Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction
A large quantity of coal fly ash is generated worldwide from thermal power plants, causing a serious environmental threat owing to disposal and storage problems. In this work, for the first time, coal fly ash is converted into advanced and novel aerogel fibers and high-purity α-Al<sub>2</su...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Molecules |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/24/7978 |
| _version_ | 1797379894064185344 |
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| author | Jie Gu Lipeng Liu Rongrong Zhu Qiqi Song Hanqing Yu Pengjie Jiang Changqing Miao Yuxiang Du Rui Fu Yaxiong Wang Yan Hao Huazheng Sai |
| author_facet | Jie Gu Lipeng Liu Rongrong Zhu Qiqi Song Hanqing Yu Pengjie Jiang Changqing Miao Yuxiang Du Rui Fu Yaxiong Wang Yan Hao Huazheng Sai |
| author_sort | Jie Gu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A large quantity of coal fly ash is generated worldwide from thermal power plants, causing a serious environmental threat owing to disposal and storage problems. In this work, for the first time, coal fly ash is converted into advanced and novel aerogel fibers and high-purity α-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>. Silica–bacterial cellulose composite aerogel fibers (CAFs) were synthesized using an in situ sol-gel process under ambient pressure drying. Due to the unique “nanoscale interpenetrating network” (IPN) structure, the CAFs showed wonderful mechanical properties with an optimum tensile strength of 5.0 MPa at an ultimate elongation of 5.8%. Furthermore, CAFs with a high porosity (91.8%) and high specific surface area (588.75 m<sup>2</sup>/g) can inherit advanced features, including excellent thermal insulation, stability over a wide temperature range, and hydrophobicity (contact angle of approximately 144°). Additionally, Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was simultaneously extracted from the coal fly ash to ensure that the coal fly ash was fully exploited. Overall, low-cost woven CAFs fabrics are suitable for wearable applications and offer a great approach to comprehensively use coal fly ash to address environmental threats. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:29:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-152839f24c3d4493b95e12c11ddaf80b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1420-3049 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:29:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Molecules |
| spelling | doaj.art-152839f24c3d4493b95e12c11ddaf80b2023-12-22T14:27:16ZengMDPI AGMolecules1420-30492023-12-012824797810.3390/molecules28247978Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> ExtractionJie Gu0Lipeng Liu1Rongrong Zhu2Qiqi Song3Hanqing Yu4Pengjie Jiang5Changqing Miao6Yuxiang Du7Rui Fu8Yaxiong Wang9Yan Hao10Huazheng Sai11School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaSchool of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Inner Mongolia University of Science & Technology, Baotou 014010, ChinaA large quantity of coal fly ash is generated worldwide from thermal power plants, causing a serious environmental threat owing to disposal and storage problems. In this work, for the first time, coal fly ash is converted into advanced and novel aerogel fibers and high-purity α-Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>. Silica–bacterial cellulose composite aerogel fibers (CAFs) were synthesized using an in situ sol-gel process under ambient pressure drying. Due to the unique “nanoscale interpenetrating network” (IPN) structure, the CAFs showed wonderful mechanical properties with an optimum tensile strength of 5.0 MPa at an ultimate elongation of 5.8%. Furthermore, CAFs with a high porosity (91.8%) and high specific surface area (588.75 m<sup>2</sup>/g) can inherit advanced features, including excellent thermal insulation, stability over a wide temperature range, and hydrophobicity (contact angle of approximately 144°). Additionally, Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> was simultaneously extracted from the coal fly ash to ensure that the coal fly ash was fully exploited. Overall, low-cost woven CAFs fabrics are suitable for wearable applications and offer a great approach to comprehensively use coal fly ash to address environmental threats.https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/24/7978silica aerogel fibercoal fly ashbacterial cellulosehigh strengththermal insulationAl<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> |
| spellingShingle | Jie Gu Lipeng Liu Rongrong Zhu Qiqi Song Hanqing Yu Pengjie Jiang Changqing Miao Yuxiang Du Rui Fu Yaxiong Wang Yan Hao Huazheng Sai Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction Molecules silica aerogel fiber coal fly ash bacterial cellulose high strength thermal insulation Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> |
| title | Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction |
| title_full | Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction |
| title_fullStr | Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction |
| title_full_unstemmed | Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction |
| title_short | Recycling Coal Fly Ash for Super-Thermal-Insulating Aerogel Fiber Preparation with Simultaneous Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> Extraction |
| title_sort | recycling coal fly ash for super thermal insulating aerogel fiber preparation with simultaneous al sub 2 sub o sub 3 sub extraction |
| topic | silica aerogel fiber coal fly ash bacterial cellulose high strength thermal insulation Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/28/24/7978 |
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