cross-linkers, such as N-(2-hydroxyethyl)amide- cross-linkers, such as N-(2-hydroxyethyl)adipamide-cross-linkers, such as N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2-hydroxyethyl)adipamide and/or

• the group consisting of multifunctional organic amines such as an alkanolamine, diamines, such as hexamethyldiamine, and/or

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight of more than 500, such as an epoxidised oil based on faty acid triglyceride or one or more flexible oligomer or polymer, such as a low Tg acrylic based polymer, such as a low Tg vinyl based polymer, such as low Tg polyether, which contains reactive functional groups such as carbodiimide groups, such as anhydride groups, such as oxazoline groups, such as amino groups, such as epoxy groups, and/or

• one or more cross-linkers in form of multifunctional carbodiimides, such as aliphatic multifunctional carbodiimides, and/or

• Primid XL-552, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight Mw of 500 or less

• carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R — [C(O)R ₁ ] _x in which:

R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a Ci-Cw alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10,

• polyamines.

Optionally, the aqueous binder composition additionally comprises

- a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers.

In one embodiment, the mineral wool product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising: a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers;

- a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising: - a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers; - a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight Mw of 500 or less. In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as

0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers;

- a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R— [C(O)R ₁ ] _x in which: R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a C1-C10 alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1 .4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers;

- a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• polyamines.

In particular, in accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided mineral fibre product, comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1 .4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers;

- a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• mono- and oligosaccharides.

In one embodiment, the mineral wool product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition free of phenol and formaldehyde comprising: a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1 .4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins,

- a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers selected from

• p-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers, and/or

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight of more than 500, such as an epoxidised oil based on fatty acid triglyceride or one or more flexible oligomer or polymer, such as a low Tg acrylic based polymer, such as a low Tg vinyl based polymer, such as low Tg polyether, which contains reactive functional groups such as carbodiimide groups, such as anhydride groups, such as oxazoline groups, such as amino groups, such as epoxy groups, and/or

• one or more cross-linkers in form of multifunctional carbodiimides, such as aliphatic multifunctional carbodiimides; and/or

• Primid XL-552;

- a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers, with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight Mw of 500 or less

• carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R — [C(O)Ri] _x in which:

R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a C ₁ -C ₁₀ alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10,

• polyamines.

In a preferred embodiment, the binder used in insulation elements according to the present invention being used in roofing systems according to the invention are formaldehyde free.

For the purpose of the present application, the term "formaldehyde free" is defined to characterize a mineral wool product where the emission is below 5 pg/m ^z /h of formaldehyde from the mineral wool product, preferably below 3 pg/m ² /h. Preferably, the test is carried out in accordance with ISO 16000 for testing aldehyde emissions.

In a preferred embodiment, the binders are phenol free.

For the purpose of the present application, the term “phenol free” is defined in such a way that the aqueous binder composition does contain phenol in an amount of ≤ 0.25 wt.-%, such as < 0.1 wt.-%, such as ≤ 0.05 wt.-%, based on the total weight of an aqueous composition having a dry solids binder content of 15 wt.%. In one embodiment, the binder composition does not contain added formaldehyde.

In one embodiment, the binder composition does not contain added phenol.

For the purpose of the present invention, the term “mono- and oligosaccharides" is defined to comprise monosaccharides and oligosaccharides having 10 or less saccharide units.

For the purpose of the present invention, the term “sugar” is defined to comprise monosaccharides and oligosaccharides having 10 or less saccharide units.

Component (i)

Component (i) is in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins.

Lignin, cellulose and hemicellulose are the three main organic compounds in a plant cell wall. Lignin can be thought of as the glue, that holds the cellulose fibres together. Lignin contains both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups. It is the second most abundant natural polymer in the world, second only to cellulose, and is estimated to represent as much as 20- 30% of the total carbon contained in the biomass, which is more than 1 billion tons globally.

The lignosulfonate process introduces large amount of sulfonate groups making the lignin soluble in water but also in acidic water solutions. Lignosulfonates has up to 8% sulfur as sulfonate, whereas kraft lignin has 1-2% sulfur, mostly bonded to the lignin. The molecular weight of lignosulfonate is 15.000-50.000 g/mol. The typical hydrophobic core of lignin together with large number of ionized sulfonate groups make this lignin atractive as a surfactant and it often finds application in dispersing cement etc.

To produce lignin-based value-added products, lignin should be first separated from biomass, for which several methods can be employed. Kraft and sulfite pulping processes are known for their effective lignin separation from wood, and hence, are used worldwide. Kraft lignin is separated from wood with the help of NaOH and Na2S. Lignins from sulfite pulping processes are denoted as lignosulfonates, and are produced by using sulfurous acid and/or a sulfite salt containing magnesium, calcium, sodium, or ammonium at varying pH levels. Currently, lignosulfonates account for 90 % of the total market of commercial lignin, and the total annual worldwide production of lignosulfonates is approximately 1 .8 million tons. Lignosulfonates have generally abundance of sulfonic groups, and thus, a higher amount of sulfur than kraft lignin. Due to the presence of the sulfonated group, lignosulfonates are anionically charged and water soluble. The molecular weights (Mw) of lignosulfonates can be similar to or larger than that of kraft lignin. Due to their unique properties, lignosulfonates have a wide range of uses, such as animal feed, pesticides, surfactants, additives in oil drilling, stabilizers in colloidal suspensions, and as plasticizers in concrete admixtures. However, the majority of new pulp mills employ kraft technology for pulp production, and thus, kraft lignin is more readily available for value-added production.

However, lignosulfonates and kraft lignin have different properties coming from different isolation processes and thus distribution of functional groups. High level of sulfonic groups in lignosulfonates, generally at least one for every four C9 units, makes lignosulfonates strongly charged at all pH levels in water. This abundance of ionisable functional groups can explain most of the differences compared to other technical lignins. Higher charge density allows easier water solubility and higher solid content in solution possible compared to kraft lignin. Also, for the same reason, lignosulfonates will have lower solution viscosity compared to kraft lignin at the same solid content which can facilitate handling and processing. Commonly used model structure of lignosulfonates is shown on Figure 7.

In one embodiment, component (i) is having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.05 to 0.6 mmol/g, such as 0.1 to 0.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of lignosulfonate lignins.

In one embodiment, component (i) is in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having an average carboxylic acid group content of less than 1.8 groups per macromolecule considering the M_n wt. average of component (i), such as less than 1 .4 such as less than 1.1 such as less than 0.7 such as less than 0.4.

In one embodiment, component (i) is having a content of phenolic OH groups of0.3 to 2.5 mmol/g, such as 0.5 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.5 to 1.5 mmol/g. based on the dry weight of lignosulfonate lignins. In one embodiment, component (i) is having a content of aliphatic OH groups ofl.O to 8.0 mmol/g, such as 1 .5 to 6.0 mmol/g, such as 2.0 to 5.0 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of lignosulfonate lignins.

In one embodiment, component (i) comprises ammoniumlignosulfonates and/or calciumlignosulfonates, and/or magnesiumlignosulfonates, and any combinations thereof.

In one embodiment, component (i) comprises ammoniumlignosulfonates and calciumlignosulfonates, wherein the molar ratio of NH4+ to Ca ²⁺ is in the range of 5:1 to 1 :5, in particular 3:1 to 1 :3.

For the purpose of the present invention, the term lignosulfonates encompasses sulfonated kraft lignins.

In one embodiment, component (i) is a sulfonated kraft lignins.

In one embodiment, the aqueous binder composition contains added sugar in an amount of 0 to 5 wt.-%, such as less than 5 wt.-%, such as 0 to 4.9 wt.-%, such as 0.1 to 4.9 wt.-%, based on the weight of lignosulfonate and sugar.

