Microstructure and filtration performance of konjac glucomannan-based aerogels strengthened by wheat straw

This study presents the preparation and measurement of a novel environmentally friendly konjac glucomannan (KGM)-based composite aerogels enhanced with wheat straw (WS) via a sol-gel and freeze-drying progress. With the addition of WS, the porosity of aerogels could be increased from 50 to 88.13%, the filtration resistance of aerogels could be reduced from 500 to 205 Pa, and the filtration efficiency could be improved to 90.38%. The addition of WS also enhances the mechanical properties of composite aerogels with compression modulus of 2000.66 Pa, compressive strength of 501.56 Pa and elasticity of 0.603. The results demonstrate the high potential of KGM-based composite aerogels enhanced with WS for applications in air filtering.