Production of cellulose aerogels from coir fibers via an alkali–urea method for sorption applications

Biodegradable cellulose aerogels have been successfully prepared from coir fibers using a sulfur-free method and NaOH–urea system. Sulfur was avoided during pretreatment because it is environmentally harmful. Interestingly, these pretreatments had a strong effect on the physical properties of the aerogels produced. Good physical properties of the cellulose aerogels were obtained when the Kappa number, i.e., the lignin content, in the pulp was...