In one embodiment, the aqueous binder composition comprises component (i), i.e. the lignosulfonate, in an amount of 50 to 98 wt.-%, such as 65 to 98 wt.-%, such as 80 to 98 wt.- %, based on the total weight of components (i) and (ii).

In one embodiment, the aqueous binder composition comprises component (i) in an amount of 50 to 98 wt.-%, such as 65 to 98 wt.-%, such as 80 to based on the dry weight of components (i), (ii), and (iii).

For the purpose of the present invention, content of lignin functional groups is determined by using 31 P NMR as characterization method.

Sample preparation for 31 P NMR is performed by using 2-chloro-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1 ,3,2- dioxaphospholane (TMDP) as phosphitylation reagent and cholesterol as internal standard. Integration is according to the work of Granata and Argyropoulos (J. Agric. Food Chem. 43:1538-1544). Component (ii)

Component (ii) is in form of one or more cross-linkers.

In one embodiment, the component (ii) comprises in one embodiment one or more cross- linkers selected from p-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers and/or oxazoline-cross-iinkers.

P-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers is a curing agent for the acid-functional macromolecules. It provides a hard, durable, corrosion resistant and solvent resistant cross-linked polymer network. It is believed the [3-hydroxyalkylamide cross-linkers cure through esterification reaction to form multiple ester linkages. The hydroxy functionality of the p- hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers should be an average of at least 2, preferably greater than 2 and more preferably 2-4 in order to obtain optimum curing response.

Oxazoline group containing cross-linkers are polymers containing one of more oxazoline groups in each molecule and generally, oxazoline containing cross-linkers can easily be obtained by polymerizing an oxazoline derivative. The patent US 6 818 699 B2 provides a disclosure for such a process.

In one embodiment, the component (ii) is one or more epoxy compounds having a molecular weight of more than 500, such as an epoxidised oil based on fatty acid triglyceride or one or more flexible oligomer or polymer, such as a low Tg acrylic based polymer, such as a low Tg vinyl based polymer, such as low Tg polyether, which contains reactive functional groups such as carbodiimide groups, such as anhydride groups, such as oxazoline groups, such as amino groups, such as epoxy groups, such as p-hydroxyalkylamide groups.

In one embodiment, component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers selected from the group consisting of faty amines.

In one embodiment, component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers in form of fatty amides.

In one embodiment, component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers selected from polyester polyols, such as polycaprolactone.

In one embodiment, component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers selected from the group consisting of starch, modified starch, CMC.

In one embodiment, component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers in form of multifunctional carbodiimides, such as aliphatic multifunctional carbodiimides.

In one embodiment, the component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers in form of aziridines, such as CX100, NeoAdd-Pax 521/523.

In one embodiment, component (ii) is one or more cross-linkers selected from melamine based cross-linkers, such as a hexakis(methylmethoxy)melamine (HMMM) based cross- linkers.

Examples of such compounds are Picassian XL 701 , 702, 725 (Stahl Polymers), such as ZOLDINE® XL-29SE (Angus Chemical Company), such as CX300 (DSM), such as Carbodilite V-02-L2 (Nisshinbo Chemical Inc.).

In one embodiment, component (ii) is Primid XL552, which has the following structure:

Component (ii) can also be any mixture of the above mentioned compounds.

In one embodiment, the binder composition according to the present invention comprises component (ii) in an amount of 1 to 50 wt.-%, such as 4 to 20 wt.-%, such as 6 to 12 wt.-%, based on the dry weight of component (i).

In one embodiment, component (ii) is in form of one or more cross-linkers selected from o p-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers, such as N-(2-hydroxyisopropyl)amide-cross- linkers, such as N-(2-hydroxyethyl)amide-cross-linkers, such as N-(2- hydroxyethyl)adipamide-cross-linkers, such as N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2- hydroxyethyljadipamide and/or o the group consisting of multifunctional organic amines such as an alkanolamine, diamines, such as hexamethyldiamine, and/or o epoxy compounds having a molecular weight of more than 500, such as an epoxidised oil based on fatty acid triglyceride or one or more flexible oligomer or polymer, such as a low Tg acrylic based polymer, such as a low Tg vinyl based polymer, such as low Tg polyether, which contains reactive functional groups such as carbodiimide groups, such as anhydride groups, such as oxazoline groups, such as amino groups, such as epoxy groups, and/or o one or more cross-linkers in form of multifunctional carbodiimides, such as aliphatic multifunctional carbodiimides.

In one embodiment, component (ii) comprises one or more cross-linkers selected from o |3-hydroxyalkylamide-cross-linkers, such as N-(2-hydroxyisopropyl)amide-cross- linkers, such as N-(2-hydroxyethyl)amide-cross-linkers, such as N-(2- hydroxyethyl)adipamide-cross-linkers, such as N,N,N',N'-tetrakis(2- hyd roxyethy I )ad i pa m ide .

In one embodiment, component (ii) comprises component (ii) in an amount of 2 to 90 wt.-%, such as 6 to 60 wt.-%, such as 10 to 40 wt.-%, such as 25 to 40 wt.-%, based on the dry weight of component (i).

Component (iii) of the binder composition

Optionally, the binder composition may comprise a component (iii). Component (iii) is in form of one or more plasticizers.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is in form of one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of polyols, such as carbohydrates, hydrogenated sugars, such as sorbitol, erythriol, glycerol, monoethylene glycol, polyethylene glycols, polyethylene glycol ethers, polyethers, phthalates and/or acids, such as adipic acid, vanillic acid, lactic acid and/or ferullic acid, acrylic polymers, polyvinyl alcohol, polyurethane dispersions, ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, lactones, lactams, lactides, acrylic based polymers with free carboxy groups and/or polyurethane dispersions with free carboxy groups, polyamides, amides such as carbamide/urea, or any mixtures thereof.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is in form of one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of carbonates, such as ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, lactones, lactams, lactides, compounds with a structure similar to lignin like vanillin, acetosyringone, solvents used as coalescing agents like alcohol ethers, polyvinyl alcohol.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is in form of one or more non-reactive plasticizer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols, polyethylene glycol ethers, polyethers, hydrogenated sugars, phthalates and/or other esters, solvents used as coalescing agents like alcohol ethers, acrylic polymers, polyvinyl alcohol.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is one or more reactive plasticizers selected from the group consisting of carbonates, such as ethylene carbonate, propylene carbonate, lactones, lactams, lactides, di- or tricarboxylic acids, such as adipic acid, or lactic acid, and/or vanillic acid and/or ferullic acid, polyurethane dispersions, acrylic based polymers with free carboxy groups, compounds with a structure similar to lignin like vanillin, acetosyringone.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is in form of one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohols, monohydroxy alcohols such as pentanol, stearyl alcohol.

In one embodiment, component (iii) comprises one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols, polyethylene glycol ethers, and/or one or more plasticizers in form of polyols, such as 1,1 ,1-Tris(hydroxymethyl)propane, and/or triethanolamine.

Another particular surprising aspect of the present invention is that the use of plasticizers having a boiling point of more than 100 °C, in particular 140 to 250 °C, strongly improves the mechanical properties of the mineral fibre products according to the present invention although, in view of their boiling point, it is likely that these plasticizers will at least in part evaporate during the curing of the binders in contact with the mineral fibres. In one embodiment, component (iii) comprises one or more plasticizers having a boiling point of more than 100 °C, such as 110 to 380 °C, more preferred 120 to 300 °C, more preferred 140 to 250 °C.

It is believed that the effectiveness of these plasticizers in the binder composition according to the present invention is associated with the effect of increasing the mobility of the lignins during the curing process. It is believed that the increased mobility of the lignins during the curing process facilitates the effective cross-linking.

In one embodiment, component (iii) comprises one or more polyethylene glycols having an average molecular weight of 150 to 50000 g/mol, in particular 150 to 4000 g/mol, more particular 150 to 1000 g/mol, preferably 150 to 500 g/mol, more preferably 200 to 400 g/mol.

