Calcium Silicate Insulation Board & Pipe Section Production Line
Production lines for calcium silicate insulation board and pipe sections in 650 °C, 1,000 °C and 1,050 °C grades — from formulation and equipment to a running line, for manufacturers building their first plant or adding capacity.
Recent Project: Middle East Refractory Manufacturer
Pre-shipment inspection: presses and moulds for a calcium silicate line
What We Supplied
- Line 1: a complete calcium silicate insulation board line
- Line 2: 200 t pipe-section press, 500 t board press, custom moulds and an automatic demoulding machine
Every line is configured to your products (boards, pipe sections or both), target output and site. Send us your capacity target and we will propose a configuration.
Temperature Grades and Process Route
The service temperature of calcium silicate insulation is set by the mineral phase formed in the autoclave. Tobermorite-based products are rated up to 650 °C; xonotlite-based products up to 1,000 °C, and well-crystallised, high-purity xonotlite up to 1,050 °C. The grade you want decides the process route:
| Grade | Main mineral phase | Process route |
|---|---|---|
| 650 °C (standard grade) | Tobermorite | Static process: the slurry is cast into moulds and the calcium silicate forms in the autoclave |
| 1,000 °C (high-temperature grade) | Xonotlite | Dynamic process: a stirred pressure reactor first synthesises xonotlite slurry, which is then formed and autoclaved |
| 1,050 °C (high-temperature xonotlite) | High-purity xonotlite | Dynamic process — the line in our Middle East project makes board rated for 1,050 °C service |
A static-process line cannot make the 1,000 °C and 1,050 °C grades. If high-temperature products are in your plan, include the reactor section from the start, or at least the space and steam capacity for it.
Boards and pipe sections are made from the same slurry and formulation; only the presses and moulds differ, so pipe sections come in the same grades as board. Calcium silicate building board for partitions and ceilings is a different product made on a different line — see our calcium silicate and fibre cement building board line.
Production Process and Equipment
| Section | Main equipment and key parameters |
|---|---|
| A. Raw material preparation | Lime slaker; wet ball mill for quartz sand or other silica, with slurry tank and pump; fibre dispersing; silos, feeders and weighing. Crusher and lime kiln only if you burn your own lime. |
| B. Batching and slurry | Weighing tanks for lime milk, silica slurry and water; high-speed mixer; stirred storage tanks; PLC batching control with formulation management |
| C. Hydrothermal synthesis | Stirred pressure reactors that synthesise xonotlite slurry — needed for the 1,000 °C and 1,050 °C grades only |
| D. Forming | Board: filter press or hydraulic forming press, vacuum dewatering at −0.08 to −0.09 MPa, forming pressure 2.0–2.5 MPa, steel moulds and demoulding. Pipe sections: split steel moulds made to your drawings, optional extruder, bore lathe and green-body cutter. |
| E. Autoclave curing | Autoclaves, commonly 2 m in diameter and 21.5 m long, at about 1.2 MPa and 190 °C; autoclave cars and transfer equipment; steam boiler with header and condensate return |
| F. Drying | Tunnel dryer with hot-air furnace, fans and dryer cars |
| G. Finishing and packing | Board saws, edge grinding and chamfering, shaped-part machining for pipe sections, inspection and packing |
| H. Laboratory | Compression and flexural tester, thermal conductivity tester, drying oven and balance, high-temperature furnace for linear shrinkage |
| I. Utilities | Compressed air; bag filters at crushing, milling, lime slaking and the boiler; water recycling for slurry and press water |
In our Middle East line, boards are autoclaved at 190–200 °C for 6–20 hours, then dried with hot air at 100–180 °C to below 5% moisture. The full equipment list, section by section, is in our calcium silicate plant setup guide.
Raw Materials
Every formulation combines a silica source, a calcium source and reinforcing fibre: quartz sand or silica flour (or diatomite or silica fume), lime, and glass fibre or pulp. All the products are asbestos-free.
What differs from plant to plant is the purity, fineness and reactivity of the local silica and lime. They decide how the crystals develop in the hydrothermal reaction — and with them the density, thermal conductivity and linear shrinkage of the finished product. Send samples for testing before the line configuration is fixed: a raw material trial is far cheaper than changing a line after it is built.
If you buy quicklime, the line starts at the lime slaker. If you burn your own lime, add a crusher and a lime kiln.
