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The modern philosophers' stone

Instead of complex insulating layers, the building block of the future provides excellent insulation with a simple filling of Elastopor® H.

20 Jan 2010 : In fact, it could almost be called the modern philosophers’ stone. In the middle ages, alchemists searched in vain for the fabled philosophers’ stone – a mythical substance which would transform base metals into gold or silver. The search is over for today’s alchemists because Elastopor® H is the simple building block that has it all. As you know, energy conservation is becoming an increasingly important issue in the 21st century and there is now a strong drive to save on precious resources and cut costs wherever possible. Nowhere more so than in private housebuilding. In recent years, we’ve taken great steps forward, and architects and developers are turning more and more to new energy-saving concepts. Everyone agrees that intelligent building design begins with highly efficient insulation. A new insulation technique that saves time and money In a solid construction, a typical insulated external wall consists of either a double wall structure with a core insulation, or a single wall with additional external insulation. Both of these alternatives are costly and have a relatively long construction period. A new construction method is now available which consists of monolithic brickwork made from hollow blocks with thermal insulation already built in. The advantage: no additional insulation is necessary and there are substantial savings on construction time and costs. In addition, a considerable amount of space is saved as there’s no need for any external insulation. Moreover, where mineral wool and perlite were used before to fill hollow blocks, now even better levels of insulation are provided by the polyurethane rigid foam Elastopor® H from BASF. A unique combination of benefits Because of rising energy costs, the building materials industry is focusing increasingly on heat conductivity - the lower this value, the better the insulation will be. So the whole industry is looking for a product that sets itself apart from the competition. PUR rigid foam Elastopor® H is that product, because it’s the only one that offers all these advantages: 
<UL>
<LI>Extremely low heat conductivity </LI>
<LI>Very low water intake </LI>
<LI>No falling or trickling out of the insulation </LI>
<LI>Manageable investments in industrial and building systems </LI>
<LI>Rapid cycle times </LI>
<LI>Lower requirement for heat energy </LI>
<LI>Altogether moderate costs </LI></UL>
The company behind the philosophers’ stone is Knobel in Albstadt, and the product is actually called Liapor SL-plus. It’s manufactured from Lias clay, which is formed into a ceramic clay interspersed with air, and its cavity is then filled with Elastopor® H . The end result satisfies both architects and builders alike, providing efficient heat and noise control which can be used in a wide range of applications. About BASF Polyurethanes BASF is the leading supplier of polyurethane basic products, systems and specialties. With its global network of more than 30 polyurethane system houses and its comprehensive product and service portfolio, BASF is the preferred partner of its customers in many industries. The BASF brand “PU Solutions Elastogran” expresses over 40 years of experience of the market and technology leader for Polyurethane systems and specialty elastomers in Europe. In the extremely service-oriented business with polyurethane systems and specialties reliability, experience and competence are in demand. Through its system houses BASF provides fast local support – from technical service and sales to marketing – during the development of customized solutions. With its world-scale plants BASF secures its leading market position in the manufacture of polyurethane basic products in all regions of the world. Polyurethanes make life more comfortable, safer and more pleasant – and they help to save energy sustainably. They contribute towards an improved insulation of buildings and a more attractive and more light-weight design of cars. The manufacturers of shoe soles, mattresses and household as well as sports equipment use the manifold opportunities and advantages of this special plastics material together with the knowledge and expertise of the polyurethane experts of BASF world-wide. About BASF BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics and performance products to agricultural products, fine chemicals as well as oil and gas. As a reliable partner BASF helps its customers in virtually all industries to be more successful. With its high-value products and intelligent solutions, BASF plays an important role in finding answers to global challenges such as climate protection, energy efficiency, nutrition and mobility. BASF posted sales of more than €62 billion in 2008 and had approximately 97,000 employees as of the end of the year. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at <A href="http://www.basf.com"class=links_sanserif01 target=_blank">www.basf.com</A>.

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