In one embodiment, component (iii) comprises one or more polyethylene glycols having an average molecular weight of 4000 to 25000 g/mol, in particular 4000 to 15000 g/mol, more particular 8000 to 12000 g/mol.

In one embodiment component (iii) is capable of forming covalent bonds with component (i) and/or component (ii) during the curing process. Such a component would not evaporate and remain as part of the composition but will be effectively altered to not introduce unwanted side effects e.g. water absorption in the cured product. Non-limiting examples of such a component are caprolactone and acrylic based polymers with free carboxyl groups.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from the group consisting of fatty alcohols, monohydroxy alcohols, such as pentanol, stearyl alcohol.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of alkoxylates such as ethoxylates such as butanol ethoxylates, such as butoxytriglycol.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more propylene glycols.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more glycol esters. In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of adipates, acetates, benzoates, cyclobenzoates, citrates, stearates, sorbates, sebacates, azelates, butyrates, valerates.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of phenol derivatives such as alkyl or aryl substituted phenols.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of silanols, siloxanes.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of sulfates such as alkyl sulfates, sulfonates such as alkyl aryl sulfonates such as alkyl sulfonates, phosphates such as tripolyphosphates; such as tributylphosphates.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more hydroxy acids.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of monomeric amides such as acetamides, benzamide, faty acid amides such as tall oil amides.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of quaternary ammonium compounds such as trimethylglycine, distearyldimethylammoniumchloride.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of vegetable oils such as castor oil, palm oil, linseed oil, tall oil, soybean oil.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is in form of tall oil.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of hydrogenated oils, acetylated oils. In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more fatty acid methyl esters.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from one or more plasticizers selected from the group consisting of alkyl polyglucosides, gluconamides, aminoglucoseamides, sucrose esters, sorbitan esters.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from the group consisting of polyethylene glycols, polyethylene glycol ethers. In one embodiment, component (iii) is selected from the group consisting of triethanolamine.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is in form of propylene glycols, phenol derivatives, silanols, siloxanes, hydroxy acids, vegetable oils, polyethylene glycols, polyethylene glycol ethers, and/or one or more plasticizers in form of polyols, such as 1 ,1 ,1- Tris(hydroxymethyl)propane, triethanolamine, or any mixtures thereof.

It has surprisingly been found that the inclusion of plasticizers in the binder compositions according to the present invention strongly improves the mechanical properties of the mineral fibre products according to the present invention.

The term plasticizer refers to a substance that is added to a material in order to make the material softer, more flexible (by decreasing the glass-transition temperature Tg) and easier to process. Component (iii) can also be any mixture of the above mentioned compounds.

In one embodiment, component (iii) is present in an amount of 0.5 to 60, preferably 2.5 to 25, more preferably 3 to 15 wt.-%, based on the dry weight of component (i). In one embodiment, component (iii) is present in an amount of 0.5 to 60, preferably 2.5 to 25, more preferably 3 to 15 wt.-%, based on the dry weight of components (i), (ii), and (iii).

Mineral fibre product comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of a binder composition comprising components (i) and (iia) In one embodiment the present invention is directed to a mineral fibre product comprising mineral fibres in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of a binder composition for mineral fibres comprising:

- a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins.

- a component (iia) in form of one or more modifiers, preferably with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight Mw of 500 or less, and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross-linker selected from

• carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R — [C(O)Ri] _x in which:

R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a C1-C10 alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10, and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross-linker selected from

• polyamines, and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross-linker selected from

• mono- and oligosaccharides.

The present inventors have found that the excellent binder properties can also be achieved by a two-component system which comprises component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g-, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins and a component (iia) in form of one or more modifiers, and optionally any of the other components mentioned above and below.

In one embodiment, component (iia) is a modifier in form of one or more compounds selected from the group consisting of epoxy compounds having a molecular weight of more than 500, such as an epoxidised oil based on fatty acid triglyceride or one or more flexible oligomer or polymer, such as a low Tg acrylic based polymer, such as a low Tg vinyl based polymer, such as low Tg polyether, which contains reactive functional groups such as carbodiimide groups, such as anhydride groups, such as oxazoline groups, such as amino groups, such as epoxy groups such as 3-hydroxyalkylamide groups.

In one embodiment, component (iia) is one or more modifiers selected from the group consisting of polyethylene imine, polyvinyl amine, fatty amines.

In one embodiment, the component (iia) is one or more modifiers selected from multifunctional carbodiimides, such as aliphatic multifunctional carbodiimides.

Component (iia) can also be any mixture of the above mentioned compounds.

Without wanting to be bound by any particular theory, the present inventors believe that the excellent binder properties achieved by the binder composition for mineral fibres comprising components (i) and (iia), and optional further components, are at least partly due to the effect that the modifiers used as components (iia) at least partly serve the function of a plasticizer and a cross-linker.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises component (iia) in an amount of 1 to 40 wt.-%, such as 4 to 20 wt-%, such as 6 to 12 wt.-%, based on the dry weight of the component (i).

Further components

In some embodiments, the mineral fibre product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with a binder composition resulting from the curing of a binder which comprises further components.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises a catalyst selected from inorganic acids, such as sulfuric acid, sulfamic acid, nitric acid, boric acid, hypophosphorous acid, and/or phosphoric acid, and/or any salts thereof such as sodium hypophosphite, and/or ammonium salts, such as ammonium salts of sulfuric acid, sulfamic acid, nitric acid, boric acid, hypophosphorous acid, and/or phosphoric acid, and/or sodium polyphosphate (STTP), and/or sodium metaphosphate (STMP), and/or phosphorous oxychloride. The presence of such a catalyst can improve the curing properties of the binder compositions according to the present invention.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises a catalyst selected from Lewis acids, which can accept an electron pair from a donor compound forming a Lewis adduct, such as ZnCI2, Mg (CIO4)2, Sn [N(SO2-n-C8F17)2]4.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises a catalyst selected from metal chlorides, such as KCI, MgCI2, ZnCI2, FeCI3 and SnCI2 or their adducts such as AICI3 adducts, such as BF3 adducts, such as BF3 ethylamine complex.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises a catalyst selected from organometallic compounds, such as titanate-based catalysts and stannum based catalysts.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises a catalyst selected from chelating agents, such as transition metals, such as iron ions, chromium ions, manganese ions, copper ions and/or from peroxides such as organic peroxides such as dicumyl peroxide.

In one embodiment, the binder composition according to the present invention comprises a catalyst selected from phosphites such as alkyl phosphites, such as aryl phosphites such as triphenyl phosphite.

In one embodiment, the binder composition according to the present invention comprises a catalyst selected from the group of ternary amines such as tris-2, 4, 6-dimethylaminomethyl phenol. In one embodiment, the binder composition further comprises a further component (iv) in form of one or more silanes.

In one embodiment, the binder composition comprises a further component (iv) in form of one or more coupling agents, such as organofunctional silanes.

In one embodiment, component (iv) is selected from group consisting of organofunctional silanes, such as primary or secondary amino functionalized silanes, epoxy functionalized silanes, such as polymeric or oligomeric epoxy functionalized silanes, methacrylate functionalized silanes, alkyl and aryl functionalized silanes, urea funtionalised silanes or vinyl functionalized silanes.

In one embodiment, the binder composition further comprises a component (v) in form of one or more components selected from the group of bases, such as ammonia, such as alkali metal hydroxides, such as KOH, such as earth alkaline metal hydroxides, such as Ca(OH)2, such as Mg(OH)2, such as amines or any salts thereof.

In one embodiment, the binder composition further comprises a further component in form of urea, in particular in an amount of 5 to 40 wt.-%, such as 10 to 30 wt.-%, 15 to 25 wt.-%, based on the dry weight of component (i).

