(187a) Packing, Fluidization, and Other Applications of Cabot Nanogel®

Nanogel®, a product manufactured by Cabot Corporation, is a unique form of highly porous silica aerogel. Cabot aerogel particles are large in size (10 microns up to 3 millimeters), yet they contain a unique microstructure of nano sized holes or pores. Their high surface area, large pore volume, and low bulk density provide performance advantages in a variety of applications. The pore sizes are smaller than the mean free path of air and thus prevent gas phase conductivity, and the porous structure also slows down the speed of sound in air, thus reducing noise. Therefore nanogels are the lightest weight and best insulating solids in the world. Nanogels are also hydrophobic and have a very large affinity for oil droplets so that they can be used to clean-up oily wastewater and oil spills. In addition, because of their unique pore structure and large surface area they appear to be an ideal filter media for removing airborne oil droplets and other airborne organic pollutants. In this talk, I will describe some new technologies which we have developed based on using Nanogel®.