Scientists Turn Paper Waste Into Aerogel (inhabitat.com)

Kristine Lofgren writes: A team of scientists have successfully turned paper waste into aerogel. Aerogels are used in insulation, and they are usually made out of polymers and silica. But a research team at the National University of Singapore managed to make the highly sought-after product using recycled paper, which could have huge implications not only for the rate at which we are filling up our landfills, but also for the amount of chemicals that we are producing and releasing into the environment.

Comments

Re:fire!

[Immerman]

I would have thought similarly, but Wikipedia says otherwise (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerogel). Perhaps a flame-front can't advance fast enough through a rigid structure?

Heat cannot spread through aerogels quickly, nor can the expanding hot air front spread further into the fuel, so I'm guessing only the outermost surface can be thermally catalyzed, and thanks to their incredibly low density there's not going to be a lot of other fuel within range of a burning molecule to absorb the energy before convection carries it away from the surface.