In one embodiment, the binder composition further comprises a further component in form of one or more carbohydrates selected from the group consisting of sucrose, reducing sugars, in particular dextrose, polycarbohydrates, and mixtures thereof, preferably dextrins and maltodextrins, more preferably glucose syrups, and more preferably glucose syrups with a dextrose equivalent value of DE = 30 to less than 100, such as DE = 60 to less than 100, such as DE = 60-99, such as DE = 85-99, such as DE = 95-99.

In one embodiment, the binder composition further comprises a further component in form of one or more carbohydrates selected from the group consisting of sucrose and reducing sugars in an amount of 5 to 50 wt.-%, such as 5 to less than 50 wt.-%, such as 10 to 40 wt- %, such as 15 to 30 wt.-% based on the dry weight of component (i).

In one embodiment, the mineral fibre product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with the binder composition comprising a further component in form of one or more silicone resins.

In one embodiment, the binder composition according to the present invention comprises a further component (vi) in the form of one or more reactive or nonreactive silicones.

In one embodiment, the component (vi) is selected from the group consisting of silicone constituted of a main chain composed of organosiloxane residues, especially diphenylsiloxane residues, alkylsiloxane residues, preferably dimethylsiloxane residues, bearing at least one hydroxyl, carboxyl or anhydride, amine, epoxy or vinyl functional group capable of reacting with at least one of the constituents of the binder composition and is preferably present in an amount of 0.025-15 weight-%, preferably from 0.1-10 weight-%, more preferably 0.3-8 weight-%, based on the binder solids.

In one embodiment, the mineral fibre product according to the present invention comprises mineral fibres in contact with the binder composition comprising a further component in form of one or more mineral oils.

In the context of the present invention, a binder composition having a sugar content of 50 wt.-% or more, based on the total dry weight of the binder components, is considered to be a sugar based binder. In the context of the present invention, a binder composition having a sugar content of less than 50 wt.-%, based on the total dry weight of the binder components, is considered a non-sugar based binder.

In one embodiment, the binder composition further comprises a further component in form of one or more surface active agents that are in the form of non-ionic and/or ionic emulsifiers such as polyoxyethylenes (4) lauryl ether, such as soy lecithin, such as sodium dodecyl sulfate.

The use of lignin-based sulfonated products in binders may result in an increase in the hydrophilicity of some binders and final products, meaning one or more hydrophobic agents are to be added, such as one or more mineral oils, such as one or more silicone oil, such as one or more silicone resin. In one embodiment, the aqueous binder composition consists essentially of a component (i) in form of one or more lignins selected from the group of:

• lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, and/or a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers; a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers; a component (iv) in form of one or more coupling agents, such as organofunctional silanes; optionally a component in form of one or more compounds selected from the group of bases, such as ammonia, such as alkali metal hydroxides, such as KOH, such as earth alkaline metal hydroxides, such as Ca(OH)2, such as Mg(OH)2, such as amines or any salts thereof; optionally a component in form of urea; optionally a component in form of a more reactive or non-reactive silicones; optionally a hydrocarbon oil; optionally one or more surface active agents; water.

In one embodiment, the aqueous binder composition consists essentially of a component (i) in form of one or more lignins selected from the group of:

• lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, and/or a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers; a component (iv) in form of one or more coupling agents, such as organofunctional silanes; optionally a component in form of one or more compounds selected from the group of bases, such as ammonia, such as alkali metal hydroxides, such as KOH, such as earth alkaline metal hydroxides, such as Ca(OH)2, such as Mg(OH)2, such as amines or any salts thereof; optionally a component in form of urea; optionally a component in form of a more reactive or non-reactive silicones; optionally a hydrocarbon oil; optionally one or more surface active agents; water.

The present inventors have surprisingly found that mineral fiber products comprising mineral fibers in contact with a binder resulting in the curing of an aqueous binder composition as it is described above have a very high stability, both when freshly produced and after aging conditions.

Further, the present inventors have found that even higher product stability can be obtained by using a curing temperature of >230 °C.

In one embodiment, the present invention is therefore directed to a mineral fiber product comprising mineral fibers in contact with a binder resulting from the curing of an aqueous binder composition as it is described above, where the curing temperature of >230 °C is used.

The present inventors have further found that the stability of the mineral fiber product can be further increased by the following measures:

Lower line capacity, meaning longer curing time

Addition of silicone resins

Addition of high amounts of crosslinker

Addition of a combination of two or more different crosslinkers

Addition of small amounts of cationic species such as multivalent metal ions such as calcium and/or organic cationic species such as amines and/or organically modified inorganic compounds such as amine modified montmorillonite clays.

A method for producing a mineral fibre product

The present invention also provides a method for producing a mineral fibre product by binding mineral fibres with the binder composition. Accordingly, the present invention is also directed to a method for producing a mineral fibre product which comprises the steps of contacting mineral fibres with a binder composition comprising a component (i) in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having a carboxylic acid group content of 0.03 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.03 to 1.4 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 2.0 mmol/g, such as 0.075 to 1.4 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins; a component (ii) in form of one or more cross-linkers; optionally a component (iii) in form of one or more plasticizers, preferably with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross-linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight MW of 500 or less and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R— [C(O)Ri] _x in which:

R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a C ₁ -C ₁₀ alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10 and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• polyamines and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• mono- and oligosaccharides. Curing

The web is cured by a chemical and/or physical reaction of the binder components.

In one embodiment, the curing takes place in a curing device.

In one embodiment, the curing is carried out at temperatures from 100 to 300°C, such as 170 to 270°C, such as 180 to 250°C, such as 190 to 230°C.

In one embodiment, the curing takes place in a conventional curing oven for mineral wool production operating at a temperature of from 150 to 300°C, such as 170 to 270°C, such as 180 to 250°C, such as 190 to 230°C.

In one embodiment, the curing takes place for a time of 30 seconds to 20 minutes, such as 1 to 15 minutes, such as 2 to 10 minutes.

The curing process may commence immediately after application of the binder to the fibres. The curing is defined as a process whereby the binder composition undergoes a physical and/or chemical reaction which in case of a chemical reaction usually increases the molecular weight of the compounds in the binder composition and thereby increases the viscosity of the binder composition, usually until the binder composition reaches a solid state.

Mineral fibre product

The present invention is directed to a mineral fibre product comprising mineral fibres in contact with a cured binder composition resulting from the curing of the aqueous binder composition.

The mineral fibres employed may be any of man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF), glass fibres, ceramic fibres, basalt fibres, slag fibres, rock fibres, stone fibres and others. These fibres may be present as a wool product, e.g. like a stone wool product.

Fibre/melt composition

The man-made vitreous fibres (MMVF) can have any suitable oxide composition. The fibres can be glass fibres, ceramic fibres, basalt fibres, slag fibres or rock or stone fibres. The fibres are preferably of the types generally known as rock, stone or slag fibres, most preferably stone fibres.

