A cost effective and scalable recipe for fabricating biodegradable cellulose aerogels from paper waste has
been realized. The green aerogel is macroporous and has extremely low density and thermal conductivity:
0.04 g cm−3 and 0.029–0.032 Wm−1K−1, respectively. It is highly absorbent, absorbing 18–20 times
its weight in liquid. Up to 99.8% of the liquid is recovered simply by squeezing the aerogel. The fabrication
can be optimized for absorbing polar (water) or non-polar liquids (oil). Coating the aerogel with
methyltrimethoxysilane improves its hydrophobicity without affecting its absorbency. Mechanically, the
aerogel is flexible yet strong making a wide range of applications possible