Integrated process for production of bio-based aerogels

本文提出了一种快速高效生产有机气凝胶的新方法。它是基于在凝胶形成的所有步骤中使用二氧化碳。主要目的是研究在高压下二氧化碳存在下，有机凝胶的溶剂交换和凝胶化过程加速的机制，从而使气凝胶具有不同寻常的结构性质和非常低的导热性。对这些机制的理解将有助于将压力下的快速溶剂交换和二氧化碳诱导凝胶化整合到生物基有机凝胶的生产中。该工艺可以显著缩短整个工艺时间，从而使气凝胶的结构性能与目前的技术水平相当或更好。

In this proposal a new approach towards fast and efficient production of organic aerogels is suggested. It is based on the use of carbon dioxide in all steps of the gel formation. The main objective is to investigate the mechanisms resulting in the accelerated solvent exchange and gelation process of organic gels in presence of carbon dioxide at elevated pressure, which results in the aerogels with unusual textural properties and very low thermal conductivity. The understanding of these mechanisms should enable the integration of the fast solvent exchange under pressure and CO2-induced gelation into the production of the bio-based organic gels. This process should allow significant shortening of the overall process time resulting in aerogels with the structural properties comparable or better than the state of the art.