Stone fibres commonly comprise the following oxides, in percent by weight:

SiO ₂ : 30 to 51

AI ₂ O ₃ : 12 to 30

CaO: 8 to 30

MgO: 2 to 25

FeO (including Fe2O3): 2 to 15

Na ₂ O+K2O: not more than 10

CaO+MgO: 10 to 30

In preferred embodiments the MMVF have the following levels of elements, calculated as oxides in wt%:

SiO ₂ : at least 30, 32, 35 or 37; not more than 51 , 48, 45 or 43

AI2O3: at least 12, 16 or 17; not more than 30, 27 or 25

CaO: at least 8 or 10; not more than 30, 25 or 20

MgO: at least 2 or 5; not more than 25, 20 or 15

FeO (including Fe2O3): at least 4 or 5; not more than 15, 12 or 10

FeO+MgO: at least 10, 12 or 15; not more than 30, 25 or 20

Na ₂ O+K ₂ O: zero or at least 1 ; not more than 10

CaO+MgO: at least 10 or 15; not more than 30 or 25

TiO ₂ : zero or at least 1 ; not more than 6, 4 or 2

TiO ₂ +FeO: at least 4 or 6; not more than 18 or 12

B2O3: zero or at least 1 ; not more than 5 or 3

P2O5: zero or at least 1 ; not more than 8 or 5

Others: zero or at least 1 ; not more than 8 or 5

The MMVF made by the method of the invention preferably have the composition in wt.-%:

SiO ₂ 35 to 50 AI2O3 12 to 30

T1O2 up to 2

FezOa 3 to 12

CaO 5 to 30

MgO up to 15

Na ₂ O O to 15

K2O O to 15

P2O5 up to 3

MnO up to 3

B2O3 up to 3

Another preferred composition for the MMVF is as follows in wt%:

S1O2 39-55% preferably 39-52%

AI2O3 16-27% preferably 16-26%

CaO 6-20% preferably 8-18%

MgO 1-5% preferably 1-4.9%

NazO 0-15% preferably 2-12%

K ₂ O 0-15% preferably 2-12%

R ₂ O (Na ₂ O + K ₂ O) 10-14.7% preferably 10-13.5%

P2O5 0-3% preferably 0-2%

FezOa (iron total) 3-15% preferably 3.2-8%

B2O3 0-2% preferably 0-1%

TiOz 0-2% preferably 0.4-1%

Others 0-2.0%

Glass fibres commonly comprise the following oxides, in percent by weight:

SiO ₂ : 50 to 70

AI2O3: 10 to 30

CaO: not more than 27

MgO: not more than 12

Glass fibres can also contain the following oxides, in percent by weight: NazO+KzO: 8 to 18, in particular Na2O+K ₂ O greater than CaO+MgO

B ₂ O ₃ : 3 to 12

Some glass fibre compositions can contain AI ₂ O ₃ : less than 2%.

Suitable fibre formation methods and subsequent production steps for manufacturing the mineral fibre product are those conventional in the art. Generally, the binder is sprayed immediately after fibrillation of the mineral melt on to the air-borne mineral fibres. The aqueous binder composition is normally applied in an amount of 0.1 to 18%, preferably 0.2 to 8 % by weight, of the bonded mineral fibre product on a dry basis.

The spray-coated mineral fibre web is generally cured in a curing oven by means of a hot air stream. The hot air stream may be introduced into the mineral fibre web from below, or above or from alternating directions in distinctive zones in the length direction of the curing oven.

Typically, the curing oven is operated at a temperature of from about 100°C to about 300°C, such as 170 to 270°C, such as 180 to 250°C, such as 190 to 230°C. Generally, the curing oven residence time is from 30 seconds to 20 minutes, such as 1 to 15 minutes, such as 2 to 10 minutes, depending on, for instance, the product density.

If desired, the mineral wool web may be subjected to a shaping process before curing. The bonded mineral fibre product emerging from the curing oven may be cut to a desired format e.g., in the form of bats, slabs, sheets, plates, strips.

In accordance with the present invention, it is also possible to produce composite materials by combining the bonded mineral fibre product with suitable composite layers or laminate layers such as, e.g. glass surfacing mats and other woven or non-woven materials.

The mineral fibre products according to the present invention generally have a density within the range of from 70 to 250 kg/m3. The mineral fibre products generally have a loss on ignition (LOI) within the range of 2,0 to 8.0 wt.-%, preferably 2,0 to 5.0 wt.-%. Use of a lignin component for the preparation of a binder composition

The present invention is also directed to the use of a lignin component in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having the features as described above for component (i) for the preparation of a binder composition for mineral wool.

In one embodiment, the binder composition is free of phenol and formaldehyde.

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to the use of a lignin component in the form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having the features of component (i) described above for the preparation of a binder composition, preferably free of phenol and formaldehyde, for mineral wool, whereby this binder composition further comprises components (ii) and optionally (iii) as defined above, preferably with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross-linker selected from

• epoxy compounds having a molecular weight MW of 500 or less and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• carbonyl compounds selected from aldehydes, carbonyl compounds of the formula R— [C(O)Ri]x in which:

R represents a saturated or unsaturated and linear, branched or cyclic hydrocarbon radical, a radical including one or more aromatic nuclei which consist of 5 or 6 carbon atoms, a radical including one or more aromatic heterocycles containing 4 or 5 carbon atoms and an oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atom, it being possible for the R radical to contain other functional groups,

Ri represents a hydrogen atom or a C1-C10 alkyl radical, and x varies from 1 to 10 and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• polyamines and/or with the proviso that the aqueous binder composition does not comprise a cross- linker selected from

• mono- and oligosaccharides.

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to the use of a lignin component in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins having the features of component (i) described above for the preparation of a binder composition, preferably free of phenol and formaldehyde, whereby the binder composition further comprises component (iia) as defined above.

Examples

In the following examples, several binders which fall under the definition of the present invention were prepared and compared to binders according to the prior art.

The following properties were determined for the binders according to the present invention and the binders according to the prior art, respectively:

Binder component solids content

The content of each of the components in a given binder solution before curing is based on the anhydrous mass of the components.

Lignosulfonates were supplied by Borregaard, Norway and LignoTech, Florida as liquids with approximately 50 % solid content. Primid XL552 was supplied by EMS-CHEMIE AG, Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity), was supplied by Momentive and was calculated as 100% for simplicity. Silicone resin BS 1052 was supplied by Wacker Chemie AG. NH4OH 24.7% was supplied by Univar and used in supplied form. PEG 200, urea, KOH pellets, 1 ,1 ,1 tris(hydroxymethyl)propane were supplied by Sigma-Aldrich and were assumed anhydrous for simplicity.

Binder solids

The content of binder after curing is termed “binder solids”. Disc-shaped stone wool samples (diameter: 5 cm; height 1 cm) were cut out of stone wool and heat-treated at 580 °C for at least 30 minutes to remove all organics. The solids of the binder mixture were measured by distributing a sample of the binder mixture (approx. 2 g) onto a heat treated stone wool disc in a tin foil container. The weight of the tin foil container containing the stone wool disc was weighed before and directly after addition of the binder mixture. Two such binder mixture loaded stone wool discs in tin foil containers were produced and they were then heated at 200 °C for 1 hour. After cooling and storing at room temperature for 10 minutes, the samples were weighed and the binder solids was calculated as an average of the two results. A binder with desired binder solids could then be produced by diluting with the required amount of water and 10% aq. silane (Momentive VS-142).

Mechanical strength studies

Bar tests

The mechanical strength of the binders was tested in a bar test. For each binder, 16 bars were manufactured from a mixture of the binder and stone wool shots from the stone wool spinning production.

A sample of this binder solution having 15% dry solid matter (16.0 g) was mixed well with shots (80.0 g). The resulting mixture was then filled into four slots in a heat resistant silicone form for making small bars (4*5 slots per form; slot top dimension: length = 5.6 cm, width = 2.5 cm; slot botom dimension: length = 5.3 cm, width = 2.2 cm; slot height = 1.1 cm). The mixtures placed in the slots were then pressed with a suitably sized flat metal bar to generate even bar surfaces. 16 bars from each binder were made in this fashion. The resulting bars were then cured typically at 225 °C. The curing time was 1 h. After cooling to room temperature, the bars were carefully taken out of the containers. Five of the bars were aged in a water bath at 80 °C for 3 h. This method of curing the prepared bars was used for example in Tables 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6. Results in Table 1.3 are based on a slightly different method which includes a preconditioning step of 2 h at 90 °C, followed by curing for 1 h at 225 °C while the remaining of the procedure is the same.

After drying for 3 days, the aged bars as well as five unaged bars were broken in a 3-point bending test (test speed: 10.0 mm/min; rupture level: 50%; nominal strength: 30 N/mm2; support distance: 40 mm; max deflection 20 mm; nominal e-module 10000 N/mm2) on a Bent Tram machine to investigate their mechanical strengths. The bars were placed with the “top face” up (i.e. the face with the dimension’s length = 5.6 cm, width = 2.5 cm) in the machine.

