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Researchers rawpixel.com

Develop New

Gels To Protect

Buildings During

Wildfires

According to geographical.co.uk, water-
enhancing gels developed by Stanford
University researchers may provide
solution to protect infrastructure from
wildfires.

Researchers at Stanford University
have developed gels—which last longer
than their current counterparts—to protect
buildings and infrastructure against gel only protected the plywood for less against wildfires doesn’t come at the
damage caused by wildfires. The new than 90 seconds. cost of the environment.
gels use both a cellulose-based polymer “When the water boils off and all of In 2023, the European Union saw its
as well as silica particles—which get the cellulose burns off, we’re left with the fourth-largest burned area on record—an

left behind once the gel is exposed silica particles assembled into a foam,” estimated total of 500,000 hectares:
to heat—to form an aerogel, a solid said senior author of the paper, Eric Appel. the equivalent of more than 820,000
but porous structure that has strong “That foam is highly insulative and ends football pitches.
insulating properties and is often used up scattering all of the heat, completely And while other regions around
in space due to its lightweight quality. protecting the substrate underneath it.” the globe also experienced record-
The gels, made from very absorbent “Traditional gels don’t work once breaking wildfire activity in 2023—with
polymers—similar to those found in baby they dry out,” Appel continued. “Our Canada’s wildfire carbon emissions
nappies—are mixed with water and materials form this silica aerogel when the highest since records began—it is
sprayed onto a building. Once applied, exposed to fire that continues to protect pivotal for new methods, like these gels,

they swell into a gelatinous-type material, the treated substrates after all the water to be developed to prevent substantial
which acts as a shield against wildfires. has evaporated. These materials can infrastructure damage that can be both
To ensure the gel’s effectiveness, be easily washed away once the fire disruptive and costly.
researchers tested various gels by applying is gone.” “There may need to be additional
them to plywood and exposing them Already, the polymers used in the optimisation, but my hope is that we can
to a direct flame. The most effective gels have been approved by the US do pilot-scale application and evaluation
gel lasted for more than seven minutes Forest Service, and are easily broken of these gels so we can use them to

before the plywood began to char. down by microbes in the soil, ensuring help protect critical infrastructure when
In comparison, a commercially available that the process to protecting homes a fire comes through,” Appel said.