Cryogels – A Promising Material for Underground Works in Permafrost

Abstract

Abstract:Cryotropic gel-forming systems have been developed at the Institute of Petroleum Chemistry SB RAS in Tomsk, Russia. They are capable of generating gels at 0-20 , subsequently converting to cryogels during freezethaw cycles which exhibit high elasticity and adhesion to rock. Both laboratory and field experiments are reported here, including 2003-2004 pilot tests conducted to seal a leaking interval at the base of a dam at the Irelyakh hydrosystem, Stock Company "ALROSA", Yakutia.

Cryostructuring of Polymeric Systems. 55. Retrospective View on the More than 40 Years of Studies Performed in the A.N.Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds with Respect of the Cryostructuring Processes in Polymeric Systems

“…Various composite cryogels and cryostructurates containing different dispersed fillers entrapped inside the polymeric matrix have been the matters of both basic studies and applied elaborations (for reviews, see [ 5 , 12 , 13 , 22 , 39 , 64 , 65 , 68 , 74 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 148 , 149 , 150 ]). The interest in such macroporous and supermacroporous composite materials is mainly stipulated by their high potential for the use in practice.…”

“…(i) The preparation of the suspension of the disperse filler in the feed solutions followed by the freeze–thaw structuring of the system, thus yielding the target composite [ 5 , 13 , 22 , 39 , 65 , 68 , 85 , 86 , 87 , 88 , 89 , 90 , 91 , 92 , 94 , 95 , 96 , 97 , 98 , 99 , 100 , 101 , 148 , 149 , 150 ]. Here, the specific case is the use of the mycelial fungi spores as the fillers, when the composite matrix, after its formation, is placed in the growth nutritional medium for the mycelium development.…”

A Brief History of Polymeric Cryogels

“…The formation mechanisms of PVA cryogels [1,29,[232][233][234][235][236][237] and their applications in various fields have been investigated extensively. These gel materials are used in medicine [1,232,235,[238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245][246][247][248][249][250][251], in biochemistry and biotechnology [1,234,[252][253][254][255][256][257][258][259][260][261][262], in environmental protection [1,263], in construction in the permafrost regions [1,264,265], etc. Such popularity of PVA cryogels is due to the combination of a set of remarkable features they possess, such as excellent physico-mechanical properties, a high thermal endurance compared with other physical hydrogels, a high resistance to abrasive erosion, a macroporosity that ensures good diffusion characteristics, the availability and relatively low cost of PVA itself, and a comparatively simple procedure for the preparation of such cryog...…”

“…PVA formed in mixed solvents [1,20,23,234,264,373], complex PVA cryogels [1,234,239,374], and composite PVA cryogels [1,20,23,29,234,236,237,252,254,265,[375][376][377].…”

Cryostructuring of Polymeric Systems †: Application of Deep Neural Networks for the Classification of Structural Features Peculiar to Macroporous Poly(vinyl alcohol) Cryogels Prepared without and with the Additives of Chaotropes or Kosmotropes

“…Various polymeric cryogels are of substantial scientific interest as subjects for fundamental studies [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 10 ]. Also, these macroporous gels have high potential for many applications [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 9 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], such as their use in advanced materials for medicine, biotechnology, ecology, food technology, analytical systems, chemical catalysis, and so forth up to the implementation of special cryogels in construction engineering.…”