Binder example, reference binder (Phenol-formaldehyde resin modified with urea, a PUF-resol)

This binder is a phenol-formaldehyde resin modified with urea, a PUF-resol.

A phenol-formaldehyde resin is prepared by reacting 37% aq. formaldehyde (606 g) and phenol (189 g) in the presence of 46% aq. potassium hydroxide (25.5 g) at a reaction temperature of 84°C preceded by a heating rate of approximately 1°C per minute. The reaction is continued at 84 °C until the acid tolerance of the resin is 4 and most of the phenol is converted. Urea (241 g) is then added and the mixture is cooled.

The acid tolerance (AT) expresses the number of times a given volume of a binder can be diluted with acid without the mixture becoming cloudy (the binder precipitates). Sulfuric acid is used to determine the stop criterion in a binder production and an acid tolerance lower than 4 indicates the end of the binder reaction.

To measure the AT, a titrant is produced from diluting 2.5 ml cone, sulfuric acid (>99 %) with 1 L ion exchanged water. 5 mL of the binder to be investigated is then titrated at room temperature with this titrant while keeping the binder in motion by manually shaking it; if preferred, use a magnetic stirrer and a magnetic stick. Titration is continued until a slight cloud appears in the binder, which does not disappear when the binder is shaken.

The acid tolerance (AT) is calculated by dividing the amount of acid used for the titration (mL) with the amount of sample (mL):

AT = (Used titration volume (mL)) / (Sample volume (mL))

Using the urea-modified phenol-formaldehyde resin obtained, a binder is made by addition of 25% aq. ammonia (90 mL) and ammonium sulfate (13.2 g) followed by water (1.30 kg). The binder solids were then measured as described above and the mixture was diluted with the required amount of water and silane for mechanical measurements (15 % binder solids solution, 0.5% silane of binder solids).

Binder example, reference binder (binder based on alkali oxidized lignin)

3267 kg of water is charged in 6000 I reactor followed by 287 kg of ammonia water (24.7%). Then 1531 kg of Lignin UPM BioPiva 100 is slowly added over a period of 30 min to 45 min. The mixture is heated to 40 °C and kept at that temperature for 1 hour. After 1 hour a check is made on insolubilized lignin. This can be made by checking the solution on a glass plate or a Hegman gauge. Insolubilized lignin is seen as small particles in the brown binder. During the dissolution step will the lignin solution change color from brown to shiny black. After the lignin is completely dissolved, 1 liter of a foam dampening agent (Skumdaemper 11-10 from NCA-Verodan) is added. Temperature of the batch is maintained at 40 °C. Then addition of 307,5 kg 35% hydrogen peroxide is started. The hydrogen peroxide is dosed at a rate of 200-300 l/h. First half of the hydrogen peroxide is added at a rate of 200 l/h where after the dosage rate is increased to 300 l/h.

During the addition of hydrogen peroxide is the temperature in the reaction mixture controlled by heating or cooling in such a way that a final reaction temperature of 65 °C is reached.

The final product was analysed for the COOH group content, dry solid matter, pH, viscosity and remaining H2O2.60g of this oxidized lignin (18.2 % solids) was mixed with 1.4 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and 2.8 g PEG200 (100 % solids). 0.6 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 17.4 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Binder compositions according to the present invention

In the following, the entry numbers of the binder example correspond to the entry numbers used in Table 1-1 to 1-6. The carboxylic acid group content of all lignosulfonates used for the binders according to the present invention was measured using 31 P NMR and was found to be in the range of 0.05 to 0.6 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, for all examples.

Example 2

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 1.9 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and mixing. Finally, 0.7 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 64.3 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Example 11

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 2.1 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and 3.4 g PEG 200 (100 % solids) and mixing. Finally, 0.7 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 61.8 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Example 15

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 2.9 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and 3.4 g PEG 200 (100 % solids) and mixing. Finally, 0.8 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 67 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Example 30

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 2.9 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and 3.4 g 1 ,1 ,1 tris(hydroxymethyl)propane (100 % solids) and mixing. Finally, 0.8 g Silane (Momentive VS- 142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 67 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests. Example 33

To 100.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.3 g KOH in pellet form was added and mixed followed by addition of 10.8 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and 11.3 g PEG 200 (100

% solids) and mixing. Finally, 2.6 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 228 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests. Example 41

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 1.9 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and 1 ,7 g PEG 200 (100 % solids) and 1.7 g urea (100 % solids) and mixing. Finally, 0.7 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 60.5 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Mechanical properties are presented in Tables 1.1-1.6. For simplicity, quantities of all other components are recalculated based on 100g of dry lignin.

Table 1.1

As can be seen from Table 1.1 a combination of crosslinker (Primid XL 552) and plasticizer (PEG 200) is required to achieve high mechanical properties (unaged and aged strength in bar test) that are at comparable level to reference binder (11 and 15 versus 2 and 9 versus reference binder).

Table 1.2

Table 1.3

Table 1.2 and 1.3 show that different plasticizers can be used (13 and 15 versus 30) or combination of plasticizers (34 versus 41) and that the PEG 200 is a preferred plasticizer.

Table 1.4

Table 1 .4 shows that addition of silane can help achieve aged strength on the same level as reference binders.

Table 1.5

Table 1.5 shows that the binder has high strength without the presence of a base but that a non-permanent base (NH4OH) or a permanent base (KOH) can be added to the formulation to protect the production equipment from corrosion without significant changes in strength.

Table 1.6

Table 1.6 shows that different lignosulfonates can be used.

This overall means, we are able to produce a mineral wool product based on a phenol and formaldehyde-free binder composition with a high content of renewable material based on lignin, which has comparable mechanical properties to the reference systems and can be produced in a simpler and less expensive way.

Examples 47 and 49

In the following, the entry numbers of the binder example correspond to the entry numbers used in Table 2.

The carboxylic acid group content of ail lignosulfonates used for the binders according to the present invention was measured using 31 P NMR and was found to be in the range of 0.05 to 0.6 mmol/g, based on the dry weight of the lignosulfonate lignins, while it was found for this specific batch used for examples 47, 49 and 54 to be 0.14 mmol/g.

Example 47

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 0.7 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 68.9 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Example 49

To 30.0 g lignosulfonate solution (50 % solids), 0.4 g NH4OH (24.7 %) was added and mixed followed by addition of 6.0 g Primid XL552 (100 % solids) and mixing. Finally, 1.0 g Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 102.6 g water were added and mixed to yield 15 % solids and then used for test of mechanical properties in bar tests.

Mechanical properties are presented in Table 2. For simplicity, quantities of all other components are recalculated based on 100g of dry lignin. Table 2

As can be seen from Table 2, in a combination of lignosulfonate and crosslinker (Primid XL 552) higher amounts of crosslinker lead to beter mechanical properties.

Example: Test of stone wool products:

Products have been examined for properties according to the product standard for Factory made mineral wool (MW) products, EN 13162:2012 + A1 :2015, meaning relevant mechanical properties besides other basic characteristics for stone wool products.

The testing has been performed on slabs, where test specimens according to the dimensional specifications and to the number of test specimens required to get one test result, as stated in EN13162 for each of the different test methods, has been cut out. Each of the stated values for the mechanical properties obtained is an average of more results according to EN13162.

Dimensions

Dimensions of products and test specimens has been performed according to the relevant test methods, EN822:2013: Thermal insulating products for building applications - Determination of length and width, and EN823:2013: Thermal insulating products for building applications - Determination of thickness.

