Environmental Applications for Aerogels

This chapter discusses the emerging and promising field of environmental applications of aerogels. Due to their large pore volume, specific surface area, and diverse range of tailorable solid-phase and surface chemistries, aerogel materials are interesting candidates for addressing many challenging environmental remediation objectives. Herein we review the use of silicate, non-silicate, and allophane-clay-based aerogels in several challenging environmental remediation applications including the removal of air pollutants, water remediation, oil spill reclamation, heavy metal capture, CO2 sequestration, trapping of pesticides, immobilization of nuclear waste, and capture of orbital space debris.