The advent of Carbon bearing refractories with high thermal conductivity in order to achieve high hot strength and reduced thermal stress has also led to the increased use of insulation materials as back-up lining in order to reduce the loss of energy in absolute terms. These materials also need to stand a much higher temperature than the conventional insulating materials. The ceramic fibre based materials are available in various forms and sizes, for the convenience of modern applications, namely blanket; paper; board; and bulk fibre .

Insulating blankets are used in the ceramic, chemical processing; glass and metals industries in a wide variety of insulating and heat protection applications. These products are lightweight and flexible consisting of fibres interlocked to form a strong, resilient material. They are extremely efficient insulators, with low heat storage capacity and complete resistance to thermal shock. A strong, lightweight double needled blanket has application temperature of 1260⁰C. A high alumina material can be used till 1200⁰C providing excellent handling qualities in both hot and cold states. A zircon blanket is suitable for continuous use at elevated temperatures. This blanket is made from high purity raw materials with a very low shrinkage characteristic.

Insulating papers have very good strength and flexibility, and superior insulating and handling characteristics. These ceramic fibre based products can be easily trimmed, shaped and fitted to cover irregular shapes using ordinary hand scissors. In the metals industries, it has found increased use, in the equipments where volume availability is matter of concern and directly affect the plant productivity. As regards to steel industry, it has become the preferred choice in ladle and tundish back-up. Its maximum application temperature has been 1250⁰C.

Insulating board has low permeability, low thermal conductivity and high temperature stability. These boards have excellent resistance to thermal shock, have good strength and rigidity and are easy to install. This insulation is low density product with uniform density across its entire thickness and ideal for thermal areas subject to vibration or mechanical stress. Its maximum application temperature has been 1350⁰C. It has got good acceptance as ladle back-up lining in Iron & Steel industry.

Bulk fibre insulation is a soft, fluffy material, which provides superior resilience and ease of compression in insulating and maintenance applications. It is used as a high temperature fill or packing material in a variety of high temperature applications.