Zirconium oxide fibres

Two major developments have occurred in sheet manufacture. The first relates to concern about the carcinogenic properties of certain types of asbestos. In Britain, although most wines and spirits are now filtered through sheets free of asbestos, such replacement has been slower in the case of beers. Alternatives to charged asbestos fibres include aluminium oxide fibres and zirconium oxide fibres. A second development has been the incorporation of insoluble polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVPP) into the sheet material which adsorbs phenolic materials from the beer, especially the tannin materials associated with beer haze. The PVPP can be regenerated by washing the sheet in a 0-5 % solution of sodium hydroxide at ambient temperatures. 

Romualdi first proposed fibres as dispersed reinforcement for concrete in his two papers in 1963 and 1964. Later on, Biryukovichs proposed the employment of glass fibres into concrete, which were originally not resistant and durable in the highly alkaline Portland cement paste. It was Majumdar and Ryder (1968) who invented the alkali-resistant (AR) glass fibres with the addition of zirconium oxide (Brandt, 2008). 

Zirconium, magnesium oxide or iron oxide can be used as particulate fillers in the molten polymer for producing heat generating polyester, polyamide, polyethylene, polypropylene and other functional fibres. 

The pyrotechnic paper or heat paper supplies the thermal energy to elevate the thermal battery cell to operating temperatures. The pad consists of a ceramic fibre paper, which acts as a binder/carrier for a slurry of zirconium metal fuel and barium chromate oxidant. The paper is extremely fast burning, making it ideal for a fast activation cell. Because the remaining ash of the heat pad is electrically non-conductive, it is necessary to provide a means for series intercell connection. 

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