Aerogel & Microporous Insulation — Blanket & Nano Board

What is aerogel and microporous insulation?

Aerogel is a solid in which the liquid component of a gel has been replaced by gas, leaving a nano-porous structure that is more than 90% air by volume. That structure gives it the lowest thermal conductivity of any conventional insulation at ambient pressure — which is the whole reason aerogel reaches a specified thermal duty at a fraction of the thickness needed by mineral wool, calcium silicate or ceramic fiber.

This product family reaches site in two forms: flexible nano aerogel blankets, in which silica aerogel is held in a glass-fibre or polyester carrier, and rigid microporous nano boards. Both are chosen where space, weight or thermal performance per millimetre is the binding constraint rather than material price per square metre.

Aerogel insulation thickness: how much do you need?

Thickness is the question we are asked most often. The honest answer is that it depends on your target heat loss or surface temperature, your operating temperature and the space you actually have. What aerogel changes is the thickness needed to hit that target.

• Where a mineral wool or calcium silicate build-up would need roughly 50–75 mm, an aerogel blanket typically reaches the same thermal duty at about 10–15 mm.
• On dense pipe racks, offshore platforms and retrofit work, that difference is often what allows the insulation to fit at all — without re-routing pipework or widening supports.
• A thinner layer also means a smaller outer diameter, so metal cladding consumption drops: on many projects the jacketing cost alone falls by roughly half.

We size aerogel against your operating temperature, not a room-temperature data sheet. Thermal conductivity rises with mean temperature, so send us the operating temperature, line size and target surface temperature and we will size the build-up properly.

Aerogel vs mineral wool, calcium silicate and ceramic fiber

There is no universally best insulation. Each material wins in a different set of conditions, and the right choice is the one that meets your thermal target within the space, weight and budget you actually have.

1. Mineral wool and glass wool cost far less per square metre, but need much greater thickness, absorb water, and can settle over time — leaving hot spots along the top of horizontal runs.
2. Calcium silicate is rigid and strong in compression, but it is heavy, brittle, and slow to cut and fit around valves, flanges and elbows.
3. Ceramic fiber handles the highest temperatures in the range and remains the right choice for furnace linings above the aerogel envelope.
4. Aerogel wins where thickness, weight, moisture resistance or installation time dominate — typically tight pipe racks, retrofits, and sub-ambient or cryogenic duties.

Why aerogel costs more — and when it pays back

Aerogel is genuinely more expensive per square metre than mineral wool, and it is worth being straightforward about why: both the raw material and the manufacturing process cost more.

The payback comes from four places rather than from the material price:

• Energy: lower thermal conductivity means lower heat loss for the life of the line.
• Installation: flexible blankets cut with a knife and wrap around valves and elbows, cutting labour hours.
• Cladding: a thinner build-up means meaningfully less sheet metal.
• Maintenance: hydrophobic, non-settling insulation is far less likely to drive corrosion under insulation, which is one of the most expensive failure modes in piping.

For space-constrained or high-duty applications the total installed and lifecycle cost is often lower than a thicker conventional build-up — even though the material itself costs more.