Highly porous flame-retardant and sustainable biofoams based on wheat gluten and in situ polymerized silica

Abstract

Wheat gluten from ethanol production is presented as flame-retardant silica hybrid biofoams for insulation. The porosity of 90% and self-extinguishing nature make them an attractive alternative to petroleum-based foams.

Cellulose nanofibril core–shell silica coatings and their conversion into thermally stable nanotube aerogels

“…The ca. 5,51 The lower images show that the in-situ condensed silica particles, which entirely cover the cellulose nanofibrils, prevented their inter-condensation into sheet-like flats visible in Fig. Figure 5 shows that the hybrid silica/cellulose fibres could be formed into aerogels by simple freeze-drying, Fig 5a (right image).…”

“…From an engineering perspective, thermally stable CNFs could be used as filler for reinforcement in polymers processed at higher temperatures, but also in the development of porous and more heat resistant bio-based insulation materials [1][2][3][4][5][6] . From an engineering perspective, thermally stable CNFs could be used as filler for reinforcement in polymers processed at higher temperatures, but also in the development of porous and more heat resistant bio-based insulation materials [1][2][3][4][5][6] .…”

Mild gluten separation – A non-destructive approach to fine tune structure and mechanical behavior of wheat gluten films

“…The WG-based materials have demonstrated attractive functional properties, such as oxygen barrier for films and fire retardant and dripping resistance properties for foams (Blomfeldt et al, 2012;Ullsten et al, 2009;Wu et al, 2014). However, the WG-based materials have shown inferior mechanical properties compared to synthetic counterparts (Lagrain et al, 2010).…”

Structural Changes of Gluten/Glycerol Plastics under Dry and Moist Conditions and during Tensile Tests

“…Extensive investigations have enabled future use of bio-based polymeric materials in different applications 1 . For example, WG has been converted into useful engineering plastics with the good barrier properties [2][3][4] , flame retardation function 5 , foam properties 6 , environmental purification properties 7 and mechanical properties [8][9][10] . WG-based composites have also shown the potential as a substitute of synthetic polymers in packaging and construction areas.…”