Biomass-based antimicrobial cellulose aerogels as an alternative to plastic materials and theoretical studies of gel formation

Abstract

Cellulose aerogels are polysaccharide-based materials with high potential to become a novel, sustainable thermal insulation and filter material. The fact that cellulose is a component commonly found in biomass, gives great potential to develop sustainable process and materials with exceptional physical properties. The aim of the presented research is the exploitation of agricultural lignocellulosic residues to develop cellulose aerogels for several applications as an alternative to current fossil-based plastic materials. The project “GelSus” focuses on the production of cellulose aerogels with antimicrobial properties for sustainable food-packaging, filters and thermal insulation, whereas project “PISA” focuses on the pilot scale production of cellulose aerogels to be used as a sustainable thermal insulation in buildings. The objectives include the extraction of the cellulose from the lignocellulosic biomass with an alkali-based process and the synthesis of the cellulose aerogels, using the sodium hydroxide-urea approach to generate the cellulose solution. Additionally, material models for cellulose aerogels are developed from atomic to product scale. Furthermore, the modification of the cellulose aerogels is studied, to make them more resistant against bacteria resulting in a longer service life of these cellulose aerogels. The obtained results indicate significant potential of cellulose aerogels as novel, sustainable thermal insulation with good antimicrobial properties. Good agreement of experimental and numerical observations was proven, indicating clear potential of the developed numerical approach for virtual representation of the chosen biopolymer-based aerogel system.