PENOIZOL EQUIPMENT: PENA 2000 Foam Generating Units

2000 type units do not have conventional foam generators. Foam is produced inside an expandable ten-meter long hose. The volume of foam is twice as much as can be produced by a foam generator from the same amount of material.

Running a foam generator means everyday clogging problems, since the component flows always begin blocking each other in case of a slightest pressure drop. In the “no foam generator” system of a PENA 2000 unit, each component flows strictly in the determined direction, so even if any of the pumps or air is disconnected none of the components will flow into wrong cavities. Thus, a PENA 2000 unit’s design completely excludes any overflows, channels blocking each other, choking, or other similar problems.

The resin flow rate (12 to 35 kg/m3) is preset before the equipment is started and remains unchanged throughout the operation. The selected resin flow rate determines the 1m3 casting time (10 to 6 minutes) and the density of the end-product.

The unit is very easy to operate and has only two air cocks. When in operation, the 1st cock is always opened and the 2nd cock is shut; to stop casting, the 1st cock must be closed and the 2nd cock must be opened, respectively. It does not matter which of the pumps is started or shut down first, or which cock position is changed first. When stopping the operation, it is NOT necessary to shut off the air, NO overflow will happen.

The foam jet is even and smooth from the very beginning. The casting hose may jerk only if the 2nd cock is in a wrong position. The unit operator does not have to think, guess or try to feel the best cock position; it is preset and does not change.

The unit can be washed through both channels. The solution pump can be washed separately from the resin pump (which largely extends its service life, because when the pump is clean it cannot be harmed by orthophosphoric acid). One can choose to wash the casting sleeve only or simultaneously the casting sleeve and one or both channels of the unit.

The components (resin, solution, and air) flow separately from each other before they are mixed in a standalone agitator. The agitator is designed is such a way that when the flows join together, all the components’ speed vectors coincide, which helps avoid suppression of foam by resin and, therefore, results in a greater volume of the product.

The hose length is 10 meters between the unit and the agitator and 6 meters between the agitator and the casting site.
The required air supply rate is 500 liters per minute, and the air pressure can be varied within the range from 2 to 4 atmospheres.

The unit is specially designed in such a manner that no pipes are located directly above the electrical pumps to avoid even the slightest possibility of contact between the liquids and the wiring.

The Penoizol manufacturing process has two options: the liquid jelly-like plastic foam can be either cast into molds (to manufacture precast sheets) or cast directly into cavities (in situ).

The Penoizol sheet manufacturing procedure consists of several process stages.

At the first stage, the UF foam compound is cast into molds.

The second stage is conditioning in the molds for 3 or 4 hours, which is necessary for final resin polymerization and foam setting. At this stage, the material can shrink by as much as 3% inside the mold. Then the mold walls are removed and the conditioning continues for another 3 or 4 hours, during which the moisture is drained and primary drying takes place.

During the next phase, the blocks are cut to make the drying faster and to increase the mold and production area turnover. Penoizol can be cut with any sharp tool, including unheated wire. The dimensions and thickness of the blocks can be easily controlled. The final drying is done on racks where air is supplied to all sides of the product, and the duration of this stage depends on the room temperature, humidity, ventilation, and the foam block dimensions.

Penoizol can be easily processed into crumbs and packaged to be later used as fill insulation. Thus, Penoizol production is waste-free.

Casting Penoizol into cavities.

The other Penoizol manufacturing process is in-situ casting of the jelly-like compound directly into building structures. In-situ UF foam has a better heat insulating performance than prefabricated sheets because it helps avoid the heat loss that occurs through numerous cold joints (cavities, void pockets or air gaps that appear when the sheets do not adhere firmly to each other or to the load-bearing frame).

The on-site casting of Penoizol provides a means to save more electric power, fuel, and component and transportation costs than the sheet prefabrication. It also increases the heat-transfer resistance of a carrying wall by 10 or 15% on average.

The possibility to cast Penoizol directly on a building site makes is a really unique material, since no other thermal insulant is workable enough to fill the entire volume of any cavity and to ensure a reliable thermal protection of bearing structures.

Penoizol can be conveniently cast into internal cavities of walls during renovation of old buildings; it becomes unnecessary to demolish the brickwork or remove the wood casing. In addition, the low density of UF foam minimizes the incremental load on the time-worn bearing structures of old buildings.