---
title: "NUS Scientists Turn Carbon Composite Waste into Aerogel for Thermal Insulation and Oil Spill Cleanup"
description: "NUS researchers turned carbon composite waste into an aerogel with 91–94% porosity, suitable for thermal insulation, sound absorption, and oil spill cleanup. The work was published in Waste Management."
date: 2026-08-23T11:53:45.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/nus-aerogel-carbon-composite-waste-recycling
tags: [nus, carbon-fiber, epoxy-composite, aerogel, waste-management, recycling, singapore, thermal-insulation, oil-spill]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# NUS Scientists Turn Carbon Composite Waste into Aerogel for Thermal Insulation and Oil Spill Cleanup

![Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in lab coats examining a sample of aerogel made from carbon composite waste](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/23/nus-aerogel-uglerodnye-kompozity-pererabotka/nus-aerogel-uglerodnye-kompozity-pererabotka-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The NUS team developed a method for recycling carbon composite waste into aerogel without separating the fibre and resin
- The aerogel is 91–94% air voids and exhibits thermal insulation, sound-absorbing, and sorption properties
- The material showed the ability to absorb oil while having low water absorption, which is promising for spill cleanup
- Tests on fibroblast cells revealed no toxicity; the group is seeking industrial partners for scaling up

A team of researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a method for recycling hard-to-dispose composite waste — mixtures of carbon fibre and epoxy resin — into a lightweight, porous aerogel with a wide range of practical applications. The work was carried out by graduate student Phan Ngo Minh Quang under the supervision of Associate Professor Dr. Duong Minh Hai from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the NUS School of Design and Engineering, with the participation of researchers from Singapore, Vietnam, and China. The results were published on 29 June in the peer-reviewed scientific journal *Waste Management*. In the photo from the NUS laboratory, the researchers are showing off a finished sample of the aerogel — a dark, round disc held in a glove.

### A problem that grows every year

Carbon fibre and epoxy resin composites have become the standard in the aerospace industry, wind turbine manufacturing, and modern automotive and shipbuilding — anywhere that a combination of high strength and minimal weight is critical. However, at the end of their service life, these structures reach a dead end: unlike thermoplastic resins, epoxy resin, once cured, is virtually impossible to remelt and re-form. Existing technologies mainly extract the valuable carbon fibre, while the epoxy matrix is destroyed, sent to landfills, or used to produce low-value products. Alternative methods — pyrolytic, chemical, or thermal — require extreme temperatures, aggressive reagents, or large energy inputs, making them economically and environmentally questionable on an industrial recycling scale.

### The “whole thing” approach: from powder to aerogel

Associate Professor Dr. Duong Minh Hai’s research group consciously rejected the strategy of separating the components. Instead of extracting the fibres and discarding the resin, the team proposed using the composite in its entirety. The waste is ground into a fine powder and short fibrous fragments, which are then mixed with carboxymethyl cellulose — a cellulose-based binder. The resulting suspension is subjected to lyophilization (freeze-drying under vacuum), which forms an aerogel: an ultra-light, highly porous material in which, according to the publication, 91–94% of the volume is made up of air-filled voids. It is precisely this structure that determines the key functional properties of the finished product.

### Three application areas and safety testing

Testing showed that the aerogel has pronounced thermal insulation and sound-absorbing properties, opening the way to its use in building and engineering structures to reduce heat transfer and noise pollution. A separate block of experiments focused on sorption properties: after surface treatment to limit water permeability, the material absorbed a significant amount of oil while exhibiting extremely low water absorption. This property makes the aerogel potentially suitable for oil spill cleanup and the separation of oil emulsions. Cytotoxicity tests on fibroblast cells revealed no toxic effect of the material under experimental conditions, which, in the authors’ assessment, allows safety assessment in contact with humans and the environment to continue.

### Scaling up and searching for partners

“Advanced composite materials have made it possible to create lighter and more efficient structures in many industrial sectors. The next step is to ensure the sustainable use of these materials at the end of their life cycle,” emphasized Associate Professor Dr. Duong Minh Hai. The group is currently actively seeking partners in the aerospace industry, advanced materials, manufacturing, and waste management. The priority tasks for the near term are scaling up the technology, as well as a comprehensive assessment of its environmental and economic efficiency before a possible transition to industrial deployment.

### Contradictory data

No significant discrepancies with the main text were found in the sources provided for fact-checking. However, it is worth noting that one of the cited materials (pravda.ru) is devoted to flax composites as an alternative to carbon fibres and has no direct relation to the described NUS research; its use as confirmation of facts about aerogel from carbon composites is incorrect. The vietnam.vn source touches on the topic of Vietnamese scientists and aviation waste, which indirectly confirms the international nature of the team, but does not contain independent quantitative data on the aerogel. Thus, all specific figures (91–94% porosity, sorption results, cytotoxicity) rely exclusively on the publication in *Waste Management* and the NUS press release.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Vietnamese scientists pave the way for developing eco-friendly materials from aviation industry waste.](https://www.vietnam.vn/ru/nha-khoa-hoc-viet-mo-huong-phat-trien-vat-lieu-xanh-tu-phe-lieu-may-bay) - Косвенно подтверждает международный характер исследовательской группы (участие вьетнамских учёных) и тему переработки авиационных композитных отходов. Не содержит независимых количественных данных по аэрогелю.
- [Technologies for a green future: flax composites are changing the world for the better](https://www.pravda.ru/news/science/2274761-flax-composites-revolutionizing-materials/) - Материал посвящён льняным композитам как альтернативе углеродным волокнам и не содержит информации об исследовании НУС, аэрогеле или переработке эпоксидных композитов. Не может использоваться для верификации фактов данной статьи.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is an aerogel and how was it obtained in this study?
**A:** An aerogel is an ultra-light, highly porous material in which 91–94% of the volume consists of air voids. In the NUS work, it was obtained by grinding carbon composite waste, mixing the powder with carboxymethyl cellulose, and subjecting the mixture to lyophilization (freeze-drying under vacuum).

### Q: Why is recycling carbon composites with epoxy resin difficult?
**A:** Epoxy resin, once cured, cannot be remelted or re-formed, unlike thermoplastic resins. Existing methods for extracting carbon fibre require high temperatures, aggressive chemicals, or large energy inputs, while the epoxy matrix is often destroyed in the process.

### Q: What practical applications does the resulting aerogel have?
**A:** Based on the test results, the material is promising in three areas: thermal insulation of structures, sound absorption and noise reduction, and oil sorption for spill cleanup thanks to its high oil absorption and low water absorption capacity.

### Q: Is the aerogel toxic to humans?
**A:** Cytotoxicity tests on fibroblast cells revealed no toxic effect of the material under the conditions of the study. The authors emphasize that this allows safety assessment to continue, but full clinical and environmental testing is still ahead.

### Q: What stage is the technology at?
**A:** The research is at the stage of laboratory validation. The team is seeking partners in the aerospace industry, manufacturing, and waste management. The next steps are scaling up and assessing environmental and economic efficiency before industrial deployment.