Aerogels from paper waste to improve oil spill cleaning

Scientists from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed biodegradable, flexible, water repellent, non-toxic, ultralight and extremely strong cellulose aerogels from waste paper. These aerogels are useful for oil spill cleaning apart from packaging and heat insulation. The MTMS (Trimethoxy-methylsilane) coated cellulose aerogels display high oil absorption properties while repelling the water molecules. The aerogels can absorb oil up to 90 times of their dry weight, which is four times more as compared to the commercially available oil sorbents in the market. In addition, from recovery point of view, these aerogels can be squeezed to recover more than 99% of the absorbed oil.