Binder content (Loss On Ignition)

Determination of binder content is performed according to EN 13820:2003: Thermal insulating materials for building applications - Determination of organic content, where the binder content is defined as the quantity of organic material burnt away at a given temperature, stated in the standard to be (500 ± 20°C). In the testing the temperature (590 ± 20°C, for at least 10 min or more until constant mass) has been used in order to make sure that all organic material is burnt away. Determination of ignition loss consists of at least 10 g wool corresponding to 8-20 cut-outs (minimum 8 cut-outs) performed evenly distributed over the test specimen using a cork borer ensuring to comprise an entire product thickness. The binder content is taken as the LOI. The binder includes oil and other binder additives. Example 54

The stone wool product has been produced by use of binder in example 54, at a curing oven temperature set to 255 °C.

730.0 kg of ammonium lignosulfonate was placed in a mixing vessel to which 8.5 I NH4OH (24,7 %) was added and stirred. Afterwards, 151 kg Primid XL552 solution (pre-made 31 wt.-% solution in water) and 43 kg PEG 200 (100 % solids) were added and mixed followed by addition of 13 kg Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water) and 40 kg silicone (Wacker BS 1052, 12% in water).

The binder from this example is used to produce a high density stone wool product, 100 mm thickness, 145 kg/m3 density wherein the insulation element has a loss on ignition (LOI) of 3,5 wt.-%. Curing oven temperature was set to 255 °C.

Example 55

The stone wool product has been produced by use of binder in example 55, at a curing oven temperature set to 255 °C.

609.0 kg of ammonium lignosulfonate was placed in a mixing vessel to which 8 I NH4OH (24,7 %) was added and stirred. Afterwards, 384 kg Primid XL552 solution (pre-made 31 wt.-% solution in water) was added and mixed followed by addition of 14 kg Silane (Momentive VS-142 40% activity, 10% in water).

The binder from this example is used to produce a high density stone wool product, 100 mm thickness, 145 kg/m3 density and with a loss on ignition (LOI) of 3,5 wt.-%. Curing oven temperature was set to 255 °C.

Comparative Examples

As a reference comparative examples of mineral fibre products have been prepared. Comparative Example A represents a stone wool product containing a traditional phenol- urea-formaldehyde binder (PUF) whereas Comparative Example B represents a stone wool product produced with one of the assignees prior art non-added formaldehyde binder (NAF).

Comparative Example A . (PUF)

This binder is a phenol-formaldehyde resin modified with urea, a PUF-resol,

A phenol-formaldehyde resin is prepared by reacting 37% aq. formaldehyde (606 kg) and phenol (189 kg) in the presence of 46% aq. potassium hydroxide (25.5 kg) at a reaction temperature of 84°C preceded by a heating rate of approximately 1 °C per minute. The reaction is continued at 84 °C until the acid tolerance of the resin is 4 and most of the phenol is converted. Urea (241 kg) is then added and the mixture is cooled.

The acid tolerance (AT) expresses the number of times a given volume of a binder can be diluted with acid without the mixture becoming cloudy (the binder precipitates). Sulfuric acid is used to determine the stop criterion in a binder production and an acid tolerance lower than 4 indicates the end of the binder reaction.

To measure the AT, a titrant is produced from diluting 2.5 ml cone, sulfuric acid (>99 %) with 1 L ion exchanged water. 5 mL of the binder to be investigated is then titrated at room temperature with this titrant while keeping the binder in motion by manually shaking it; if preferred, use a magnetic stirrer and a magnetic stick. Titration is continued until a slight cloud appears in the binder, which does not disappear when the binder is shaken.

The acid tolerance (AT) is calculated by dividing the amount of acid used for the titration (mL) with the amount of sample (mL):

AT = (Used titration volume (mL)) / (Sample volume (mL))

Using the urea-modified phenol-formaldehyde resin obtained, a binder is made by addition of 25% aq. ammonia (90 L) and ammonium sulfate (13.2 kg) followed by water (1300 kg).

The binder solids were then measured as described above and the mixture was diluted with the required amount of water and silane for mechanical measurements. A mineral fiber product was prepared with 100 mm mineral wool bonded with this prior art binder composition. The density of the mineral fiber product was 145 kg/m3. The ignition loss was 3,5 wt-%. The proportion of the cured binder composition in the mineral fiber product was 3,4 wt-% due to 0,1 wt.-% mineral oil.

Comparative Example B (NAF1

A mixture of 75.1% aq. glucose syrup (19.98 kg; thus efficiently 15.0 kg glucose syrup), 50% aq. hypophosphorous acid (0.60 kg; thus efficiently 0.30 kg, 4.55 mol hypophosphorous acid) and sulfamic acid (0.45 kg, 4.63 mol) in water (30.0 kg) was stirred at room temperature until a clear solution was obtained. 28% aq. ammonia (0.80 kg; thus efficiently 0.22 kg, 13.15 mol ammonia) was then added dropwise until pH = 7.9. The binder solids were then measured (21.2%). In order to obtain a suitable binder composition (15 % binder solids solution, 0.5% silane of binder solids), the binder mixture was diluted with water (0.403 kg / kg binder mixture) and 10% aq. silane (0.011 kg / kg binder mixture, Momentive VS-142). The final binder mixture had pH = 7.9.

Mineral fiber products were prepared with a thickness of 100 mm, a density of 145 kg/m3 and LOI at 3,5 wt.-%.

A common method for producing the mineral fibre product as described in the description above is used.

The present invention is further described in the following referring to the accompanying drawings in which the figures show the following:

Fig. 1 shows a part of a first embodiment of a roofing system for a flat roof in cross-section;

Fig. 2 shows a part of a second embodiment of a roofing system for a flat roof in cross- section;

Fig. 3 shows a diagram showing the delamination strength of an insulation element used in a roofing system compared to the delamination strength of an insulation element according to the prior art;

Fig. 4 shows a diagram showing the delamination strength of an insulation element used in a roofing system after ageing compared to the delamination strength of an insulation element according to the prior art after ageing;

Fig. 5 shows a diagram showing the compression strength of an insulation element used in a roofing system compared to the compression strength of an insulation element according to the prior art;

Fig. 6 shows a diagram showing the compression strength of an insulation element used in a roofing system after ageing compared to the compression strength of an insulation element according to the prior art after ageing and

Fig. 7 shows a section from a possible lignosulfonate lignin structure;

Figure 1 shows a first embodiment of a part of a flat roof 1 comprising a structural support 2, a vapour control layer 3, an insulation element 4 and an overlying waterproof membrane 20. The insulation element 4 is a bonded mineral fibre product made of mineral fibres and a binder.

The overlying waterproof membrane 20 is connected to the insulation element 4 via an adhesive 9 which can be an integral part of the membrane 20. The adhesive 9 can be a bituminous adhesive which is activated by a burner as usually used in roofing works, i.e. membrane 20 is torched onto the insulation element 4. A doted line in the insulation element 4 indicates an area 10 into which molten bituminous adhesive 9 diffuses before hardening and connecting the membrane 20 to the insulation element 4.

Figure 2 shows a second embodiment of a part of a flat roof 1 according to the invention comprising a structural support 2, a vapour control layer 3, an insulation element 4 and a waterproofing membrane (not shown but comparable to Fig. 1). The insulation element 4 comprises a first layer 5 comprising stone wool fibres and a binder and a second layer 6 made of a fabric of a glass fleece, having an E-modulus of 573 MPa. The tensile strength of the glass fleece is 71 N. The first layer 5 is represented by one or more lamella having a fibre orientation predominantly perpendicular to a major surface 7 of the second layer 6. The lamella and therefore the first layer 5 have a density of 110 kg/m ³ and a typical thickness of 150 mm. The mineral fibres are bonded together via the binder being cured in a hardening oven before the second layer 6 is fixed to a surface 8 of the first layer 5 via an adhesive 9. The adhesive 9 in this special embodiment might be chosen from melamine urea formaldehyde, preferably as two-component glue, waterborne acrylic glue, phenol formaldehyde powder binder, waterborne neoprene foam glue, polyamide based powder glue, polyurethane glue, preferably as two-component glue, polyurethane moisture curing glue or sealing modified binder, preferably as one-component moisture curing glue. However, preferably the adhesive 9 in this special embodiment equals the binder composition utilized to bind the mineral fibres of the insulation element 4.

