Gellan aerogel production applying supercritical technology

Abstract

Aerogels are materials with an open porous, low density and high surface area, which make them an interesting material to carry target compounds. The proposal of this work was to produce gellan aerogels and to study the effect of the diffusion method and internal setting method, the temperature of the gellan pre-treatment, and the addition of inulin on the aerogel shrinkage during the process. The aerogels were produced through hydrogel formulation, solvent exchange to obtain alcogel, and supercritical drying with carbon dioxide. The addition of inulin has reduced the shrinkage, but gelling methods to avoid the inulin loss must be studied, as the oil containing the gelling agent.