Upcycling metal waste into multi-purpose aerogels

[This article first appeared on NUS Engineering.]

Metals are some of the most widely used materials in the world, found in everything from cookware to computers. Every day metal waste is produced, from scrap metal in manufacturing to metal content in discarded old electronics.

As a step towards mitigating the environmental impact of metal waste, a research team at NUS Engineering led by Associate Professor Duong Hai-Minh (Mechanical Engineering) has demonstrated a new eco-friendly technique to convert aluminium and magnesium waste into high-value aerogels with many applications. Their upcycling technique can potentially be extended to all types of metal waste in powder form.

“Our approach is cheaper, does not produce any hazardous waste, consumes less energy and is more environmentally-friendly than conventional recycling methods for metal waste,” says Prof Duong, who has previously produced aerogels from coffee grounds, scrap rubber, pineapple leaves, and other waste materials.

Like other forms of aerogels, these metal aerogels are effective heat and sound insulators, but also have a range of other properties and possible applications.

By incorporating optical fibres into the aerogel recipe, they have also made translucent aluminium aerogel that is six times lighter and 120 times cheaper than translucent concrete (LiTraCon).

And they are looking into possible biomedical applications for the aluminium aerogels as microcarriers – micro-sized beads for cells to grow on.

Read more about the team’s metal aerogels and their potential uses at NUS News

Asst Prof Shin Sunmi named among Nanoscale 2023 Emerging Investigators

Assistant Professor Shin Sunmi has been named among the Nanoscale 2023 Emerging Investigators by the journal Nanoscale, highlighting rising stars of nanoscience and nanotechnology research. Her paper, Enhanced far-field coherent thermal emission using mid-infrared bilayer metasurfaces, was featured by the journal in a themed collection of research contributions highlighting “the very best work from researchers in the early stages of

[Business Times] Engineering Singapore’s green future

Countries have pledged zero emissions by 2050 but the means to get there are vague. Businesses need specific details on the decarbonisation of economies to align their own strategies, to raise and make investments, and to participate with impact. To read the full article by Professor Seeram Ramakrishna and Dalson Chung: Engineering Singapore’s green future

[Straits Times] Smart recycling boxes that reward residents for sorting waste have cut contamination rate

A trial in Bishan and Sin Ming to collect recyclables using smart boxes has managed to cut the contamination rate of their contents to just 5 per cent – far lower than the national average of 40 per cent. Professor Seeram Ramakrishna (NUS Mechanical Engineering), who chairs the Circular Economy Taskforce at the National University