02357nas a2200217   4500008004100000022001400041245006200055210006200117260000800179300001200187490000800199520169200207653001801899653002001917653001901937653002801956653001401984100002301998700002402021856009402045       2021                        eng d  a0957-582000aHighly efficient method of utilizing waste silica hazards0 aHighly efficient method of utilizing waste silica hazards  cSEP  a239-2480 v1533 aSilica gels are the significant commodity solid waste produced by organic laboratories and pharmaceutic industries. Although use of silica gels is continuously growing, the proper methods of re-utilizing silica waste are yet limited. Hence, it demands a non-traditional approach to transform these silica waste into some other useful products apart from using them as a well-known road construction materials. Hereby, we report the fabrication and applications of monolithic polymer-silica composites by ice-templating technique from laboratory waste silica-gels, using green approach. To the best of our knowledge, the fabrication of organic-inorganic hybrid sponges from the particles of hundreds of microns is not reported to date. Scaffolds S-60, S-120, S-180, and S-300, were prepared from laboratory discarded silica gels. The morphological, physicochemical, flame-retardant, and liquid absorbent properties of these self-standing scaffolds were analyzed. Results showed that the incorporation of silica particles in the scaffolds turned them into a flame-retardant sponge. These properties make the sponges ideal for making non-flammable cushions, applicable in automobiles, aircrafts, chemical laboratories, hospitals, and other areas of applications. Due to the large porous structures, these scaffolds possess excellent absorption properties and may absorb almost every kind of liquid ranging from oils to acids. Therefore, these scaffolds are also a remarkable absorber for oils and hazardous liquids spillage, such as acids, and can be used as foam for chemical packing applications. (C) 2021 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.10aAcid absorber10aFlame-retardant10aIce-templating10aLaboratory silica waste10ascaffolds1 aSingh, Anup, Kumar1 aSudhakar, Vediappan  uhttps://library.ncl.res.in/content/highly-efficient-method-utilizing-waste-silica-hazards