Study on adsorption of plant polysaccharide aerogels

Plant polysaccharide aerogels were prepared with konjac glucomannan, potato starch, carrageenan, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, pectin, sodium alginate, agar and glycerin by sol-gel and freeze-drying methods. Mechanical properties, microstructure, specific surface area and pore size, as well as adsorption of aerogels to total particular matter, tar, nicotine and CO in fumes model were determined. According to the multiple actors in orthogonal experiment, the optimal formula of plant polysaccharide aerogels was as follow: konjac glucomannan 0.3%, potato starch 5%, glycerin 2%, carrageenan 0.3%, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose 1.4%, agar 0.4%, sodium alginate 0.5% and pectin 0.5%. Plant polysaccharide aerogels possessed specific surface area of 1.338 m2/g, average pore size of 25.6 μm and uniform pore size distribution. Plant polysaccharide aerogels were applied to filter fumes, compared with cellulose acetate filter, which increased the reduction rate of total particle matter ( increased by 13.6%) , tar ( increased by 12.7%) , CO ( increased by 11.3%) of flumes, nicotine ( increased by 17.3%) .In addition, they possessed excellent biodegradability.