ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Hybrid silica-cellulose aerogel as a robust sound insulation composite derived from geothermal powerplant solid waste

S. Silviana, Riska Anggini Putri, Amanda Apriliyani, Eko Putra Bayu, Revina Nurrahmi, Ferry Hermawan, Tonni Agustiono Kurniawan, and Febio Dalanta

Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Diponegoro University, Tembalang, Semarang, Indonesia

E-mail: silviana@che.undip.ac.id

Received: 28 February 2024  Accepted: 16 June 2024

Abstract:

This study explores a novel approach to produce silica-cellulose aerogel from geothermal solid waste and newspaper trash for enhanced sound insulation applications. The silica-cellulose aerogel composite was synthesized by using cellulose as the matrix and impregnating it with silica particles through a sol–gel process involving sodium silicate and hydrochloric acid (HCl), followed by solidification using freeze drying. Through central composite experimental design (CCD) with 13 runs, the study optimized the formulation, examining the effects of HCl, silica, and cellulose content on the resulting cellulose aerogel and silica-cellulose aerogel. The developed empirical model signifies that it can be seen that the single component factors and their linear interaction significantly influence the sound absorption coefficient (SAC) positively, while higher-order interaction terms of quadratic and cubic interactions contribute negatively on SAC values. Response surface plots revealed that optimized HCl, silica, and cellulose content significantly influenced SAC. The embedded silica in the aerogel improved physical, chemical, mechanical, and thermal stability, enhancing its functionality for the acoustic insulation material. The optimized formulation was found by applying 34.35%w cellulose, 2 M HCl, and 5.26% silica, achieved the highest SAC of 0.9837 with a desirability score of one. Validation experiment confirmed a SAC of 0.9785, suggesting the model accurately predicts actual SAC values (error = 0.53%), affirming the potential of the silica-cellulose aerogel as an effective acoustic insulation material.

Keywords: Sound absorber; Aerogel materials; Silica; Polymer composite; Waste management

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-024-03574-4

Chemical Papers 78 (12) 6901–6912 (2024)