Calcium silicate bonded with sodium silicate. Although it is popularly considered an asbestos substitute, early uses of calcium silicate for insulation still made use of asbestos fibers. It is used in passive fire protection and fireproofing as calcium silicate brick or in roof tiles. It is one of the most successful materials in fireproofing in Europe because of regulations and fire safety guidelines for commercial and residential building codes (see Calcium Silicate use in Europe). Where North Americans use spray fireproofing plasters, Europeans are more likely to use cladding made of calcium silicate. High-performance calcium-silicate boards retain their excellent dimensional stability even
Mineral wool Mineral wool Mineral wool is any fibrous material formed by spinning or drawing molten mineral or rock materials such as slag and ceramics. Applications of mineral wool include thermal insulation (as both structural insulation and pipe insulation, though it is not as fire-resistant as high-temperature insulation wool), filtration, soundproofing, and hydroponic growth medium. Mineral wool is also known as "mineral fiber", "mineral cotton", "mineral fibre", "man-made mineral fibre" (MMMF), and "man-made vitreous fiber" (MMVF). The nomenclature of these wool products is simply the parent/raw material name in prefix to "wool". Specific mineral wool products are "stone wool" and "slag wool".