Recycled Cellulose Aerogels from Paper Waste for a Heat Insulation Design of Canteen Bottles

• Main Authors: Lim Wen Zhen, Quoc B. Thai, Thanh X. Nguyen, Duyen K. Le, Jason Kai Wei Lee, Yee Qing Xiang, Hai M. Duong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2019-09-01
• Series: Fluids
• Subjects: cellulose aerogel; heat insulation; water canteen bottle; dynamic movement
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2311-5521/4/3/174

Exercising in a tropical climate with constant high temperatures and high humidity increases the risk of heatstroke for active people who frequently train outdoors. For these active persons, a cooling source of water nearby can be essential, and this is usually carried in canteen bottles. However, commercially available water canteen bottles have limited thermal insulation capability to keep the liquid content cooled for the required period. This work proposed an engineering solution to enhance the heat insulation performance of water canteen bottles, using recycled cellulose aerogels made from paper waste for the first time as an insulating layer. Recycled cellulose aerogels wrapped around the water canteen bottle provides excellent thermal insulation performance, while not adding significant weight to the bottle. The temperature of the ice slurry in the canteen bottle was measured periodically over four hours with a mercury thermometer. The effects of the static and dynamic conditions on the temperature rate were also quantified. A 1.5 cm thickness of 1.0 wt.% recycled cellulose aerogel wrapped around the canteen bottle can provide an excellent thermal insulation performance with the lowest rise in temperature, achieving a low final temperature of the ice slurry content of 3.5 °C after 4 h. This result is much better than that provided by available commercial bottles under the same conditions.