Reported approach aims for the synthesis of spherical cellulose beads with high production rates (0.7–4.1 kg/h of hydrogel) via the so-called jet cutting method. To form particles, jets of aqueous cellulose/sodium hydroxide solutions were cut into pieces and collected in a gelation bath (30 wt% aqueous H2SO4, 20 °C). After solvent exchange with ethanol and subsequent supercritical drying, cellulose aerogel particles were obtained. The particles showed high specific surface areas (ca. 400 m2/g) and low bulk (untapped) densities (0.06–0.10 g/cm3). Variation of cellulose content (4–7 wt%) and jet cutting process parameters (cutting frequency, nozzle diameter, jet velocity) turned to be useful parameters for controlling the particles size and shape. Highly spherical particles with sphericity SPH ≥ 0.92 were obtained in a broad range of achievable particle sizes (0.4–1.0 mm), with an optimum of SPH at 6 wt% cellulose content.

Aim of this work is to apply protective and homogeneous shellac coating layers on the surface of hydrophilic open-pore cellulose aerogel particles with low densities ≤ 0.1 g/cm3 and high specific surface areas in the range of ~ 400–450 m2/g while keeping the aerogels’ microstructure intact during processing. For this purpose, an innovative miniaturized spouted bed setup was used. Successful process settings for application of enclosed films on aerogel surfaces without intrusion of coating material into the pores were determined. Precise control of coating layer thickness in the range of 10–50 µm was achieved due to variation of coating solution amount without agglomeration and clogging events occurring during processing. Comparison of bulk densities and specific surface areas before and after coating proved the intactness of the porous structure. Coating of particles loaded with vanillin led to controlled release, enhancing release half-life times from 20 to 1600 min. Overall, a successful strategy for coating of organic low-density aerogels was developed.