PBI in high temperature applications

PBI finds many high temperature applications, not only in protecting fire fighters and military personal, but also in semiconductor, clean energy, oil, gas, chemical, and aerospace industries because of its extremely thermally stable molecular structure and superior physical properties. Examples of some of the applications are briefly discussed in this section. 

Examples of PBI-PEEK products can be found in bearings, bushings, gears, piston rings, washers, seals, pads, rollers, conveyors, and many other molded parts. 

Protection from fire, arc flash, explosions, and other hazards is very important for military personal and for workers in the electrical, oil, gas, and chemical industries. Fabrics made of PBI-para-aramid-FR-Rayon fiber blends perform very well in these applications. Also, PBI-FR-Rayon fiber blends can be knitted to make a soft fabric ideal for protective undergarments or hoods which provide both protection and comfort. 

PBI short cut fibers have been used to replace asbestos in high temperature applications such as rocket motor insulation. Rubber formulas incorporating PBI short cut fibers showed superior performance in a development of ablative materials for NASA solid fuel rocket motor insulation. As a result, PBI short cut fibers are spedlied for ablative insulation in the development of new solid fuel rocket motors. Nonwoven fabrics containing PBI are also excellent materials for the fire blocking layers in airplane seats due to then-better performance at lighter weight. 

PBI membranes have been the critical components in high temperature polymeric electrolyte membrane fuel cells. PBI fuel cells tolerate much more impurities in the Hj fuel compared to low temperature fuel cells. Therefore, they are preferred in fuel cell systems where the Hj supplies are from reformers converting other fuels to Hj. PBI fuel cells are also suitable for combined heat and power fuel cell systems. In other applications, PBI membranes have been successfully demonstrated to purify Hj while pumping it against a high pressure. The technology can be applied 

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