KINETICS EXPERIMENT

First, through a major grant from the Scalable Nanomanufacturing (SNM) program in collaboration with the Missouri University of Science and Technology (MUS&T) and Aerogel Technologies, we are developing a fundamental understanding of the transport phenomena during supercritical carbon dioxide-based drying of aerogels and technologies to accelerate it. To this end, we are measuring key thermophysical properties (density, viscosity, Soret diffusion coefficient, thermal diffusion coefficient and molecular diffusion coefficient) of the alcohol-carbon dioxide mixtures found inside aerogels while dried at supercritical conditions, as well as the permeability of the skeleton of the gel. Secondly, we are developing a comprehensive model of the kinetics of drying. Finally, we are measuring the kinetics of drying to validate our model.