Aerogel Made From Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles could get a new purpose after they served you your drink. We can make aerogel that is light, porous, flexible and durable from them.

The world is full of plastic waste. And recycling it into something that is useful isn’t that easy. But an interesting option has been developed by experts from the National University of Singapore (NUS). They developed a cheap process that allows us to transform them into a useful aerogel.

These material scientists created their new aerogel from the commonly used polyethylene terephthalate (PET). They cut the bottles into thin fibers that they covered with a layer of silicon dioxide. After that, a complex process follows that includes chemical treatment of the fibers, their swelling and their drying in the end.

The result is a light, porous, flexible and durable aerogel. This is the first aerogel made from PET plastics. The uses are plentiful as well. It could be used to absorb petroleum and it could potentially do it up to seven time more effectively than other commercially available absorbents. Another usage could be for heat and acoustic isolation. And yet another option could be to use it in combination with a certain amino-group turning the aerogel into a filter that catches dush and carbon dioxide.

And one of the most interesting potential uses of the aerogel could be protective isolation of fireman suits. In this case the aerogel would be covered with materials that slow burning and it could survive temperatures of up to 620° C. But compared to currently used materials it would weight ten times less. Now the experts only need an industrial partner to allow them to transform PET bottles into aerogel. But that hopefully won’t be that hard.

Sources:

• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0927775718306848
• https://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/2018/from-plastic-waste-to-ultralight-pet-aerogel-with-wide-ranging-applications/attachment/pet-aerogel/

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