Abstract
This work presents for the first time, a simple, practical and scalable approach to fabricating recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) aerogels for thermal and acoustic insulation applications. The rPET aerogels were successfully developed from recycled PET fibers and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and glutaraldehyde (GA) cross-linkers using a freeze-drying process. The effects of various PET fiber concentrations (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 by wt.%), fiber deniers (3D, 7D and 15D) and fiber lengths (32 mm and 64 mm) on the rPET aerogel structures and multi-properties were comprehensively investigated. The developed rPET aerogels showed a highly porous network structure (98.3–99.5%), ultra-low densities (0.007–0.026 g/cm3), hydrophobicity with water contact angles of 120.7–149.8°, and high elasticity with low compressive Young’s modulus (1.16–2.87 kPa). They exhibited superior thermal insulation capability with low thermal conductivities of 0.035–0.038 W/m.K, which are highly competitive with recycled cellulose and silica-cellulose aerogels and better than mineral wool and polystyrene. The acoustic absorption results were also found to outperform a commercial acoustic foam absorber across a range of frequencies.
Highlights
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been popularly used to produce disposable soft drink bottles since the 1980s; more than 700 million pounds of PET were consumed in 1987 and this number has quickly exploded [1]
The recycled polyethylene terephthalate (rPET) aerogels were offabricated through hydrogen and ester bonds formed between polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)
Aerogels were hydrogen esterfrom bonds formed between polyvinyl linkers
Summary
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) has been popularly used to produce disposable soft drink bottles since the 1980s; more than 700 million pounds of PET were consumed in 1987 and this number has quickly exploded [1]. Almost all plastic wastes are toxic and pose a direct hazard to the environment. They are seen as noxious materials due to their substantial fraction by volume in the waste stream. Due their high resistance to atmospheric and biological agents, plastic waste is considered as non-biodegradable [2]. Most plastic, including PET can take up to hundreds to years to decompose, and usually end up in oceans and landfills. 6300 million tons of plastic waste were generated in 2015 but alarmingly, only 9%
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