Porous clay-organic composites: Potential substitutes for polystyrene foam

Porous clay-organic composites have been prepared by lyophylization of mixtures of clay and organic sols. They are shown to have properties applicable for packing and for use as insulating buffer material. The organics which have been used are all naturally reproduceable in the biosphere. The relations between the organic:clay ratio, the pore size and the mechanical properties have been studied in detail for the porous composites, especially for those of clay and agar. The compressive strengths of the porous composites are comparable to, or higher than that of commercially available polystyrene foam. The porous composites, being solely composed of materials found in the biosphere, may be potential substitutes for polystyrene foam which is a petroleum product.