All these adhesives 9 build up a good connection to mineral fibres and all these adhesives 9 are able to build up nearly closed layers in the area of the lamella as well as in the area of the fabric thereby strengthening the insulation element 4 in a direction parallel to the major surfaces 7 of the lamellae.

The adhesive 9 is arranged partly in an area 10 close to the major surface 8 of the first layer 5 directed to the second layer 6 and in an area 11 close to the major surface 7 of the second layer 6 directed to the first layer 5 so that the adhesive 9 connects the first layer 5 and the second layer 6 in such a way that forces directed perpendicular to the second layer 6 can be compensated by the tensile strength of the second layer 6 in combination with the adhesive 9 and/or the deflection of the fibres of the first layer 5. Such a force of e. g. 80 kPa directed perpendicular to the second layer 6 causes a limited deformation of smaller 5% of the insulation element 4 (first and second layer 5, 6) and therefore of not more than 7,5 mm related to the thickness of 150 mm of the first layer 5. The thickness of the second layer 6 is approximately not more than 1 mm and can therefore be disregarded in this calculation. A sufficient amount of adhesive 9 is arranged between the fibres of the first layer 5 thereby surrounding the fibres and building up a layer of adhesive 9 being anchored in the first layer 5.

The adhesive 9 is arranged with an amount of 80 g/m ² of liquid adhesive between the two layers 5 and 6 as an acrylic glue. A sufficient amount of the adhesive 9 diffuses in the first layer 5 and the second layer 6. The adhesive 9 constitutes therefore a layer connecting the first layer 5 and the second layer 6 and is anchored in both layers 5, 6.

According to the invention the binder used in the insulation element 4 comprises a first component in form of one or more lignosulfonate lignins, e.g. following Example 54 as described above. The diagram according to Figure 3 shows absolute values of the delamination strength of an insulation element 4 according to the invention (graph C2) compared with the delamination strength of an insulation element containing traditional phenol-urea-formaldehyde binder shown in graph A2 (following Comp. Ex A) and the delamination strength of an insulation element containing one of the assignees prior art non- added formaldehyde binder shown in graph Efe (following Comp. Ex B).

The delamination strength is measured according to EN 1607:2013 and the first initial measurement is carried out on unaged samples immediately or shortly after production of the insulation element 4. This initial testing and the respective average result of a representative number of samples is illustrated at time ‘0’ on the x-axis of the diagram. Said time ‘0’ corresponds with day ‘0’ respectively the start of the accelerated ageing test according to the following description below.

In order to determine the ageing resistance of mineral fibre products exposed to moisture and heating during the service life of constructions, such mineral fibre products with focus on mechanical properties are subjected to accelerated ageing. The ageing resistance is defined as the ability of the product to maintain the original mechanical properties, and it is calculated as the aged strength in per cent of the original strength. The test procedure follows the so called Nordtest method NT Build 434:1995.05, extended to 28 days.

The aim of said method is to expose insulation materials to accelerated ageing due to increased temperature and heat. It is applicable to all insulation materials manufactured as insulation boards. The method is not predictive i.e. it is not intended for assessment of the service life, but it is a precondition for a satisfactory performance that ageing due to this method does not cause major changes in the properties of the materials under investigation. Experiences over more than two decades with the Nordtest method have proven to deliver reliable data to ensure satisfactory mechanical performance of inter alia mineral fibre products as insulation elements for use in roofing systems.

According to the method, a representative number of test specimens are exposed to heat- moisture action for 7, 14 and 28 days at 70 ± 2°C and 95 ± 5% relative humidity (RH) in a climatic chamber. Subsequently, the specimens are placed at 23 ± 2°C and 50 ± 5% RH for at least 24 hours and upon drying are prepared for testing of mechanical performance, like e.g. the delamination strength is measured according to EN 1607:2013, or compression strength according to EN 826:2013 as will be described further below.

The relative ageing resistance is then calculated in % of and based on the initial absolute value measured at time ‘O’. Results are documented and illustrated for 7, 14 and 28 days of accelerated ageing.

With respect to the figures 3 to 6 and examples given here, the insulation element 4 is a bonded mineral fibre roof product, commercially available at the assignee or affiliated companies which has been produced with the different binder types mentioned and tested for its mechanical properties. The product in question provides a target density of around 145 kg/m ³ and a loss on ignition (LOI) of approx. 3,5 wt.-%.

The following Table I shows the delamination strength [kPa] EN 1607 according to Figure 3. able I

Table I shows the absolute delamination strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (C ₂ ) compared to an insulation element containing a phenol-formaldehyde binder (A2) and to an insulation element containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (B2) initially and after accelerated ageing. The corresponding graphs are shown in Fig. 3.

The following Table II shows the relative delamination strength according to table I in % of initial according to Figure 4. able II

Table II shows the relative delamination strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (C ₃ ) compared to an insulation element containing a phenol-formaldehyde binder (A ₃ ) and to an insulation element containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (B3). The corresponding graphs are shown in Fig. 4.

In Table I and especially in Table II it can be seen that the delamination strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (C ₂ ; C ₃ ) does not differ that much from the delamination strength of the insulation element (A ₂ ; A ₃ ) containing a phenol-formaldehyde binder. Furthermore, it can be seen that the loss of delamination strength of the insulation element containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (B2; B3) increases much more than the delamination strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (C ₂ ; C ₃ ).

From Table II and Figure 4 the relative delamination strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention ( C ₃ ) compared to insulation elements containing a phenol- formaldehyde binder ( A ₃ ) or insulation elements containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (B ₃ ) can be seen. All insulation elements 4 to be compared were exposed to an ageing process according to the before mentioned description. In particular, it can be seen from Table II and from Figure 4, that the relative values of the delamination strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (Ca) develop approximately equal and initially even remain slightly higher than the values of the delamination strength of the insulation element containing phenol-formaldehyde binder (As).

The following Table III shows the absolute compression strength [kPa] EN 826 according to Figure 5.

Table III

Table III shows the absolute compression strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (C4) compared to an insulation element containing a phenol-formaldehyde binder (A4) and to an insulation element containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (B4). The corresponding graphs are shown in Fig. 5.

Figure 5 shows the compression strength of an insulation element 4 according to the invention (graph C4) compared with the compression strength of an insulation element containing mineral fibres and a non-added formaldehyde binder shown in graph B4 and the compression strength of an insulation element containing mineral fibres and a phenol- formaldehyde binder shown in graph A ₄ .

The compression strength is measured according to EN 826 and it can be seen, that the compression strength is measured immediately after production of the insulation element 4, and seven, fourteen and twenty-eight days after production of the insulation element 4 including accelerated ageing. The following Table IV shows the relative compression strength according to table III in % of initial according to Figure 6.

'able IV

Table IV shows the relative compression strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (Cs) compared to an insulation element containing a phenol-formaldehyde binder (As) and to an insulation element containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (B ₅ ). The corresponding graphs are shown in Fig. 6.

From Figure 6 the relative compression strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (Cs) compared to insulation elements containing a phenol-formaldehyde binder (As) or insulation elements containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (Bs) can be derived. All insulation elements to be compared were exposed to an ageing process containing the steps as described before.

Furthermore, it can be seen from Figure 6, that the relative development of the compression strength of the insulation element 4 according to the invention (Cs) compared with those of the compression strength of the insulation element containing phenol-formaldehyde binder (As) are somewhat similar and in particular the remaining strength after twenty-eight days being significantly than those for the insulation elements containing a non-added formaldehyde binder (Bs).

Hence, measurements have proven the binder and respective insulation elements produced with the binder according to the invention to provide a high ageing resistance comparably good as for state of the art phenol-formaldehyde binder.