Basalt is stronger than glass fibers (made from silica / quartz / sand), but not as strong as carbon fiber. Also, its more expensive than glass, but less expensive than carbon. Generally considered eco friendly.
Interestingly where carbon fiber's failure mode is instant, failing catastrophically (like say chalk), basalt will be more gradual (like say wood), in some use cases that's an advantage.
Overall though its still not mass produced, uncertain if it will ever reach scale.
If interested in fibers and composites, the YouTube channel Easy Composites is really interesting / educational. For example you can use flax fiber.
It also has one very interesting property that carbon fiber doesn't: it's not conductive. This means, for example, that you can put it in an MRI machine and get signal back. You can't do that with carbon fiber, which shields the return RF signals and gives you a dark image, but doesn't damage anything. Basalt weave composites are basically completely transparent on an MRI.
(For the same reasons, it also can be microwaved successfully. Carbon fiber can not be microwaved. Do not microwave real carbon fiber or carbon fiber composites.)
> Interestingly where carbon fiber's failure mode is instant, failing catastrophically (like say chalk), basalt will be more gradual (like say wood), in some use cases that's an advantage.
So, should we use it to make a submarine to visit the Titanic?
Price performance. If the failure mode is slow, then my sport (rowing) could love this for cheaper boat construction which is stronger than fibreglass but cheaper than carbon fibre. I imagine surfboards and kayaks could work too.
Exactly this. I make kayaks and basalt would be the perfect middle ground between FG and carbon where the boat will get dinged up in rivers. Unfortunately its nearly impossible to obtain in small quantities for a hobbyist.
In addition to what sibling posts say, basalt is certainly abundant. Per Wikipedia, 90% of volcanic rock on earth is basalt. We're not going to run out of it.
I can imagine (I have no clue about this, I just watch manufacturing videos) that this is easier to mass produce. A less refined version of this is used to make Rockwool, an insulation material similar to fiber glass. Melt the stuff, extrude it, ????, profit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6FWPTZjwLo
See uses here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basalt_fiber
I am no material scientist, so cannot comment on actual facts why it might be better in specific cases than Kevlar, Dyneema or Carbon. But from experience there's a lot I don't know and especially in engineering there's a lot to consider when putting materials under stressful conditions that might put this in in a specific spot superior to those mentioned above.
Each material has its own issues. Kevlar is very difficult to work with (need special scissors to cut and you can't sand the finished product), Dyneema is sensitive to UV degradation. Carbon is $$$. Basalt sounds like the sweet spot for some of my applications but afaict it can't be purchased by the yard like most materials so is essentially unobtainium to a hobbyist who can't afford a $1k or so roll of material.
"I don't see why" has never been the bar for scientific advancement, fortunately. "Someone is curious" is sufficient, and "Someone involved sees potential" provides funding.
Seriously, how much else of the world's technology would you summarily do away with, because you simply don't see the point?