Capacity, Site, Steam and Staffing
- Capacity. The single lines we coordinate typically range from 10,000 to 40,000 m³ a year. Output is set by the number of presses, moulds and cars in circulation and by autoclave capacity — not by the press rating alone.
- Reference line. Our Middle East line makes about 3,000 m³ a year, at the small end of the range. It occupies an 80 m × 12 m area, has 200 kW of installed power, runs with 4–5 operators, and circulates 300 mould frames on 20 trolleys.
- Steam. Reactors and autoclaves run on steam and the dryer on hot air. Size the boiler for every unit that draws steam at the same time; as a reference point, a 4 t/h gas-fired boiler serves a small line.
- Know-how. If you have not produced calcium silicate before, the formulation, autoclaving schedule and drying parameters matter as much as the machines. On our Middle East project we designed the process route, the formulation system and the autoclaving and drying parameters.
Product Standards: ASTM C533, EN 14306, GB/T 10699
- ASTM C533 (United States) covers calcium silicate block and pipe insulation for service up to 927 °C (1,700 °F).
- EN 14306 (Europe) covers calcium silicate boards, pipe sections and segments for building equipment and industrial installations, from −170 °C up to 1,100 °C.
- GB/T 10699 is the Chinese national standard for calcium silicate thermal insulation.
Grades rated at 1,000 °C and above are declared to EN 14306 or to the manufacturer’s own grade, not to ASTM C533. Industrial buyers ask for density, thermal conductivity, compressive and flexural strength and linear shrinkage, tested batch by batch — so plan the laboratory from day one.
Project Timeline
| Manufacturing | About 3 months from receipt of the deposit to shipment |
| Transport to site | Typically about 1 month, depending on destination |
| Installation and commissioning | At least three of our engineers on site at the start — electrical, mechanical and line coordination |
| Running-in | The formulation and parameters are fine-tuned on your raw materials; plan time and support for it |
On our Middle East project, line 1 was built from zero process know-how; the client later added a second line with a 200 t pipe-section press, a 500 t board press, custom moulds and automatic demoulding, and asked us to plan a third. Read the full case.
What to Send for a Quotation
- Products: board, pipe sections, or both
- Temperature grades: 650 °C, 1,000 °C, 1,050 °C
- Sizes: board thickness and dimensions; pipe-section diameters and wall thicknesses
- The product standard your customers specify
- Annual output target (m³ a year)
- Local raw materials (silica source, lime, fibre) with analysis reports, and whether you can send samples
- Lime route: buy quicklime, or burn your own
- Steam: existing boiler capacity, or the fuel available for a new boiler
- Power supply and site dimensions
- Destination country and target timeline
With your products, target output, temperature grade, project location and timeline we can start, and you receive a written sourcing report within 48 hours of a complete requirement brief.
Related: the calcium silicate and fibre cement building board line (a different product, for walls and ceilings) and all our building materials production lines.
One Partner from Formulation to Stable Production
- Process and formulation design
- Equipment selection and manufacturing follow-up
- Factory inspection before shipment
- Export documentation and freight
- On-site installation guidance, commissioning and process optimisation
- Live remote support, spare parts and ongoing process support
Frequently Asked Questions
We have no experience with calcium silicate. Can you still help?
Yes. Our Middle East client started with no process know-how for the product. We designed the formulation and process and brought the line to stable production.
Can you support us remotely?
Yes. Alongside on-site installation guidance, we provide live remote support for commissioning and process optimisation.
Can you add capacity to an existing plant?
Yes. For the same client we supplied a second line with new presses, moulds and automatic demoulding.
Static or dynamic process — which do we need?
The static process makes the 650 °C grade. The 1,000 °C and 1,050 °C grades need the dynamic process, with a stirred pressure reactor that synthesises xonotlite before forming. If high-temperature grades are in your plan, include the reactor section from the start.
Can one line make both board and pipe sections?
Yes. Both are made from the same slurry and formulation; you add the presses and moulds for each product. Pipe-section moulds are made to your drawings.
What is the price of a calcium silicate insulation line?
We do not publish prices, because they depend on products, grades, output, raw materials, steam supply and destination. Once we have your requirement brief, the written sourcing report compares configurations from different manufacturers.
What do you need to prepare a quotation?
Your products (boards, pipe sections or both), target annual output, temperature grade, project location and planned timeline. For the full planning sequence, see our calcium silicate plant setup guide.
Request a Calcium Silicate Line Proposal
Tell us your target output and site. We respond within one business day.
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